I think most of us have seen those tv ads for commercial beer, touting it’s “freshness”. I was always a little skeptical of the advantage of freshness, as beer is a fermented beverage, and, like wine, should probably smooth out and generally improve with some ageing. Since I started making my own beer, however, I have chosen to throw the fresh idea out the window. Here’s why.
Last summer, my friend and I made a straight-up Dutch Lager using a Baron’s kit with the yeast and hops that were included in the box. We drank most of it soon after it became nicely carbonated, which took about a month of it sitting in an upstairs bedroom (about 20°C) It quickly became a favourite. We detected a very slight “home made beer taste”, which was acceptable because it was by a long shot better than any other home made beers we’d ever tried. Even so, it was a challenge not to drink it all once we got going that day, but, displaying steely self-discipline we were able to squirrel some away to sample later.
