will it be drinkable by New Years Eve?

I just bottled my first lme kit today, an american red ale from brewers best. I left it in primary for 5 days, before moving to secondary for 10 days more. I am hoping to be able to crack a few open on New Years with the wife. Does anyone have any advice on whether or not it will be drinkable by then, or is there a way to accelerate carbonation without risking taste issues?

Also, i did notice my beer was rather cloudy in the bottle. Will this settle out at all, or will the cloudiness be an issue I will have to deal with. I didn't know about fining agents such as irish moss @ the time I brewed, or I would have gone that route. Will definitely be using fining agents in my IPA which will be brewed tomorrow night.

Lastly....I absolutely love having found this site. The fountain of information to be found here is amazing...if not sometimes overwhelming. This site gets addictive almost as quickly as home brewing itself, lol. Revvy's bottling thread made my day go soooo much easier today. Much thanks.

Joe

It will be a little young, but it will definitely be enjoyable!

It MIGHT be carbed by then. Keep as close to 70 as possible, higher is better than lower in this case. They will likely have some carb, but won't be all the way there just yet. From everything I've read the rule of thumb is 3 weeks bottle conditioning.

Your beer will clear at least some in the bottle, the longer you wait the clearer they will get. If you have issues with cloudiness even after in the bottle for months then you could search cold crashing.

Good luck!

Temperature control is my thing (hvac) so i am wuite sure I can keep it at 70 with no problems. I had thought 3 weeks was the rule of thumb from what i read on here, so thanks for the confirmation, but a visit to my lhbs today to pick up another kit and some irish moss led to a conversation with the owner who said everything will carbonate just fine in 10-12 days.

Frankly, I trust what I read on here everyday a bit more that what the guy making a profit on me says

From my experience it should be carbed up after 7 days. My first extract kit I just flat couldn't wait so I decided to crack one after one week to see what it tasted like (I thought eh i have 47 more so wasting one won't be a big deal). The beer was carbed and drinkable, however it tasted like it had a shot of vodka in it. It was an amber ale.

I agree with tmurph6. I like many new brewers couldn't wait to taste my first homebrew. I had made an IPA, and it was pretty good after a week in the bottle, but a few weeks later it was even better. In fact now if I bottle I will still test one after a week or so just to see the progress of the beer, good luck.

I am in the same boat! Brewed up a Two Hearted Clone on Saturday, but still have to dry hop (on Sunday)...looks like I won't make the cutoff!!

jjward101 said:

is there a way to accelerate carbonation without risking taste issues?

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Stash it somewhere ~ 75F and it may make it. That temp. won't harm it at all, but will allow the yeast to be a little more active in fermenting your priming sugar.

Even then, most of the CO2 produced will be in the bottle headspace and will have to equalize between the liquid and headspace(it balances out after awhile--Henry's Law)

So, if you get a big pop and low carb--it needs a little longer. Good luck.

My guess is it'll be "mostly" carbed after a week at 70F, and especially at 75F (though I probably really wouldn't go to 75F with it, except maybe just a few bottles of the batch). The beer will get better after another week or two or three, but you'll have enough carbonation to have some head. No reason not to drink a few.