My friend, coworker, and new BaltiBrew member Lyle Albright just bottled his first batch of homebrew and was kind enough to give me two bottles of his American Brown Ale to sample. While talking to Lyle about his brew — and I haven’t even tasted it yet — it occurred to me to dispense some “I wish I would have done this with my first brew” advice to him and to you readers.
Don’t drink it all too fast. Save a half dozen bottles or so. Store them properly — upright, in a cool, dark place — and taste them periodically over time. Speaking from experience, I can say this is incredibly difficult to do. You made your first beer and you’re supposed to wait to drink it?!?!?! Crazy talk, I know.
But trust me — if you’re interested in learning a lot about how beer matures and ages, AND a lot about yourself as a brewer, it makes perfect sense to squirrel some away. (more…)