[donsmitty]

Throughout January - March, I had no problem placing my bottles in a room that was about 65.0 F -68.0 F and letting them sit there until ready for consumption.  The weather has now changed and I'm struggling with where to put my bottles where I can have a consistent temperature that is not too high or too low.  So I have to ask you all, does it really matter if my bottles are sitting in a room that is 60.0 F - 64.0 F or a room that is 65.0 F - 75.0 F?  Basically my basement or a room/closet on the main/upper floors of the house.  How will it impact my beer?

[erockrph]

The warmer the better until they are fully carbonated, then the cooler the better. There's not really enough fermentation activity during bottle priming where off-flavors are an issue, so you could store them around 80F if you wanted to carb them up faster.

I generally leave my bottles upstairs at room temp after bottling. Once I've had two bottles from a batch that are both as carbonated as I'd like, they get moved to my basement where they will remain at 55-60F for long term storage.

[hubie]

The warmer room will carbonate faster.  75 F isn't too warm to bottle condition.  The 65-75 F temperature swing shouldn't be a big deal because you shouldn't be in a situation where the yeast want to go dormant. 

Wherever you put your bottles, just make sure they are in the dark.  Some of the breweries that bottle condition have special storage rooms kept at 80F or higher so that the bottles carbonate quick.  However, when your bottles are fully carbonated, you'll want to move them to a better cellaring temperature so that they'll hold up better over time.

[reverseapachemaster]

I leave all of my beer at room temperature which over the course of the year can range from 65F to 80F. We don't believe in basements in Texas so there's nowhere cool to keep all the beer and I don't have enough fridge space to put everything in it. I would keep it cooler if I could.

[joe_feist]

I bottle condition at room temp, too and then move to a fridge or the basement after they're carb'd. I'm guessing your weather in CT is pretty close to the temps we have in MI. So, yeah, not nearly as warm in Jan - Mar.

Interestingly (to me anyway), I recently pulled a beer that I'd just bottled 5 -6 days ago. Figured I was pulling it early, but wanted to check the carbonation. Wow, it was almost a gusher. There was a real pop when I opened the flip top and lots and lots of foam. Fearing contamination I tasted it and it seemed fine (for a room temp IPA). Next thought was too much sugar, so I got everything in the fridge. Opened a cooler bottle last night and the carbonation was perfect. I think the cause is definately the warmer temps in May (mid 70's this week). Carbonating quicker and higher pressure when the gas in the bottle is warm.

[erockrph]

Interestingly (to me anyway), I recently pulled a beer that I'd just bottled 5 -6 days ago. Figured I was pulling it early, but wanted to check the carbonation. Wow, it was almost a gusher. There was a real pop when I opened the flip top and lots and lots of foam. Fearing contamination I tasted it and it seemed fine (for a room temp IPA). Next thought was too much sugar, so I got everything in the fridge. Opened a cooler bottle last night and the carbonation was perfect. I think the cause is definately the warmer temps in May (mid 70's this week). Carbonating quicker and higher pressure when the gas in the bottle is warm.

You've just talked me into cracking into the batch of saison I just bottled a week sooner than usual.

[donsmitty]

Thanks for the replies everyone.  Looks like I should be OK....  Once carbonated, half gets moved to my cellar and/or fridge with the other half going to my son's cellar and/or fridge.

[joe_feist]

Interestingly (to me anyway), I recently pulled a beer that I'd just bottled 5 -6 days ago. Figured I was pulling it early, but wanted to check the carbonation. Wow, it was almost a gusher. There was a real pop when I opened the flip top and lots and lots of foam. Fearing contamination I tasted it and it seemed fine (for a room temp IPA). Next thought was too much sugar, so I got everything in the fridge. Opened a cooler bottle last night and the carbonation was perfect. I think the cause is definately the warmer temps in May (mid 70's this week). Carbonating quicker and higher pressure when the gas in the bottle is warm.

You've just talked me into cracking into the batch of saison I just bottled a week sooner than usual.

Glad I could help...