Hi there, newbie here. I am doing a Midwest Front Porch Ale kit. I am almost ready to bottle. Anyone have experience with this kit and suggest how long to bottle age it?
It's a pale ale. Age it until it's fully carbed which should take 2 weeks. Then chill it for 3 days before drinking.
@Brew_Betty is correct in what she says, but if this is your first beer, you're going to be impatient. If you are bottling 5 gallons of beer, you have a lot of beer to drink, so why not start early? Somebody has to test the progress of your bottle carbonation, and it might as well be you. I always put a bottle in the fridge to chill on the 10th day and test the progress of the beer. Listen for how much pssst you get, and how much head you get from a normal pour. Then enjoy your first beer. Whatever the results of the carbonation are will help you decide to wait for a few more days or another week, etc. I think hoppy beers do best with the timing that Betty suggests, so hold the rest of them as long as you can, but c'mon, this is your first beer. You won't be able to stifle your curiosity and excitement, so test one bottle for carbonation at 10 days and make a ceremony out of it. (As a word of warning, be next to the sink and have your glass ready when you open that bottle just in case you've goofed and have an over-carbonated beer.)
When did you brew this beer? Does the recipe call for dryhopping? If it is a Pale Ale, the beer should not be aged, but only bottle conditioned for a few weeks. Typically, 2 weeks in fermenter, 2 weeks at room temp after bottling, and 2 weeks further conditioning, for a total of ~ 6 weeks, IMHO
Patience is hard when homebrewing. But most average gravity beers taste best at least 4 weeks out from brew day in my experience.
I usually have 1-2 per week after the 1st and 2nd week of bottling. Carbing is generally finished between 2 and 3 weeks, in my experience.
4-6 Weeks from brewday is usually when hop-forward beers start to shine. Fermentation should take a week, dry hopping should take a week, and bottle carbonation should take a week. You're allowed to taste them on the weekends after that and see what you think.
Recently Brewed this one - Still have a case left. This does not hit stride until 4 weeks after bottling. Don't drink it green and wish you had not. Patience is a virtue, and good beer comes to those who wait.
I've only bottle aged on the East Coast, but I'm sure its fairly similar to how you'd do it in the Midwest. A couple/three weeks at around room temp, and you should be good to go
