Goofy Question!

I have bottled, put the bottles back in the box to keep out of the light, put a towel over them and are sitting at about 69 degee temps. Question is, how do you know when they are fully primed and carbonated enough to drink? I know the longer you wait the better the taste, so how long should you wait before popping one open? It has been 6 days now since bottling......I am dying to put one in the fridge to chill and pop.....but want a good flavor and carbonation when I do so........ :cross:

Those who wait 7 days on their first batch are rare. It might have just a bit of fizz now...it'll be much better in 4 or 5 days. At two weeks it should be getting where you want it...all depending on the style you brewed of course.

I always open one at 10 days. That's just all I can wait, but I've never waited less. I'd say 85% of the time they're well carbonated. Another strategy I've used is to jointly brew batches with a friend in the neighborhood and just ask him how carbonation is going since he's generally more impatient than I am and starts popping caps within a week.

I opened my first batch at about 7.5 days, and it was well carbonated, though I believe that I use more priming sugar than others, 1 cup of corn sugar. They have been just getting better since that day, and I only have 22 12oz bottles left from 48!!

Okay, well I might wait a little longer then......Dang, killing me!! What I have bottled now is a Nut Brown Ale.....used 3/4 cup priming sugar!!!

Thanks for all the input brew buddies!!!

Give it until kickoff on Sunday and then crack one open!

From asking around, 3/4 cup is more to the norm. I got a cup from a friend that brews. I was drinking some of his, and remarked that I would like mine to be a little more bubbly. He had used 3/4, so I up'd the dosage, so to speak.

bottled my first batch last saturday.... cant wait to open one up. its been pretty easy for me though, ive been working 3p.m.-11p.m. all this week. cant really drink before work, and too tired afterwards.

All of my batches have been carbonated before two weeks, but they always get better after being in the bottle longer. It usually takes about a month in the bottle before that happens. Your patience will be rewarded.

I bottled a pumkin beer about a week and a half ago. It took so long to ferment that I thought a good three weeks would be a reasonable conditioning time. I opened one yesterday It was carbonated, but I think the flavor needs to mellow a bit yet. Still tasty though.

Patience. The horrible patience. It'll pay off.

At 69F it could take a couple of weeks to get the carb level your want. Move it to a warmer (72-75F) room.

I agree with most posts here most specifically Bill. I usually try to wait at least 2 weeks before I open to taste. But I have found as most have that it just gets better the longer you wait. The Nut Brown Ale, which I didn't think I would like all that much, has turned out to be one of my favorites!! I am going to try the Monkey's Paw Brown Ale in Papazian's book this weekend. Hope it turns out! I was amazed at how much BETTER beer tastes after a couple months. It was incredible! Hope all this helps!!
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Tim

That's why you need to keep brewing! The more you brew, the more you get excited about NEW BREWS and forget about OLD BREWS. I get more excited about trying new brews because by the time they're ready to crack, I've had 4-6 premie brews and want to try something different.

By the time you're bored with PREMIE BREW, OLD BREW will be much tastier and have an entirely new flavor. You can break up the monotony with NEW NEW BREW and NEW BREW (which is almost ready to drink).

Keep brewing, keep drinking, and keep us informed! Today's yummy premie is next month's SUPER-YUMMY.

Maybe this is why most homebrewers have a gut.

Great advice from everyone!!! I currently have my Christmas Ale in primary and it is still bubbling away after 5 days in there!!! That is the one I am most excited about trying, cause it smelled and looked so very tasty!!! YUMMMMMMM........almost like candy, but with alcohol.......

I just couldn't resist looking into my bottled Nut Brown last night, and as I tilted the bottle to the side I noticed there was a cloudyness coming from the bottom of the bottle as I held it to the light.....what is this? Just still settling and conditioning?

GABrewboy said:

I just couldn't resist looking into my bottled Nut Brown last night, and as I tilted the bottle to the side I noticed there was a cloudyness coming from the bottom of the bottle as I held it to the light.....what is this? Just still settling and conditioning?

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Yep. Depending on how clear it was when you bottle it, it could still be settling out some. Also, as the yeast consuming your priming sugar will flocculate out of suspension and settle to the bottom. When I do a good job at getting a clear beer I usually have a yeast cake at the bottom of each bottle after carbonation about as thick as a thin layer of paint.

Hmmm.....and you pour that yeast cake right into the pint glass as well?

some people go ahead and drink it, I think. But most people leave that last 1/4 inch in the bottle along with the sediment. Just pour slow and let that neck catch the stuff.

GABrewboy said:

Hmmm.....and you pour that yeast cake right into the pint glass as well?

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If it pours out, I drink it. It's all good for you. But what I've found is that when you get a layer settled to the bottom like a layer of paint it tends to stick there and you can pour the whole beer with minimal sediment getting in.

This is beers at home that have been in the fridge. When I take them somewhere in a cooler they tend to get stirred up a bit, but I don't let it bother me.

Interesting.....so how do homebrews get this yeast in them but store bought doesn't have it?? Is there a way to not get this or what??

Also, anyone got a receipe for 3 Floyd's Scottish Ale? Would be looking for an extract receipe since I am not at the point of doing mashes just yet..

Most commercial places filter their beer so there's no yeast to worry about floating around.

GABrewboy said:

Interesting.....so how do homebrews get this yeast in them but store bought doesn't have it?? Is there a way to not get this or what??

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There are plenty of beers in the store with yeast in them...check out the several threads from yesterday regarding 'stealing' yeast strains. Any thing labeled as "bottle conditioned" has yeast in it, and some that aren't labeled as such have yeast in them. I imagine commercial brewers do a better job at clearing their beer and using just enough yeast to carbonate (since yeast is money) resulting in very little sediment.

One way to not get yeast sediment resulting from priming is to force carbonate in a keg. I imagine the mass commercial brewers filter and pasteurize their beer after fermentation is complete, then force carbonate it, then bottle/can, but I don't really know.

Very interesting.....learn something new everyday coming on this site!!! And I have been drinking brews from all over the world for about 13yrs now.......

Still looking for that 3 floyds Scottish Ale receipe though......???

GABrewboy said:

Very interesting.....learn something new everyday coming on this site!!! And I have been drinking brews from all over the world for about 13yrs now.......

Still looking for that 3 floyds Scottish Ale receipe though......???

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I know I mentioned this earlier...make 5.5 gals and just try to bottle 5. Leave the extra in the primary.

Keep all your racking clean. Try not to transfer any yeast. The less you transfer the less you'll bottle. There's still yeast in there to carbonate with.