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Author Topic: As a rule  (Read 1111 times)

Offline James K

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As a rule
« on: April 21, 2020, 08:23:11 am »
I have always waited two weeks after bottling to drink my beer. Do I need to wait that long? About how many days in do you think I could put these bottles in a fridge and still have them ready?

I bottled my batch Saturday in 750ml bottles. And 1 2l growler. It’s been a while since I made beer and I use the carbonation drops. The beers look fairly clear now. Do you think they’re finished?
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Offline denny

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Re: As a rule
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2020, 08:29:03 am »
How long is a piece of string?  It's like you say....too many variables to ever know for certain.  But I generally wait a week, then try one.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
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Offline Megary

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Re: As a rule
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2020, 08:33:00 am »
No hard and fast rule as carbonation is dependent on so many variables.

When I bottled, I would add 1 beer to the fridge and sample it when it reached serving temperature.  If this still seemed under-carbed, I would wait a few days and try again.  Once I hit the carbonation level I was looking for, I would stock the fridge.  Not a great answer, but it worked for me.

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: As a rule
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2020, 11:25:38 am »
Back when I bottled, I would have one bottle in a plastic bottle, so I could tell when it was hardened up.  I would leave it a little short of a full bottle, squeeze it a bit to push out most of the O2, and wait for the shape to return by CO2 production.  Then when sufficiently hard to the squeeze, I would chill it and try it.  Most of the glass bottles would be ready at that point, too, but I would usually give them a little more time, just to be more sure.
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Offline Die Beerery

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Re: As a rule
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2020, 07:13:33 am »
I have always waited two weeks after bottling to drink my beer. Do I need to wait that long? About how many days in do you think I could put these bottles in a fridge and still have them ready?

I bottled my batch Saturday in 750ml bottles. And 1 2l growler. It’s been a while since I made beer and I use the carbonation drops. The beers look fairly clear now. Do you think they’re finished?

If you are looking for new ideas on bottle conditioning, over the last year, there have been a number of "How to bottle NEIPAs" topics in /r/homebrewing and Homebrew Talk.   In the "quiet corners" of the discussion, there are a couple of interesting of ideas (for example: https://modernbrewhouse.com/wiki/Low_oxygen_brewing#Bottling), which I haven't had time to investigate further. Someone in my notes I have some additional links, let me know if you are interested.    (Don't be scared off by the words 'low oxygen' in the URL - there appears to be a "next generation" of people looking into the idea who have a much more balanced approach to the techniques).

Hey all that looks super familiar. (Everything is basically just re-pasted and linked from my blog).
« Last Edit: April 22, 2020, 07:16:39 am by Die Beerery »
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Offline BrewBama

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As a rule
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2020, 07:39:36 am »
... there appears to be a "next generation" of people looking into the idea who have a much more balanced approach to the techniques.

. The techniques are beneficial. I probably fall in the Charlie Bamforth camp: very sensible approach.


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« Last Edit: April 22, 2020, 08:00:30 am by BrewBama »