how to tell if bottles are carbonating?

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If you take a bottle and hold it up to the light so you can see through it, then tip it fully upside down and back upright, you will see several large air bubbles floating through the beer. A carbonated beer will also have very fine bubbles form and float to the surface.

This is not an indication that carbonation is complete or levels or anything like that. But it is a fine check to see if you are making progress.
 
Open one and if there is a phffft it is carbing.

Should only take 1 week to tell if it is in a 70 degree room.

Plus - you get to drink one then
 
some people fill one 12oz pet soda bottle so they can tell by touch.

I really like this idea, can you just use the same screw cap and everything? seems like a decent way of getting a ballpark estimate.

also, do the 22's take longer to carb than the 12's?
 
1. Pretty sure, never tried it.

2. Varying opinions on this, I'm of the camp that 12oz of a mid range OG ale finishes about a week before a 22 oz.
 
There should be a slight bubbling on the cap, it being pushed out.
?? I don't think thats true. I've bottle conditioned a lot of beer. I can't specifically remember the pressure ever bubbling the cap out. I don't think it even happened on a batch I over carbed and the bottles exploded.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have 2 cases of bottle conditioned beer at home if this needs to be proven. I'd hate for a new brewer to see this and think his bottles weren't carbing up though.
 
This will probably get some interesting replies. I noticed as my bottles have pressurized while conditioning that the "pitch" of the bottle has gone up when I tap on one. Probably due to the strain on the glass from the pressure.... Not a method that would work if you're tone def, or even a non-musician....
 
I use three methods...
1.)After a couple days open a bottle and you should hear psstt
2.)Hold the bottle up to a light and flip it upside down you should see some bubbles
3.) There should be some "stuff" at the bottom of the bottles

I always like to bottle a couple of old corona bottles it's easier to see bubbles and "stuff" at the bottom..also when I brewed my first batch I had a beer from it every couple of days to see were the carbonation was and the taste difference it was interesting to see how the taste got better over the days and as a first time brewer it was a good learning lesson...
 
open one up and pound it. If you burp, then it is carbed. If not, wait another week and repeat.
 
?? I don't think thats true. I've bottle conditioned a lot of beer. I can't specifically remember the pressure ever bubbling the cap out. I don't think it even happened on a batch I over carbed and the bottles exploded.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have 2 cases of bottle conditioned beer at home if this needs to be proven. I'd hate for a new brewer to see this and think his bottles weren't carbing up though.

Yeah, I never noticed that either but if I did I would be afraid to open or drink it.
 
I've heard that a bubble on the sealed cap means you might be developing a bottle-bomb...

Makes sense. Excessive pressure causes a bulge in the cap, then BOOM!
 
some people fill one 12oz pet soda bottle so they can tell by touch.

German home brewers came up with a different idea:D

Glass bottle carbonation monitor by Rosebud
Rosebud_fertich1yn0.jpg


PET bottle version by Tauroplu
tauroplu_K640_mano.jpg


Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
the caps should definately not be bulging out, good sign of a bomb

Just look for the yeast at the botom or just try one
 
The only time I've ever seen the caps bulge is when I over-carbed.

Fortunately I didn't have any bombs. I just started drinking before it had a chance!
:D
 
If you want to use a plastic bottle but don't want to get an actual PET beer bottle, go for the plain sparkling water bottles or something like that. Assuming you want to actually enjoy the beer in your test bottle once it's carbed without having it taste like cola or root beer. Pop bottles tend to retain some of the flavor of what's in them.
 
This will probably get some interesting replies. I noticed as my bottles have pressurized while conditioning that the "pitch" of the bottle has gone up when I tap on one. Probably due to the strain on the glass from the pressure.... Not a method that would work if you're tone def, or even a non-musician....

This is very cool, and it works. I have a newly bottled pumpkin ale and a summer wheat that's been in bottles for about two months, the fully carbed wheat bottles definitely have a higher pitch when you tap them.
On a side note, if comparing the pitches of two beer bottles they should probably be the same temperature. The "ting" of a cold fully carbed bottle sounds a lot like an uncarbed warm bottle.
 
This is very cool, and it works. I have a newly bottled pumpkin ale and a summer wheat that's been in bottles for about two months, the fully carbed wheat bottles definitely have a higher pitch when you tap them.
On a side note, if comparing the pitches of two beer bottles they should probably be the same temperature. The "ting" of a cold fully carbed bottle sounds a lot like an uncarbed warm bottle.

Probably because the pressure inside the bottle has gone back down slightly from the cold. Neat trick, I'll have to try this.
 
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