How "fresh" do you drink your hoppy beers?

[gobuchul]

Being doing some internet research on this and was wondering what's the "quickest" brew you have made?

I have a load of Citra and Chinook and was thinking of brewing a 3.5%abv "hop bomb".

10 days in the fv, cold crash, then into a corny for force carbonation.

Try it nice and fresh, say 2 weeks from the day of brewing?

Any comments or opinions?

[guypettigrew]

2 weeks? Blimey, that's a long time!

At 3.5% (OG about 1.035) it will probably have finished its primary fermentation in 4-5 days maximum.

Leave it one more day, cool to about 6 C for another 24 hours, keg and drink the next day. One week, tops.

You'll almost certainly need to fine it to get it clear and keep it clear, but fining as it goes into the keg should clear it in less than 24 hours.

It'll improve as time goes on, but 7 days should give you a drinkable ale.

Guy

[oliver tate]

For hoppy beers I ferment for 5-7 days, dry hop for 3, rack to keg and start drinking it a week later.

Quicker the better IMO

I did a 3.5% beer a couple of years back for Xmas with no dry hops and served it with a beer engine so needed very little carbonation. We had that within 12 days and it tasted great.

[IronBlue]

I start drinking all my beers within 2 weeks! Typically 8 - 10 days fermenting, 2 - 3 days cold crashing and straight in the cornies. I find, very generally, a light hoppy beer will be at it's best about 2 - 4 weeks after kegging, but I start 'evaluating' it from 'day 1'.

If it's a dry-hopped beer, get on it asap....

[Raize]

Clearly not fresh enough as the hop flavour is always gone.
At a guess I would say at least six weeks.

[tuffty22]

1-2 weeks after bottling for me. Higher OG beers I leave an extra week.