tomc

Recipes 

Does it matter what temperature bottles are stored at, both for immediately after being filled (bottle conditioning/carbonation) and for longer term storage?

I've just brewed an ordinary ale recipe using Wyeast London Ale III. Kept the carboy in a fridge at 68F during the fermentation. Now I'm keeping the bottles in the fridge too, at 66F but would like to free up my fridge for another batch.

I've had wildly better results by storing bottles cool rather than room temperature but it was long ago and I don't even remember the type of yeast used in that batch. So maybe it was a lager and I just have forgotten.

Thanks.

Revvy

Recipes 

We recoomend 3 weeks @ 70 degrees as the minimum time/temp for bottle carbing and conditioning. You really don't want to put them in the fridge until AFTER this period is done, unless you want your beer to take forever to carb....the yeast will go dormant and not do their job...

Read these for info... http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Of_Patience_and_Bottle_Conditioning/

And this.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/861906-post18.html

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jgohean

Recipes 

I'm wondering the same thing, but my room temperature is closer to 77 than 70 (I'm in Texas). Will this be too warm for bottle conditioning? Will it speed up bottle conditioning or have negative side effects?

Should I use the immersion in water and ice filled Rubbermaid trick I'm using for my fermentation for all 50+ bottles?

ifishsum

Recipes 

I don't think there's any need for that jgohean. The room I bottle condition/carb in has been at 78-80 until recently, the beer turns out good and on the plus side they carb quicker. Ferment temps are much more important, my first batch fermented too hot in the same room and it definitely had an off flavor. But once your beer is fermented out I don't think it makes a lot of difference what temp it's aged at, at least not for the ales I've been making.

jgohean

Recipes 

Good to know. The Rubbermaid submersion seemed a little over the top. Thanks for the advice.

citizenlee

Recipes 

a holding container (ala rubbermaid) might not be a bad idea if you're worried about bottle bombs.

ifishsum

Recipes 

Yes, I do put them into an empty tub, just in case. No problems at all yet, but since it's a carpeted area it seems like the prudent thing to do.

the_bird

Recipes 

There's so little fermentation going on at this point, even after adding the priming sugar, that the ambient temperature is much less critical than it is during fermentation. If the bottles are at 77°, I wouldn't stress too much about off-flavors at this point. I'd be more comforable with 70°, but it's arguably better to be a wee on the high side than on the low side at this point. It'll likely carbonate a bit quicker, too.

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