Bottle Conditioning

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Rezer

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I've been reading that leaving your beer to condition for 3 weeks at 70f is the best. I've also been reading that leaving your beer in the fridge for a few days before drinking also helps improve the clarity of the beer.

I'm wondering if I can put the beers in the fridge at 2.5 weeks, and leave them in there for 3-4 days to achieve the 3 week time frame. Is this doable? or am I supposed to leave it at room temperature for 3 weeks?

If I'm supposed to leave it at room temperature for 3 weeks, how many days do you suggest I leave it in the fridge before drinking?

Its my first brew and I'm eager to try it. I'm working on getting a pipeline going so time for bottle conditioning isn't an issue in the future, but for my first brew, its hard to not count the days!
 
Go a few weeks, then throw a couple in the fridge for a few days. Then try them in a couple days. Then the following do that again. See how the beer evolves over a month or so. I still fairly novice and brewing ales, but I'm finding about 4 weeks at room temp works for me. Some people may like it greener. Find you method, data data data.
 
The 3 weeks is room temp. That's to allow the yeast time to ferment the sugars, produce the carbon dioxide, reach an equilibrium state, clean up after themselves, and drop back out to the bottom. With the exception of the last part, those things don't happen when it's cold. The time in the fridge will help with the latter, but it does something more important, and that's dissolve the CO2 into solution. Otherwise all the CO2 rushes out when you first open the bottle, depending on the carb level you may get gushing, you'll probably get more head than you should when pouring, and then the beer in the glass will seem flatter than it should.

That said, 3 weeks is a general guideline. Some beers may carb before that, and some will actually take longer (especially high gravity beers). If you want to put a couple in the fridge at 2.5 weeks, then knock yourself out. You probably wouldn't notice a difference.
 
Go a few weeks, then throw a couple in the fridge for a few days. Then try them in a couple days. Then the following do that again. See how the beer evolves over a month or so. I still fairly novice and brewing ales, but I'm finding about 4 weeks at room temp works for me. Some people may like it greener. Find you method, data data data.

Not a bad idea! I just don't want to prematurely try my beer and just get a 'meh' feel. I think the 3 weeks is a good idea, just curious if I could count fridge time in that 3 weeks (18 days at room temp, 3 days in fridge).
 
The 3 weeks is room temp. That's to allow the yeast time to ferment the sugars, produce the carbon dioxide, reach an equilibrium state, clean up after themselves, and drop back out to the bottom. With the exception of the last part, those things don't happen when it's cold. The time in the fridge will help with the latter, but it does something more important, and that's dissolve the CO2 into solution. Otherwise all the CO2 rushes out when you first open the bottle, depending on the carb level you may get gushing, you'll probably get more head than you should when pouring, and then the beer in the glass will seem flatter than it should.

That said, 3 weeks is a general guideline. Some beers may carb before that, and some will actually take longer (especially high gravity beers). If you want to put a couple in the fridge at 2.5 weeks, then knock yourself out. You probably wouldn't notice a difference.

Thank you for your reply.

My plan is to get 2 sets of bottles so I can always have a bunch sitting in the bottle conditioning without me thinking about it, but as this is my first brew, I'm just really eager to try it. However as many have said, patience is key; I'm just trying to push the line a bit!

I'll try a few putting them in the fridge at 2.5 weeks, but I have 48x 500ml, so a bunch will get time to really sit (okay maybe not that much time :cross:).

How long should I leave them in the fridge for?
 
I actually find it both entertaining and educational to sample them through the conditioning process. Over time you start to get a better feel for how much longer a brew needs to "rest" before it's approached it's peak. Call me a nerd but I actually keep a journal.

The multiple days of chilling is key to getting carb in the solution but you can stick in in ice water for an hour to get an idea of the changes in flavor profile. I usually have at least 6 of my beers before they hit the 3 week mark. The key is to temper your expectations ahead of time.
 
Thank you for your reply.

My plan is to get 2 sets of bottles so I can always have a bunch sitting in the bottle conditioning without me thinking about it, but as this is my first brew, I'm just really eager to try it. However as many have said, patience is key; I'm just trying to push the line a bit!

I'll try a few putting them in the fridge at 2.5 weeks, but I have 48x 500ml, so a bunch will get time to really sit (okay maybe not that much time :cross:).

How long should I leave them in the fridge for?

3-4 days will be fine for carbonation purposes. The longer it stays cold, the clearer it'll get. After a few weeks most hazes can start dropping out (although depending on the source of whatever haze, it can take a long time to drop completely clear if it ever does at all)
 
Ask 10 homebrewers this question and you'll get a dozen answers.

Heck, this is your first batch. Wait 1 week, put 1 bottle in the fridge overnight, pop it, pour it, take a picture and enjoy. You brew them to drink them. Will it be completely perfect? No! But it's your first beer, so it will be special. The rest of the batch can wait.

I brew average sized ales (5-6% ABV). I leave them in primary for 2 weeks, bottle condition for 2 weeks, put them in the fridge to cool for 2-3 days, and drink. But I tend to brew beers that taste better fresh, as well - APA's, IPA's, etc. More complex beers need more conditioning.

As mentioned the "carbonation" part will generally be done in a week or less at room temperature. The rest of the time is conditioning. If you just open one of those while warm all the CO2 will just psst out of the bottle and the beer won't have much head. Chilling them for a couple of days will cause some of the CO2 to go into solution in the beer. As also mentioned it will help clear the beer, too.

YMMV. The only way to find out is to try it. Take notes. Seriously. Think of it as running experiments and taking data. Find out what works for your system.
 
With most of my beers, it takes the 3 week to produce the expected level of carbonation. A few days won't do it at room temp. Typically 3 weeks, maybe 4. It also depends on weather conditions & where the boxes of bottles are located. Then 5-7 days in the fridge to not only get the co2 in the had space to produce an equilibrium between the beer & head space, but also to give time for any chill haze to form & settle out. Leaving the beer clear & carbonated. It is not a quick process. Patience here is also key. It's just the last step of the process.:mug:
 
The time in the fridge will help with the latter, but it does something more important, and that's dissolve the CO2 into solution. Otherwise all the CO2 rushes out when you first open the bottle, depending on the carb level you may get gushing, you'll probably get more head than you should when pouring, and then the beer in the glass will seem flatter than it should.

The multiple days of chilling is key to getting carb in the solution

If you just open one of those while warm all the CO2 will just psst out of the bottle and the beer won't have much head. Chilling them for a couple of days will cause some of the CO2 to go into solution in the beer. As also mentioned it will help clear the beer, too.

Then 5-7 days in the fridge to not only get the co2 in the had space to produce an equilibrium between the beer & head space, but also to give time for any chill haze to form & settle out.

Wow, this has to be one of the most widespread myths in homebrewing. Probably because it's not really that big of a deal and letting your bottles chill a little extra time isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just bothers me personally (maybe I'm a little OCD?) when incorrect information is stated over and over again.

Just to clarify, the CO2 is not ever "all in the headspace" and needing to be dissolved into the beer. The CO2 is already in solution because the whole system is closed and under pressure. The only thing that chilling for a few days to a week or so before you open one will do is settle out particulates that could act as nucleation sites for the CO2 and cause it to come out of solution faster. I have opened warm bottles, and they absolutely do not lose all of the CO2 immediately. It will come out of solution much faster because it's warm though. I also quick chill bottles overnight or even in the freezer for an hour or so and have never had a problem or noticed a difference in carbonation levels.

The solubility of gas in a liquid is dependent on temperature and pressure. Lower temperatures allow more CO2 to be dissolved, but higher pressures also allow more CO2 to be dissolved (this is why you can carbonate a keg at room temperature by simply increasing the pressure). When the yeast consume the priming sugar, all of the CO2 that is going to be in the beer is in the closed system of the bottle. This puts the beer at a high pressure, allowing it to have 2.5 volumes (or so) of CO2 dissolved in it at room temperature. When you chill it down, the decrease in temperature makes the beer want to absorb CO2. But as soon as it would absorb CO2 from the headspace, the pressure in the system would decrease causing the beer to not be able to hold more CO2. It's always at equilibrium. So the beer contains about the same amount of dissolved CO2 no matter what temperature it's at.

Anyway to answer the OP's question, 3 weeks is not a set in stone number. You really just need to leave them at room temperature long enough for the yeast to consume all of the priming sugar and create all of the CO2 to carbonate them. But from my experience, that generally takes about 3 weeks.;)
 
I have opened warm bottles, and they absolutely do not lose all of the CO2 immediately. It will come out of solution much faster because it's warm though. I also quick chill bottles overnight or even in the freezer for an hour or so and have never had a problem or noticed a difference in carbonation levels.

+1 This. I primarily do English styles, drink straight from cellar temp, rarely chill those styles, and they are carbed.
 
In the beginning, I was samplig everything. Warm wort, cooled wort, 2 weeks fermented wort, 2 days bottle conditioned wort. If you don't try green beer you wont know what green beer tastes like. Having said that, you have to realize that it won't taste like your final beer until:

1. It's completed fermenting
2. The yeast have cleaned up after themselves
3. It's been carbonated
4. It's been chilled 24-48 hours to assist the co2 in moving back into suspension.

These days, with a rather impressive pipeline, I can afford to leave my beer in primary fermentation 4 weeks, bottle conditioning 4 weeks and chilled 24-48 hours. That's because I brew every month and always have something at each of those stages, but that's just how I roll.
 
Just to clarify, the CO2 is not ever "all in the headspace" and needing to be dissolved into the beer. The CO2 is already in solution because the whole system is closed and under pressure. The only thing that chilling for a few days to a week or so before you open one will do is settle out particulates that could act as nucleation sites for the CO2 and cause it to come out of solution faster. I have opened warm bottles, and they absolutely do not lose all of the CO2 immediately. It will come out of solution much faster because it's warm though. I also quick chill bottles overnight or even in the freezer for an hour or so and have never had a problem or noticed a difference in carbonation levels.

Not all the CO2 is in the head space and they don't lose all their pressure when you open them, but a cold beer will have more CO2 in solution than a warm beer, and it will stay in solution longer. As you noted, that's why warm beer foams up more than cold beer. It's also the same reason you have to add oxygen back into the wort after boiling. But, as you also noted, you don't have to leave them in the fridge more than a few hours to accomplish this.
 
Wow, this has to be one of the most widespread myths in homebrewing. Probably because it's not really that big of a deal and letting your bottles chill a little extra time isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just bothers me personally (maybe I'm a little OCD?) when incorrect information is stated over and over again.

Just to clarify, the CO2 is not ever "all in the headspace" and needing to be dissolved into the beer. The CO2 is already in solution because the whole system is closed and under pressure. The only thing that chilling for a few days to a week or so before you open one will do is settle out particulates that could act as nucleation sites for the CO2 and cause it to come out of solution faster. I have opened warm bottles, and they absolutely do not lose all of the CO2 immediately. It will come out of solution much faster because it's warm though. I also quick chill bottles overnight or even in the freezer for an hour or so and have never had a problem or noticed a difference in carbonation levels.

The solubility of gas in a liquid is dependent on temperature and pressure. Lower temperatures allow more CO2 to be dissolved, but higher pressures also allow more CO2 to be dissolved (this is why you can carbonate a keg at room temperature by simply increasing the pressure). When the yeast consume the priming sugar, all of the CO2 that is going to be in the beer is in the closed system of the bottle. This puts the beer at a high pressure, allowing it to have 2.5 volumes (or so) of CO2 dissolved in it at room temperature. When you chill it down, the decrease in temperature makes the beer want to absorb CO2. But as soon as it would absorb CO2 from the headspace, the pressure in the system would decrease causing the beer to not be able to hold more CO2. It's always at equilibrium. So the beer contains about the same amount of dissolved CO2 no matter what temperature it's at.

Anyway to answer the OP's question, 3 weeks is not a set in stone number. You really just need to leave them at room temperature long enough for the yeast to consume all of the priming sugar and create all of the CO2 to carbonate them. But from my experience, that generally takes about 3 weeks.;)
First of all, what I stated is NOT MYTH! A lot of people here quote this guys book or that guys paper. I state my own personal observations over some 4 years now of brewing. Trying different times & temps, etc. The amount of priming sugar in solution & temperature matter. But the temp most of all, since the beer, between the head space & liquid try to reach an equilibrium in the gas pressure. The co2 is not dissolved in the beer just because you primed them & game'em time to sit at room temp. & that 5-7 days fridge time IS NOT just for carbonation. If you read the whole post, you'd see that's also giving time for any chill haze to develop & settle out. No, 3 weeks is not set in stone, but it's the average length of time it takes. Some of my average gravity pale ales are better at 4 weeks. It's not just carbonating, it's conditioning the flavors. And anything about kegging cannot be compared to bottling, which we were discussing. Some beers get through the process faster than others, some slower due to less than ideal conditions during that particular beer's brewing process.
 
Not all the CO2 is in the head space and they don't lose all their pressure when you open them, but a cold beer will have more CO2 in solution than a warm beer, and it will stay in solution longer. As you noted, that's why warm beer foams up more than cold beer. It's also the same reason you have to add oxygen back into the wort after boiling. But, as you also noted, you don't have to leave them in the fridge more than a few hours to accomplish this.

Right, after I posted I was thinking about this and I realized that some CO2 must come out of solution when you warm a carbonated beer from fridge temp (we'll say 38F) to room temp (we'll say 72F) in order to generate the increase in pressure that keeps the CO2 in solution at the higher temperature. So at 38F in order to have 2.5 volumes of CO2 dissolved in the beer, the bottle must be at 11.2 psi. That same bottle when warmed to 72F must be at 30 psi to have 2.5 volumes dissolved in it. I looked up the volume of headspace in a bottle and found that it is 25 mL. You would only have to add 32 mL* of CO2 to bring the headspace from 11.2 psi to 30 psi at which point the system would be under sufficient pressure to hold 2.5 volumes of CO2 in solution. So this 32 mL is coming from the CO2 that is dissolved in the beer. And 32mL/355mL(which would be 1 volume of CO2) equals about 0.09 volumes. So at room temp the beer would have 2.41 volumes of CO2. But, it will actually be less of a decrease than that because it would require slightly less pressure to hold 2.41 volumes in solution than 2.5 volumes, so less CO2 would have to come out of solution. Also the thermal expansion of the liquid as it warms would add some pressure which would also require less CO2 to come out of solution.

But the point is, there is a negligible difference in the amount of CO2 dissolved in a bottled beer at room temperature vs. fridge temperature.

*volumes of CO2 are as measured at atmospheric pressure which is ~14.7 psi. So if you added 25 mL of CO2 to the headspace that would increase the pressure by 14.7 psi. From that I extrapolated that 32 mL of CO2 would be needed to raise the pressure from 11.2 psi to 30 psi.

If you read the whole post, you'd see that's also giving time for any chill haze to develop & settle out. No, 3 weeks is not set in stone, but it's the average length of time it takes. Some of my average gravity pale ales are better at 4 weeks. It's not just carbonating, it's conditioning the flavors.

I did read the whole post, and if you had read my whole post you would see that I mentioned a couple of times and agreed with you that extra time in the fridge is beneficial to the beer to settle out particulates (which is why I said all of this doesn't really matter that much for practical purposes):

Probably because it's not really that big of a deal and letting your bottles chill a little extra time isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The only thing that chilling for a few days to a week or so before you open one will do is settle out particulates that could act as nucleation sites for the CO2 and cause it to come out of solution faster.

I also agreed that 3 weeks is the average length of time it takes for bottle conditioned beer to be ready to drink:

But from my experience, that generally takes about 3 weeks.

And anything about kegging cannot be compared to bottling, which we were discussing.

Yes, it can be compared. The laws of physics don't change between a keg and a bottle.
 
In my view, kegging is different insomuch as you're controlling the amount of co2 introduced to the keg. In bottling it's how much you prime it to & the amount of headspace versus temp & time. And it's more than particulate matter settling , it's also dissolved proteins & such. But the part about nucleation sites is definitely true & easy to see. My statements definitely had to do with dissolved gas versus compressed gas in the head space & time/temp. So on that we can agree. It just bugs me when my personal observations & experiences are misconstrued as something out of someone's book or otherwise incorrect when that's how it goes for me.
 
In my view, kegging is different insomuch as you're controlling the amount of co2 introduced to the keg. In bottling it's how much you prime it to & the amount of headspace versus temp & time. And it's more than particulate matter settling , it's also dissolved proteins & such. But the part about nucleation sites is definitely true & easy to see. My statements definitely had to do with dissolved gas versus compressed gas in the head space & time/temp. So on that we can agree. It just bugs me when my personal observations & experiences are misconstrued as something out of someone's book or otherwise incorrect when that's how it goes for me.

Yeah, kegging is definitely different. But the pressures vs. temperatures vs. levels of dissolved CO2 are going to be the same for both. We just don't ever worry about the psi measurement in a bottle because we don't control it that way.

And when I said particulates I was also talking about proteins that come out of solution and form particles that settle out. Sorry I wasn't super clear about it.

I didn't mean to say that you were wrong in your observation that the beer is better after 5-7 days in the fridge. I agree that time in the fridge is beneficial to most beers. It was just the reasons behind it that I was getting at.
 
Wow, this has to be one of the most widespread myths in homebrewing. Probably because it's not really that big of a deal and letting your bottles chill a little extra time isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just bothers me personally (maybe I'm a little OCD?) when incorrect information is stated over and over again.

Just to clarify, the CO2 is not ever "all in the headspace" and needing to be dissolved into the beer. The CO2 is already in solution because the whole system is closed and under pressure. The only thing that chilling for a few days to a week or so before you open one will do is settle out particulates that could act as nucleation sites for the CO2 and cause it to come out of solution faster. I have opened warm bottles, and they absolutely do not lose all of the CO2 immediately. It will come out of solution much faster because it's warm though. I also quick chill bottles overnight or even in the freezer for an hour or so and have never had a problem or noticed a difference in carbonation levels.

The solubility of gas in a liquid is dependent on temperature and pressure. Lower temperatures allow more CO2 to be dissolved, but higher pressures also allow more CO2 to be dissolved (this is why you can carbonate a keg at room temperature by simply increasing the pressure). When the yeast consume the priming sugar, all of the CO2 that is going to be in the beer is in the closed system of the bottle. This puts the beer at a high pressure, allowing it to have 2.5 volumes (or so) of CO2 dissolved in it at room temperature. When you chill it down, the decrease in temperature makes the beer want to absorb CO2. But as soon as it would absorb CO2 from the headspace, the pressure in the system would decrease causing the beer to not be able to hold more CO2. It's always at equilibrium. So the beer contains about the same amount of dissolved CO2 no matter what temperature it's at.

Anyway to answer the OP's question, 3 weeks is not a set in stone number. You really just need to leave them at room temperature long enough for the yeast to consume all of the priming sugar and create all of the CO2 to carbonate them. But from my experience, that generally takes about 3 weeks.;)

Didn't say anything about headspace. Did say that the cold helps the CO2 dissolve. And when you crack one open at colder temperature, it stays dissolved longer. When it's warm, you change the pressure, and CO2 that was dissolved into solution becomes undissolved. Which CAN cause gushing and excessive head formation (especially in highly carbonated beers) and certainly can leave a beer flatter than you think it should once more of the CO2 is driven off right away. Experience has shown that time and time again.

Not sure what myth you think I'm espousing, cause you basically said the same thing I did, outside of saying that a couple hours is all you need to chill it (and if that's all you're looking to do, then sure, you're probably right).

+1 This. I primarily do English styles, drink straight from cellar temp, rarely chill those styles, and they are carbed.

It's all part of carbonating to style. Some styles are meant to show more carbonation than others. And meant to be served at difference temperatures. English beers should be warmer, and lagers colder for a number of reasons. English styles are carbonated lower, served warmer, and to many folks (say, the average BMC drinker) they can seem pretty much flat. The "cask" beer coming out of my polypins is served ~58 degrees, primed to 1.2-1.4 volumes, and compared to the average bottle or keg beer, would seem very very flat. But that's appropriate to style and it's the way I like it.

But the point is the carbonation you'll get pouring a beer at 70 is not the same thing you'll get at whatever the ideal serving temperature, unless that temperature is also 70 degrees. Hence the chilling.
 
Putting all 'forum science' behind, in my short experience (brewing one year now), I find that my beers are carbonated within 5 days. I have never experienced what I have seen in youtube videos where you crack open the beer and the undissolved co2 causes the beer to erupt. I usually can wait about two weeks till I crack one open, and it is usually disgusting at that point. I then slowly drink them as they get better, and I usually only have about a six pack left or so when they finally taste great. With the poor fermentation temperatures I provide I say for most of us newbies you would want to wait 5 entire weeks before drinking your beer. The yeast at this point has completely dropped out at room temp and would be a good time to move to the fridge for drinking. My stuff pours crystal clear.

I also want to add I usually carbonate around 3 vols, which is fairly high, and again I never have had to chill a bottle to make the co2 dissolve. I am not saying that it is not true, I am just saying I have never experienced a problem.
 
Cold doesn't help CO2 dissolve. Beer will carb faster at a higher temperature if set at the correct pressure for the volumes. What cold does is help retain the CO2 that is already in suspension. The reason a beer gushes when opened warm is because very little of the CO2 has escaped into the head space because equilibrium has been reached. Once the bottle is open that system is disrupted causing the gusher.

The exaggeration of the CO2 in the headspace having to be reabsorbed either during the natural carbing process or in a warm bottle of already carbed beer is a myth. It does exist, but on a very small scale. By the time a warm bottle of beer chills in the fridge, equilibrium will have been reached. It doesn’t take days.

Chill haze, clarity and green beer is a whole different topic.
 
In my experiences, even beers that have been in the bottles 5-7 weeks will foam up easily & the carbonation it does have dissipate quickly. 5-7 days in the fridge gives better carbonation & head retention in my experience. Regardless of arguments as to how this happens, it does happen every time that I've seen. They say that a cold liquid absorbs co2 more readily than a warm one. My experiences seem to back that up.:mug:
 
I never said the beer would be flat when I give this advice. But the carbonation is of lower quality. There's not much of it & it goes away quickly after pouring. I probably should've put it that way. Force carbing is not bottle carbing. In bottles, you're dealing with a finite amount of co2. Chilling at least a few days gives more carbonation & it lasts longer as well. Less foaming when pouring into a glass too.
Sorry, but 2.5 volumes of CO2 is 2.5 volumes of CO2. Once the carbonation level is reached, it doesn't matter if it came from bottle conditioning or force carbing. If you're having a problem with gushers in freshly carbed and chilled bottles, you should be looking somewhere else in your process for the reason.
 
No. I've always bottled. I've thought about kegging, but it's more stuff to clean all the time. So I stick with bottling.
 
They say that a cold liquid absorbs co2 more readily than a warm one. My experiences seem to back that up.
. . . I've always bottled.
I keg and have been able to compare carbing warm and cold with the correspondingly correct pressure. My experience is in line with this . . .

This is one of those topics where a lot of myths are propagated because gas laws are boring and technical. Here are a couple others: CO2 dissolves into colder beer faster.
or CO2 dissolves into cold beer more easily.

I think those are both derived from the fact that colder beer requires less pressure for the same content of co2 to be dissolved. In theory, if you were to compare the carbonation rate of 40F beer and 70F beer, both set to the same "volumes target" pressure from the charts, the warmer beer should carb faster if left to sit for "set and forget". CO2 dissolved at the surface of the beer would diffuse to the rest of the beer faster and leave the delta between the head pressure and dissolved CO2 higher.
 
The time in the fridge will help with the latter, but it does something more important, and that's dissolve the CO2 into solution. Otherwise all the CO2 rushes out when you first open the bottle, depending on the carb level you may get gushing, you'll probably get more head than you should when pouring, and then the beer in the glass will seem flatter than it should.

Didn't say anything about headspace. Did say that the cold helps the CO2 dissolve.

If the CO2 isn't dissolved in solution, then the only other place it could be is the headspace which is why I thought you were saying it needed time in the fridge to absorb the CO2. I guess that's not what you were meaning though, so I apologize for including you.

Not sure what myth you think I'm espousing, cause you basically said the same thing I did, outside of saying that a couple hours is all you need to chill it (and if that's all you're looking to do, then sure, you're probably right).

The myth I'm talking about is when people say that the CO2 is in the headspace and not in solution when the bottle is at room temperature, and that it takes several days at cold temperature for it to be absorbed into solution. I see people saying this almost every day on here, not to mention the fact that it was said 3 times in this thread alone.

And when you crack one open at colder temperature, it stays dissolved longer. When it's warm, you change the pressure, and CO2 that was dissolved into solution becomes undissolved. Which CAN cause gushing and excessive head formation (especially in highly carbonated beers) and certainly can leave a beer flatter than you think it should once more of the CO2 is driven off right away. Experience has shown that time and time again.

But the point is the carbonation you'll get pouring a beer at 70 is not the same thing you'll get at whatever the ideal serving temperature, unless that temperature is also 70 degrees. Hence the chilling.

Right, we definitely agree on that. When the beer is opened at room temperature, the CO2 will come out of solution much faster leaving less carbonation more quickly and possibly causing it to gush. But I'm not talking about opening up room temperature beers. The misinformation that I'm talking about is when people say that if you don't let it chill for several days then the CO2 won't be in solution at all and the beer will be flat. Which is not the case.

As I said before, I do think that chilling bottles for several days is a good idea to help settle out particulates and proteins. Which is why this isn't really a super important issue. I was just clarifying the reasons behind this beneficial practice.
 
Two weeks bottle condition at room temperature produces extensive carbonation for my beers. I then put the first batch of bottles I will try in the fridge for a week longer to condition them. Has worked for me so far....have not had a low carbonation beer with this method though I need to reduce the volume of CO2 a bit for my next batch.
 
I never said the beer would be flat when I give this advice. But the carbonation is of lower quality. There's not much of it & it goes away quickly after pouring. I probably should've put it that way. Force carbing is not bottle carbing. In bottles, you're dealing with a finite amount of co2. Chilling at least a few days gives more carbonation & it lasts longer as well. Less foaming when pouring into a glass too.
 
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