[topher.bartos]

My very first AG batch has been in bottles for 6 days. I can't wait any longer.

I think I'm going to try one just to make some notes on how my beer ages over time...

I need some encouragement.

[davidgzach]

Go for it!  It may not be completely carbed yet, but who cares!  I hope it meets your expectations.

Dave

[Alewyfe]

Who deserves to try it more than you! It's always interesting to see how the young'uns taste. Just remember not to be disappointed as it will round out, mellow, blend and continue to carbonate over the next couple weeks.

[denny]

I just took a gravity sample on a 10 day old IPA.  After I got my reading I put it in a PET bottle with a carbonator cap, hit it with 30 psi and stuck it in the freezer.  In an hour I'll have a cold, carbed sample to taste.

[Pinski]

I just took a gravity sample on a 10 day old IPA.  After I got my reading I put it in a PET bottle with a carbonator cap, hit it with 30 psi and stuck it in the freezer.  In an hour I'll have a cold, carbed sample to taste.

Carbonator caps are one of my favorite tools.

[topher.bartos]

I'm tasting the very first AG batch I've made and since I forgot to throw in clarifiers, sediment is still in suspension and it tastes a bit sedimenty / yeasty. No big deal. It still tastes like beer and as my first batch of AG it tastes pretty damn good.

I'm going to try AG batch #2 in a short while.

[alcaponejunior]

I usually pop one a bit early, "just to test it."  It's usually ready enough to enjoy but you can tell it's green and needs to condition longer.  I still drink it tho.

[realbeerguy]

If bottle conditioning, I'd always do one in a clear bottle to check.

[Pinski]

If bottle conditioning, I'd always do one in a clear bottle to check.

+1, another great tip.

[Jimmy K]

I don't recommend opening it ... unless it's for scientific inquiry 

[udubdawg]

I like bottling 2-3 per batch in the little 6.3 oz size to see how things are coming along without wasting too much of the precious.

hope your beer is awesome!

cheers--
--Michael

[anje]

I just took a gravity sample on a 10 day old IPA.  After I got my reading I put it in a PET bottle with a carbonator cap, hit it with 30 psi and stuck it in the freezer.  In an hour I'll have a cold, carbed sample to taste.

Carbonator caps are one of my favorite tools.

Silly question: could one theoretically forego a kegging system with bottles, carbonator caps, a CO2 tank, that the requisite hoses and regulator? (Currently lack space for a kegerator, but I could see this setup for, say, a small batch and a canoe trip.)

[bluesman]

I don't recommend opening it ... unless it's for scientific inquiry 

...or for that which killed the cat...just sayin' 

[AmandaK]

I just took a gravity sample on a 10 day old IPA.  After I got my reading I put it in a PET bottle with a carbonator cap, hit it with 30 psi and stuck it in the freezer.  In an hour I'll have a cold, carbed sample to taste.

Hell, sometimes I just drink the entire hydrometer sample that I take before packaging!  Last night I had a flat (but tasty) ESB before kegging and a moderately cold Munich Dunkel before it went to lagering. That Dunkel was AWESOME.

So OP, 6 days isn't the worst that could happen... at least you ain't drinkin' outta the fermenter!

[denny]

Silly question: could one theoretically forego a kegging system with bottles, carbonator caps, a CO2 tank, that the requisite hoses and regulator? (Currently lack space for a kegerator, but I could see this setup for, say, a small batch and a canoe trip.)

You could do that.  It would be kind of labor intensive and expensive for the caps, but it would work.