Beer needs to breathe

[Bromley Brewery]

I've noticed on the last couple of bottles of Brewferm Christmas beer (bottled 3 weeks ago - and I'm trying my hardest to wait 8 weeks) that the last 1/4 glass tastes better that the first 1/4.

This could be

a) I was thirsty, so just decked the first bit without noticing, or
b) The beer actually does get better after 20 mins or so

Anyone else noticed this effect ( a or b )?

[sib67]

Have the bottles been very cold when you've opened them? It could be that that the beer's had a chance to warm up a bit by the time you get to the end of the glass.

[scottish69]

Or potentially you could have a little yeast residue in the bottom half of the bottle... it sometimes adds to the flavour in a positive way.

[brysie]

gotta be honest here, the more samples i have in an evening, the better they get.
funny though, in the morning i can never remember which one was best.

[cwrw gwent]

Is the beer overcarbonated? It could be that you bottled just a little too early or added too much sugar for the secondary fermentation. If so, try pouring a pint into a two pint jug and leave for three minutes to get rid of any excess CO2. When you pour your ale into a glass from six inches it should have a spectacular head and a smoother body, much like a good pub pint.

This is a technique I use with a lot of bottle condtioned beers as many of them are far too gassy.

[Bromley Brewery]

Cheers Guys,

more research needed tonight - I'll get to it !