Carbonating/Conditoning

What I've been doing is letting the bottles carbonate and then leave them for w weeks to condition. Is this okay? Do I condition the beers first and then bottle them?

Also while it conditions in the bottle what temperature should it be kept at? What's best for both phases, I've heard different answers.

Also, is secondary fermentation really necessary for ale or wheat beer?

A7X said:

What I've been doing is letting the bottles carbonate and then leave them for w weeks to condition. Is this okay? Do I condition the beers first and then bottle them?

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Bottle Carbonating and Conditioning happen at the same time. Just leave it in the bottle at about 70*F for 3 weeks and then chill to drinking temp for a few days.

You're good to go after that. Nothing else to worry about except perhaps dropping a bottle and watching the beer run across the floor! LOL

A7X said:

Also, is secondary fermentation really necessary for ale or wheat beer?

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Forget the secondary except when adding something to the beer like fruit. wheat is ale.

A secondary fermenter is not necessary unless adding something to the beer or ageing. However, I would always leave the ale in primary for at least three weeks to condition it, maximizing flavor, before bottling.

So 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks in bottle?

A7X said:

So 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks in bottle?

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I go 2 and 2 and that works for me .... but most my beers are under 1.060 ... if I do think it still needs more conditioning time after 2 weeks bottled I usually give it 2 more weeks before I have another ... but that usually only happens on dark beers for some reason... cheers

Yup, that's a good rule of thumb (3 and 3).

A7X said:

Also while it conditions in the bottle what temperature should it be kept at? What's best for both phases, I've heard different answers.

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While in the active phase of the ferment you should keep the fermenter cool to limit the off flavors and fusel alcohol that too fast of ferments produce. Once that is over, usually 3-5 days, you can let the beer come to room temperature as this helps the yeast with their cleanup and begins the conditioning. While in bottles you want to keep this temperature until they are carbonated at least but it doesn't seem to hurt to store them at this temperature either. I have some that have been at room temp for over a year and they are very good yet.