Bottle conditioning variable issue

A friend and I started brewing early this year and I am quite puzzled by our last two batches, maybe someone here can hlep me out and explain to me what is going on.

We are currently brewing 5 gal batches together and then each take one case after bottling. With the last two batches his case has turned out like crap while mine is fine. The only variables are that I store mine in a cool room in a dark corner away from light and any heat registers and his wife tells me that his sits in a dark unused bedroom BUT in front of a heat register. I think that this location is the problem. Unfortunately I am too inexperienced in tasting off flavors and very green beer to identify the off flavor experienced his beer. Can anyone clue me into what I should be looking for here?

Also, does my daignosis sound accurate? Since this is the only variable between the batches I don't know what else to attribute the difference to.

Thanks

Rottnme said:

…Also, does my daignosis sound accurate? Since this is the only variable between the batches I don't know what else to attribute the difference to.
Thanks

Click to expand...

Temperature variances during conditioning can have an effect on the taste and carbonation levels of the beer. When you say “cool” what’s the temp? Keeping beers at around 70-74 for conditioning is pretty standard. Warm enough to carbonate, but cool enough to avoid off flavors. Sitting the beers in front of the heat register seems like those beers would get up around 80+ degrees. Not only that, they’d be changing in temps with the heater going on and off. If it were in my house, The fluctuation would go from 59 degrees up to the upper 70’s several times per day. (I have a thermostat that shuts down the heat during the day).

A constant temperature of between 68-74 degrees for three weeks with both batches should result in consistent results.

What about the people keeping the bottles in a basement with steady temps but lower than the 70-74 range as just mentioned by BM?

That will be my case, pretty much, as I did not plan on storing beer in living quarters, really.

Basement is around 65-68 deg depending of the area, eyeballing it.
Should I find the warmest spot and store there..?


.

Yep. The warmer...the quicker the beer will carbonate.

Make a point to go down there and give the cases a gentle rocking back and forth every other day to re-agitate the yeast a bit.

BierMuncher said:

Temperature variances during conditioning can have an effect on the taste and carbonation levels of the beer. When you say “cool” what’s the temp? Keeping beers at around 70-74 for conditioning is pretty standard. Warm enough to carbonate, but cool enough to avoid off flavors. Sitting the beers in front of the heat register seems like those beers would get up around 80+ degrees. Not only that, they’d be changing in temps with the heater going on and off. If it were in my house, The fluctuation would go from 59 degrees up to the upper 70’s several times per day. (I have a thermostat that shuts down the heat during the day).

A constant temperature of between 68-74 degrees for three weeks with both batches should result in consistent results.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure of the temps at his place but at mine, and with it being cold here in Wisconsin, the room where stored averages about 64F. I usually leave mine sit for about 3 weeks before opening and have not had any issues with it not carbonating. Its the heat register induced temp fluctuation that I worry about with his beer.

Is there a discernable flavor that I could try to detect that would key me in to whether this is the problem or not?