Whats the reason for leaving it in the bottles for 1 week or 2 weeks?

So this is my first brew on my own and im wondering after I bottle it (a wheat beer) how long do I have to wait or how long should I wait before I can open it and drink it? Whats the reason for leaving it in the bottles for 1 week or 2 weeks?

You add priming sugar to your fermented beer so the yeast can ferment again only this time with the cap in place the CO2 is captured and absorbed into the beer. You likely will need at least 2 weeks for decent carbonation and generally 3 or more is the best. Store the bottled beer in the low 70's for optimal carbonation.

Hope this helps.

Just what I was looking for. Thank you.

My first batch just went into bottles a week and change ago. My plan is to try one every week, just to see how it changes -- I don't know what "green" beer tastes like, so it's an experiment. Besides, I have two cases of the stuff, so I'm not going to miss one or two.

The tasting at week one was great. One, I was relieved that it didn't taste like swill -- it was actually really good, and had already carbonated. It had an interesting taste that I can only describe as the "bottom end" of hops flavor. I'm curious to see if that shakes out in the next couple of weeks.

And of course, batch two is already in the primary.

that is what you say now but before you know it you will have drank all of it and have only one beer that actually tasted like it was suppposed to. Trust me you are not missing much if you dont try one every week, it is just going to give you head ache thinking "why does my beer not tast right". 3 weeks ferment 3 weeks in bottle every time. That magic liquid you are making used to be water remember, it needs time to become truely "magical".

Make sure that it's in a warmer spot, too -- low 70's is key.

I forgot that I put a bottle in the fridge after a week (meant to try it, ended up going home for the week instead) and came back to it being REALLY green. No head, not-quite-finished flavor, all that stuff. I tried a bottle that had been left out of the fridge in comparison (I was worried about the seals being messed up) and it was perfect. So yeah, temperature and patience make a difference.

For a while I also tasted one each week. Keep a log and note how they taste. It is interesting to see how a beer developes. Now I wait three weeks before popping the first one. But I definitely don't regret the "experiment" as Oceaneer put it.

Because that's 1 or 2 weeks closer to the 3 weeks it needs to carbonate...

Sing it with me now...

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...

No shorter...no cooler.

Your beer will thank you.