could my bottle conditioning be done in 6 days?

bguzz · 02-15-2010, 12:12 AM

I bottled a brown ale after letting it sit for 3 weeks in the primary. It was a 2.5 gallon batch and I used 2 oz. of priming sugar after it has sat at 70F for the final couple days.

One of the bottles was a PET bottle and I compressed/squeezed the excess headroom out of it and now 6 days later, it is tight as a drum (like what other beers have done at 3 weeks of conditioning). It has been sitting at 78F. Is it possible that my bottle conditioning is done this quick?

**Yooper** · 02-15-2010, 12:17 AM

It could be carbonated that quickly. It probably isn't conditioned that quickly. Conditioning is more than acheiving carbonation. Conditioning is the flavor melding and mellowing and the beer becoming its best.

You can certainly put one in the fridge if you want, and drink it after about 24 hours in the fridge. It will probably be pretty good, and will be better after a few more weeks of conditioning.

MattHollingsworth · 02-15-2010, 07:11 AM

I agree with everything Yooper said.

For me, with my system, my beers are nearly always fully carbonated after 7 days. But they're not done conditioning. I had a recent beer which was a clean pale ale (1.050?) with noble hops that was a good example. It was fully carbed after a week and *decently* conditioned after 3 weeks. But at around 6 weeks, it was just fantastic. Earlier on it was good but at 6 weeks it just reached a really nice clean taste. The flavors were all smoother and blended into each other much more nicely. It was very drinkable early on, but much better later on.