So I am fermenting a Belgian Pale (probably around 30-33 IBUS, 12 SRM, 5% abv). I took a reading after 7 days and tasted it and it was great, very well balanced, smooth, strong belgian nose, slightly spicy, everything I hoped for, was super excited. Then I went to bottle after three weeks and the flavor complexity was completely missing. Had almost no belgian flavor or nose and was dominated by hops with a sharp back-of-the mouth bite and was very dry and spicy. I know aging will mellow it out some by any thoughts on why this happened?
2 things come to mind. Carbonation is the first, and if the beer was uncarbonated when you tasted it the carbonation can drastically change you perception of it later.
The second is oxidation, which can “dull” flavors. Is there a chance you inadvertently aerated during bottling?
What was your gravity reading on the seventh day and three week mark?
Gravity was 1.010 after 3 weeks, will have to check what is was after first week. I tasted it before carbonation and also did not transfer to secondary so I would be surprised if oxidation occurred.
What yeast did you use?
The character of Belgian beer often changes. It’s like weather in Boston. If you don’t like it, wait 5 minutes.
My guess is that the beer continued to attenuate, so you’re getting a different balance. But it’s still young, and might need additional conditioning (warm, cold or both). You said you’re bottling, so go ahead and finish that, then put a few test bottles in different environments (room temp, cellar temp, lager temp) and try them after a week or two and see which you like best.
+1^^^
What I was thinking as well. And, did you use sugar adjuncts? They tend to dry a beer out- not always a bad thing. Your beer will be fine with some conditioning, just not what you were expecting from your “sample”.