some noob questions about bottling

Hey -

I have been all over trying to find some probably basic answers on the net (I know I know - I need to go buy some books!!) but I'm in the bottling stage right now and was wondering if you kind people could lend me a hand.

FYI I have three batches right now -
a) Magnus Royal - a Belgian triple
b) Lite summer ale
c) Likikoi (passion fruit) ale (and I have 7 gallons of this)

1) I have heard that you should always use dark bottles to bottle - is this true? I have a Belgian triple that I used old Redhook bottles for (because they look cool) and for the lite summer ale that I used old Becks and Heinekens for. I then have a Lilikoi (passion fruit) beer that I will bottle tomorrow and was wondering if I could use corona bottles (so I can tell the difference between them and because I have a ton of them) or if that is a bad idea.

2) I have heard that most beer should be ready after 2 weeks in the bottle. For my batches is that an OK time frame? I the recipe I have isn't a step by step so Im a bit lost.

Thanks so much!! Figured I'd be better off asking than just hoping

You really should just search the forums...these get answered all the time.

1. dark bottles block the most UV light which is what skunks beer. as long as you keep green/clear bottles out of the sun an preferably in boxes/cases...its fine.

2. most beer will be carbonated within 3 weeks of bottling. doesn't mean its aged to perfection though. the style of beer, recipe and ABV will dictate aging that is required for peak flavor.

Thanks! what I was having trouble finding was any guide to avg. bottle time by beer style. I had found the general 2-3 weeks but was wondering if there was a good reference so that I could try to be more precise.

Good to know about the bottles - also something I had read, but wanted to confirm.

I'm still in the first batch jitters and just want to try to get as much reassurance as possible - sorry to be reposting a lot of info that is out there.

Also, the temperature the bottles are stored it will greatly effect how soon they are carbonated. If you keep them at 75+ they can be ready in week, store them in the fridge and you could be in for the long haul

oh sweet tip! cool thanks man!

BerserkerBrew said:

Also, the temperature the bottles are stored it will greatly effect how soon they are carbonated. If you keep them at 75+ they can be ready in week, store them in the fridge and you could be in for the long haul

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That's some of the worst advice about bottling I have ever seen, sorry...but that's not a "sweet tip."

They may "Seem" carbed, but 1 week carbing and going into the fridge does NOTHING for bottle conditioning....That just means you are drinking fizzy green beer, not truly carbonated beer (there is a difference)...The CO2 doesn't even get a chance to reabsorb into the beer, let alone do anything about the greenness.

Carbing and bottle conditioning are natural processes that should never be rushed.

Read this, and watch the nifty video (the video shows the "false Carbonation" that some people think they have after a week)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=558191&postcount=101

And this tells a nice little story about the benefits of letting the yeast do some work instead of rushing them into dormancy which is what will happen if you fridge them after a week...Regardless of the temp you try to carb them at...

oh wow - ok thanks!

Tybalt said:

oh wow - ok thanks!

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You're welcome....

This is a game of patience...and trying to speed up what essentially is a living process; the life and reproductive cycle of micro-organisms (yeast), doesn't make for good beer.

Once you bottle, start another batch to take you mind off this one. Once you get a pipeline going, you won't want to speed the process up any.