Conditioning

Beer that has just completed fermentation is called green beer. In the same way that a stew gets better with time, beer benefits from a period of maturation. For low-strength ales such as English bitter, this conditioning period may be as brief as a few days, while strong lagers such as Doppelbock may need 6 months or more to fully reach their potential.

Homebrewers often call this conditioning period secondary fermentation, but little to no fermentation actually occurs during this phase.

In some kinds of beer, hops are added to beer during the conditioning period. This process is called dry hopping. Despite the name, the hops still get wet.