So I am curious, is the low amount of time that beer sit in comparison to wines/meads due to the typically low ABV in beers, or is it because of some other factor like the yeast?
Aging of beers, due to ABV or yeast?
- Thread starter capoeirista13
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It's the alcohol (so far as I know). I've made a couple of big beers (10+% ABV) and they didn't start to taste good until about 6 months, and hit their stride at about a year.
In addition to more alcohol, the common use of sulfites in wines also promotes longer aging. Also, low pH with wines makes them more resistant to spoilage.
In red wines, the tannins and phenolic content prevents oxidation and allows long aging.
With beers, highly hopped beers such as IPAs may enjoy a longer life expectancy (as long as you keep them out of my hands).
In red wines, the tannins and phenolic content prevents oxidation and allows long aging.
With beers, highly hopped beers such as IPAs may enjoy a longer life expectancy (as long as you keep them out of my hands).
In my experience, since I was a beer brewer first (before discovering mead), the higher the alcohol the longer it will age. Some certain styles (Barleywines, Old Ales, etc.) get better over age and almost never "turn". I had a Barleywine at a competition that was 9 years old and it was possibly the best beer I have ever tasted!
Just my $.02
Just my $.02
Yep. ABV. That's it. Lower ABV beers (1.040-1.050 SG) are ready to drink in about 2-4 weeks. Higher gravity beers (1.065 and up SG) taste nothing but the alcohol the first 2-4 weeks, and get alot better after about 6 months or so. Beer lasts alot longer than homebrewers realize if kept out of sunlight and at a good 50-55 degrees temperature. Even Lower ABV beers can last years and still taste good. I've heard this, though, never experienced it. Beer doesn't last at my house. Even big lagers that need to age don't last longer than about 3 months over here. It's a shame, really.
Mead and wine, on the other hand, benefit from ageing more than beer. Beer flavors are very assertive? Upfront? Not subtle? Mead and wine flavors are more complex? More subtle? As alcohol flavors mellow in mead/wine, other things that were in the background become noticeable. Beer flavors are very pronounced, and only mellow and round out with time. So people don't generally say, man, that IPA really came into its own after 2 years. The hops flavor that is on display in an IPA is there from the very beginning, and doesn't need the alcohol to tone down to be tasted.
Mead and wine, on the other hand, benefit from ageing more than beer. Beer flavors are very assertive? Upfront? Not subtle? Mead and wine flavors are more complex? More subtle? As alcohol flavors mellow in mead/wine, other things that were in the background become noticeable. Beer flavors are very pronounced, and only mellow and round out with time. So people don't generally say, man, that IPA really came into its own after 2 years. The hops flavor that is on display in an IPA is there from the very beginning, and doesn't need the alcohol to tone down to be tasted.
I have some brown beer from last year, 4.5% ABV or so. It started to "turn" around the 13 month mark, and even now I'm one of the only people who notices that the decline has begun. Still tastes good!
