Wait 3 weeks then open a bottle...
YEP...there's no "magical gauge"
You can bottle one of the beers in a 20oz soda bottle (they are usually PET plastic) and then squeeze it every few days to feel it firming up. Still should leave it at 3 weeks @ 70 degrees, but it can be fun.
+1 to the PET bottle method. I do that. Method:
1. Fill one clean & sanitized plastic bottle as normal (leave headspace just like a glass bottle).
2. Gently squeeze the bottle until the fluid is level with the lip.
3. Screw the lid on as tightly as you can.
4. Wait.
As the beer carbonates, the plastic bottle will swell to its normal shape. Once it's back to the normal shape - which generally takes a week to ten days for me - it's a matter of squeezing it. As pressure builds, it will be firmer to the squeeze. Note: it will never be as firm to the squeeze as pop. Pop is carbonated to a much higher level than we usually carbonate beer - 3-4 volumes (Coca-Cola's standard is 3.7 volumes). Incidentally, that's also the first bottle I drink.
Happy New Year!
Bob
I dub thee "magical gauge".
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