Is it carbonating?

Is there a way to tell if your beer is carbonating without actually opening one? I opened one about 3 days after bottling (yeah, impatient, I know) and there were just some soapy bubbles at the top. Now I'm 7 days away. When I shake it some bubbles form, but they did that before. there is also a good amount of sediment in the bottle. I don't know if it had that already, dark beer and dark bottles.

anyway, is there any way to tell? I don't want to open and waste another one.

In glass, no. Some people like to fill a plastic soda bottle, so they can use it as a pressure gauge.

The only sure way to know is if you are certain you added sugar to carbonate and keep the bottles in about 72-74F range for a couple of weeks.

With that said, if the temps fluctuate to the low side, say 70F then the carb process will take longer. If the temp rises to about 76F then it will take a shorter time to carbonate.

Many of us will do as you did...3 days...patience, Grasshopper. Let the mountain come to you!

I "usually" (notice I didn't say "never") let mine sit a minimum of 1 week before I touch my first bottle, followed by another 4 day wait if I think that will suffice.

Yeah, I definitely primed it. I used DME though.

I thought it would get easier to wait, but it hasn't.

Start on another batch. <smiles>

I've made 3 more batches waiting for my first to carbonate opened my first today after a week. It is carbonated but no heavily. When I do a pore into the center of the glass it has about a 1/2 inch head on it. I can't wait for it to be done so I can have a couple of bottles of at one time instead of just a sample. Waiting sucks.

david_42 said:

In glass, no. Some people like to fill a plastic soda bottle, so they can use it as a pressure gauge.

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I did this with my first batch, and I am glad. It kept me away from the beer for just over a week, because I knew that the process was working, and the plastic bottle was firming up. When I cracked my first, it was nicely carbonated and had a nice fine head, a little over 1/2 inch on it that trailed on the glass nice as I drank it. carbonation got better with a couple more days (10) and beer quality was substantially better.

It is hard to wait......but it is worth it!!! I kept some of my current favorite store bought on hand in case of emergency. In the future, I will drink some of my finished product

Yep I do the same, A 1 litre pet bottle to physically test for carbonation then 3 x 12oz to test at weekly intervals to save cracking open the full size ones. plus i can getmore 12oz'ers in the fridge.

When priming with DME the process can take a month if the temp is low (68-70).

I stress out about priming too. I brewed my 6th batch yesterday and found that the waiting - and the getting good carbonation - gets easier with each batch. I think a half to 3/4 inch per bottle is decent carbonation. Maybe I just don't like Burperbrau.

If it tastes good, then let it sit in the fridge for a while. It will mellow out and get better. Those hops need a chance to settle down so you don't get "bitter beer face" when you drink.

I like "bitter beer face" when it's 'cause it's hoppy. But after two bottled batches (I'm still waiting on the pumpkin because I broke down and tried one and it wasn't to standard), I have to say, waiting makes it better. Chill. Chill a homebrew, or a good store-bought. Drink it. Chill again. Repeat as necessary.