what is the earliest i can open bottles

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bobbydigital

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:fro: im excited opening my beer,
its only been in bottle for 1 day... but i can't wait...
when will i get alittle carbonation.......
does the bottle effect any tastes besides carbonation.
 
You probably can't open them before you cap them, but anytime after that should work out just fine.

I used to see some carbonation by day 7. I would recommend opening at least one a week to track the flavor maturation and progression.
 
I've had a lot of mine decently carb at one week but you'll thank yourself if you only sample one or two a week for at least 3 weeks.
 
heres what ive found, 5 days - "drinkable" i.e. its not semiflat SWEET beer.
7 days "entirely drinkable, but rough about the edges

10 days - totally ready to drink...
 
I've tried at less then 2 weeks, but trust me, they just get better after that! I am always amazed at how much better a couple of weeks can make it. Just hang in there! It's no use being disappointed just because you are impatient.
 
I did an Irish Red that had a surprising amount of carbonation after just 2 days, but the beer itself was no where near ready to drink. It has almost 3 weeks in the bottle now and is shaping up nicely. Just because it wasn't ready doesn't mean I didn't keep checking every couple days.
 
As a noob I always used to hate hearing the standard "wait three weeks" line. Last night I had one of my first AG pale ale about 3.5 weeks into bottles, and there's a huge difference from when I cracked one open at the 14 day mark! Just be patient, and buy some decent commercial beer to tide you over. :drunk:
 
Im so happy you are all here to help others out. Most of the books I read say 1-2 weeks and if I never came here I would not know to wait 3 weeks. Thank you to all :)
 
NoClueBrew said:
Im so happy you are all here to help others out. Most of the books I read say 1-2 weeks and if I never came here I would not know to wait 3 weeks. Thank you to all :)
Click to expand...

Or, do what I've been doing, taste it every week and note the way it changes, it's a great learning experience. I know firsthand why I should wait, it's just tough doing it.
 
Revvy said:
I know you're excited...But if you open them before 3 weeks, they're gonna taste bad.

THere's plenty of info on this forum about why...Including this thread from yesterday. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=57499

Brew another batch of beer to take your mind off these bottles...
Click to expand...


Reading some of this stuff is great, but doing some of it, even though it may not be right is still a better learning experience than anything I'll read. I get lots of info from reading, I get experience and knowledge from doing.
 
bobbydigital...when will i get alittle carbonation....... does the bottle effect any tastes besides carbonation.[/QUOTE said:
Sing out loud the bottling mantra.

21 days at 70 degrees...
21 days at 70 degrees...
21 days at 70 degrees...
21 days at 70 degrees...
21 days at 70 degrees...
21 days at 70 degrees...

Low sooner...no cooler...
Click to expand...
 
sigmund said:
Reading some of this stuff is great, but doing some of it, even though it may not be right is still a better learning experience than anything I'll read. I get lots of info from reading, I get experience and knowledge from doing.
Click to expand...

A good experiment to do is to pull a beer out on the 7th day in the bottle and chill it for 2...then taste it...make notes on the tastes and the level of carb. Do it again on the 14th day, the 21st and the 28th...you'll really see the difference. Then leave a bottle stashed away for 6 months...chill that and taste it...and go back and read your notes... You'll learn a heck of a lot about beer doing that.

When you've been around here for a while you'll notice a lot of "Is my beer infected threads." They're usually posted by people who openned their beer to soon and tasted the off flavors. Then they panic and start threads and we, with more experience, come along and re-assurance them... So I gave you that link because it explains the processes that go on in the bottle during those weeks...I thought you'd like to know.
 
Take heart. Once you get a decent stock of beers around, you will find that the waiting is easier. The older beers will taste WAY better than the new ones, so other than for checking progress, you will likely focus on drinking ths old stuff first.
 
The best advice I got here at HBT is to keep the brewing process going. I tend to not think about what's in the bottles as much that way. Give in..... make a brew schedule. Buy some "inspiration beer" to hold you over.

I generally sample at ten days but don't get crazy until at least thirty.
 
Revvy said:
A good experiment to do is to pull a beer out on the 7th day in the bottle and chill it for 2...then taste it...make notes on the tastes and the level of carb. Do it again on the 14th day, the 21st and the 28th...you'll really see the difference. Then leave a bottle stashed away for 6 months...chill that and taste it...and go back and read your notes... You'll learn a heck of a lot about beer doing that.

When you've been around here for a while you'll notice a lot of "Is my beer infected threads." They're usually posted by people who openned their beer to soon and tasted the off flavors. Then they panic and start threads and we, with more experience, come along and re-assurance them... So I gave you that link because it explains the processes that go on in the bottle during those weeks...I thought you'd like to know.
Click to expand...

I did my first batch, a Belgian ale in January. I cracked the first bottle after 2 weeks in the bottle and it was bitter. After three weeks, it was still bitter and I thought maybe it was infected. Then this weekend, after about a month, I was pleasantly surprised to be drinking what turned out to be a pretty good beer. It seems to me that there is some critical amount of time in the bottle before the beer becomes really drinkable. Does this time vary depending on the beer - longer for a big beer or a really hoppy beer?
 
bearymore said:
I did my first batch, a Belgian ale in January. I cracked the first bottle after 2 weeks in the bottle and it was bitter. After three weeks, it was still bitter and I thought maybe it was infected. Then this weekend, after about a month, I was pleasantly surprised to be drinking what turned out to be a pretty good beer. It seems to me that there is some critical amount of time in the bottle before the beer becomes really drinkable. Does this time vary depending on the beer - longer for a big beer or a really hoppy beer?
Click to expand...

Yes...it varies depending on styles...generally bigger beers take longer. 3 weeks is just a rule of thumb.
 

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