How long will it take to prime a bottle of beer?

At the end of my last brewing run I started kegging beer and drinking it within the next couple days and have learned that some beers taste damn good right away. I just bottled my first batch in a long time and am just wondering how long it will take to carbonate?


I ask because all resources of brewing techniques that say two weeks is what is needed to carbonate & age. I just want to carbonate....I dont drink enough beers to blow through the batch so by the time im done with it it will have aged plenty.

I just want to drink it now!

P.S. I'm in Chicago for three weeks and only have 2 of my 22oz'ers on me so I don't want to waste it by opening it too early and it not tasting well since I only have 2 chances, but at the same time I dont have transportation every day so would like to relax with one.

i usually try the first one 4 days after bottling

Carbonation is very temperature dependent. 1-3 weeks typically at 70F.

My experience is that the beer gets properly conditioned in 3 weeks.

At fermentation temperatures, I would say 2 weeks for corn sugar, 3 weeks for DME.

But higher or lower temps can have a big influence.

I usually crack the first bottle after 2 weeks, just 'cause I can't stand waiting longer than that.

cweston said:

At fermentation temperatures, I would say 2 weeks for corn sugar, 3 weeks for DME.

But higher or lower temps can have a big influence.

I usually crack the first bottle after 2 weeks, just 'cause I can't stand waiting longer than that.

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Thanks for your input, but everyone is saying that temps can change that well im assuming you mean higher temp, faster carbonation?

generally yeah, but there are limits. If the stuff is stitting in the sun at 110 degrees thats no good. Best to let it sit at room temperature (65-85) for a couple weeks. Mine are usually fairly flat after 4 days, but I just want to see how it turned out. They get MUCH better after a few weeks/a month in the bottle.

Some beers can go through a range of bizarre flavours before they're carbonated in my experience. Remember yeast don't just produce alcohol and CO2, they produce some weird and wonderful by-products and off tastes which usually get re-metabolised. I would wait at least 10-14 days at normal room temps. Some Belgian breweries keep their bottles in warm conditions so this process is expediated, you could try that.