Just opened my first 1 week old bottle..

And the carbonation seems really harsh on the palette. The beer tastes really good, but the carbonation bubbles seem big. What's the cause of this/fix?

let it condition longer. 3 weeks after bottling is usually a good time. I've experienced the same thing

maybe someone can correct me on this, but it has to do with the particles in beer that can act as nucleation sites for the co2. eventually the larger ones settle out, and smaller particles are used as nucleation sites which cause smaller bubbles. or something like that. whether or not I'm way off on that, I have noticed the difference

JoePro said:

What's the cause of this/fix?

Click to expand...

Not opening your beer after only 1 week.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

You don't need to do anything but give it more time.

thisone said:

I've experienced the same thing

Click to expand...

Seconded.

It's OK to open a few bottles early though.... write down some taste notes about when you try them, and do it again every few weeks. It's interesting (for me at least) to see how the time changes the flavor and character of the beer. You'll eventually find the time when the flavor's peaked, and can use that info the next time you make that recipe.

_JP_ said:

Seconded.

It's OK to open a few bottles early though.... write down some taste notes about when you try them, and do it again every few weeks. It's interesting (for me at least) to see how the time changes the flavor and character of the beer. You'll eventually find the time when the flavor's peaked, and can use that info the next time you make that recipe.

Click to expand...

This is exactly why I opened one-- for SCIENCE!

Thanks to all in this thread!