Does carbonation in the bottle require refrigeration?

In a recent thread I noticed some advice that made me question what I thought I knew about carbing in the bottle. Basically after 3 weeks at 70 degrees in the bottle the other noob said he was going to try his beer after putting it in the fridge overnight. One of the follow up posts said that one day wouldn't be enough for the beer to absorb the CO2.

I thought that when bottle carbing it was the pressure created in the bottle during the 3 weeks at 70 degrees that caused the beer to carb. In fact, in Revvy's carbonation advice I haven't noticed any requirement for additional time in the refrigerator to carb your beer. Am I missing something? Can I just refrigerate my beer after 3 weeks at 70 degrees and drink it 24 hours later?

That doesn't sound right to me and others will surely confirm. Bottles that are kept at 70 degrees will carb faster based on what I've read. Refridgeration will help to clear up the beer a bit.

Fishin-Jay said:

In a recent thread I noticed some advice that made me question what I thought I knew about carbing in the bottle. Basically after 3 weeks at 70 degrees in the bottle the other noob said he was going to try his beer after putting it in the fridge overnight. One of the follow up posts said that one day wouldn't be enough for the beer to absorb the CO2.

I thought that when bottle carbing it was the pressure created in the bottle during the 3 weeks at 70 degrees that caused the beer to carb. In fact, in Revvy's carbonation advice I haven't noticed any requirement for additional time in the refrigerator to carb your beer. Am I missing something? Can I just refrigerate my beer after 3 weeks at 70 degrees and drink it 24 hours later?

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Well, believe it or not, both bits of advice are right. Sort of!

What I mean is that the beer may be fully carbed at 70 degrees (plus other good things happen, like aging) but because cold liquids absorb co2 better than warm liquids, a freshly carbed up beer is more evenly carbed up if it's in the fridge at least overnight before drinking. After a while at room temperature it doesn't matter, as it will eventually equalize- but since we're always eager for that first beer, a full 24 hours is recommended so that the beer has even carbonation. Longer can be better- cold conditioning helps to further smooth out the beer and even out the combination. But it's not required- so go ahead and drink it after only 24 hours if you want to!

I'd suggest keeping some of the beer at conditioning (70 degrees) temperature, some in the fridge, and some to drink as needed. Then you can see what further room temperature condition can do, versus cold conditioning. Plus, have a supply to drink. Thank goodness there is about 50 beers in a batch!

Put one in the fridge for two weeks and leave one for only one night. The difference will be more than noticeable. You get a big hiss after opening the day-long refrigerated one and a little hiss out of the longer. They'll both be carbonated, but the cold conditioned one will have tighter beaded bubbles and it will stay in the glass longer. When I open my first carb-test bottles after only a day or overnight in the fridge, the gas comes out of solution real fast and leaves it kinda flat in the bottle.

It seems to me that the amount of beer contacting the headspace is very minimal. As you cool the beer, it absorbs the CO2 in the headspace, but it's not being mixed or agitated, leaving only Brownian motion to ensure that all the beer is evenly saturated.

I think more time is maybe not necessary, but usually better.

smizak said:

Put one in the fridge for two weeks and leave one for only one night. The difference will be more than noticeable. You get a big hiss after opening the day-long refrigerated one and a little hiss out of the longer. They'll both be carbonated, but the cold conditioned one will have tighter beaded bubbles and it will stay in the glass longer. When I open my first carb-test bottles after only a day or overnight in the fridge, the gas comes out of solution real fast and leaves it kinda flat in the bottle.

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Exactly where I was going to go.

Once the beer has gone through the secondary fermentation in the bottle, the longer you can cold store it the better.

i asked a similar question about 12 days ago and found out that their is no right answer - it has to do with who is brewing it.

revvy and others swears byt 3 weeks at 70 degrees or so

while recipes, other brewers, and books will tell you to cold condition

i dont know - think its just preference.

HomelessWook said:

i asked a similar question about 12 days ago and found out that their is no right answer - it has to do with who is brewing it.

revvy and others swears byt 3 weeks at 70 degrees or so

while recipes, other brewers, and books will tell you to cold condition

i dont know - think its just preference.

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No, everyone recommends conditioning at room temp.

The debate here is how long to chill AFTER conditioning.

oh, my bad

but not to start an argument or sound like an ass - john palmer and my recipe both say cold condition right after bottling.

i just put 1 of my beers in the fridge to gtive it a test run and see what its tasting like after 12 days

the yeast will not be active at 40 degrees F (fridge), therefore the bottling sugar will not produce co2. You need to keep the beer in the yeast temp range to produce co2 and then cold condition at a lower temp. The exception would be if you are kegging (force carb) after cold conditioning.

HomelessWook said:

oh, my bad

but not to start an argument or sound like an ass - john palmer and my recipe both say cold condition right after bottling.

i just put 1 of my beers in the fridge to gtive it a test run and see what its tasting like after 12 days

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I'm certain that John Palmer does NOT say to cold condition right after bottling. From howtobrew.com: Age the capped bottles at room temperature for two weeks, out of the light. Aging up to two months can improve the flavor considerably, but one week will often do the job of carbonation for the impatient, it depends on the type and viability of the yeast.

YooperBrew said:

I'm certain that John Palmer does NOT say to cold condition right after bottling. From howtobrew.com: Age the capped bottles at room temperature for two weeks, out of the light. Aging up to two months can improve the flavor considerably, but one week will often do the job of carbonation for the impatient, it depends on the type and viability of the yeast.

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I agree with Yoop, you're misreading Palmer, it's easy to do.

The only time in the fridge is AFTER beer is carbed, and yes, the longer you leave them in the fridge, the better the beer will be- you will eliminate chill haze, allow more stuff to fall out of suspension, and your yeast cake at the bottom will be tighter, so when you pour less yeast will end up in your glass.

You should see what a beer that you leave in the back of the fridge for 3 months is like.

Revvy said:

You should see what a beer that you leave in the back of the fridge for 3 months is like.

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QFT

I've got a Dubbel that was always a hazy mess, but I cracked one after about 7 months in the fridge and carefully poured it into a goblet..wow.

It looked like a ruby lens, perfectly magnifying everything through the glass. Beautiful.

smizak said:

QFT

I've got a Dubbel that was always a hazy mess, but I cracked one after about 7 months in the fridge and carefully poured it into a goblet..wow.

It looked like a ruby lens, perfectly magnifying everything through the glass. Beautiful.

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And I bet you could totally upend the bottle and no yeast would come out. Mine was that way.

So if for example you had 3 months to age a beer in bottles, would you suggest....
1. Condition @70° for 3 months, chill for 1 week or less, drink.
2. Condition @70° for 2 months, chill for 1 month or more, drink.
3. Something else.

-TH- said:

So if for example you had 3 months to age a beer in bottles, would you suggest....
1. Condition @70° for 3 months, chill for 1 week or less, drink.
2. Condition @70° for 2 months, chill for 1 month or more, drink.
3. Something else.

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Well, it would depend on the beer. Say it was a British mild. I'd bottle condition until carbed (perhaps 2 weeks), then put a few in the fridge and drink. If it was a Belgian triple, I'd put it at room temperature for 2-3 months, and then try one. If it was a barleywine, I'd put it at room temperature for a year.

If I had to give one schedule for every beer, and have it ready in three months, I'd go with room temperature for 8 weeks, and then chill for the remaining 4 weeks. Assuming the beer was carbed up and "done" before chilling.

One thing I like to so is to put a couple of beers in the fridge when they are carbed up, but keep the rest at room temperature. Chill for 24-48 hours before drinking, but keep the rest at room temperature and chill as needed. Beer ages faster at room temperature, so the cure for green beer is more time at room temperature. The flavor melds and mellows, and any roastiness smooths out.

Cold conditioning does improve clarity, but I don't have cloudy beers anyway so I don't usually bother keeping the beer in the fridge once it's conditioned and carbed up. Conditioning does occur at cold temperatures, too, but it's much slower. So, a cold green beer will take seemingly forever to age!

Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused. I'm only on my 3rd batch of beer (total amateur), but with my first two batches, I used a kit... both of which recommended putting the beer directly in the fridge after bottling. (First was a pumpkin porter to which I added my own roasted pumpkin and the second was a simple red ale). Both times, after two weeks, the beers were carbed sufficiently. I just bottled my 3rd batch 4 days ago(Peanut butter and jelly brown nut ale -- my own extract w. specialty grains recipe), and did the same thing, but I'm uber worried about carbonation. Now I read all this and am panicking because it seems that the general consensus is to allow it to carb at room temp and THEN put it in the fridge. Is it too late to take my bottles out now? What should I do?

brynia said:

Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused. I'm only on my 3rd batch of beer (total amateur), but with my first two batches, I used a kit... both of which recommended putting the beer directly in the fridge after bottling. (First was a pumpkin porter to which I added my own roasted pumpkin and the second was a simple red ale). Both times, after two weeks, the beers were carbed sufficiently. I just bottled my 3rd batch 4 days ago(Peanut butter and jelly brown nut ale -- my own extract w. specialty grains recipe), and did the same thing, but I'm uber worried about carbonation. Now I read all this and am panicking because it seems that the general consensus is to allow it to carb at room temp and THEN put it in the fridge. Is it too late to take my bottles out now? What should I do?

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Whatever happened with this? Carbonation times usually, among other things, depend upon alcohol content as well. If you have a 4.5% cream ale, that's going to carbonate and condition faster than a 12% RIS.

Kraeusening, the process of introducing a measured amount of freshly fermenting wort, or other sugars, into finished beers in order to carbonate it. To introduce the optimal wort for carbonation, pitch yeast into saved wort from your brew day and let it begin eating away. The key time to bottle is right after the yeasts lag-time and before it really takes off and metabolizes.

Easier ways to carbonate, like malt extract or yeast-less wort, experience a deficiency of oxygen and result in slow re fermentation and long carbonation periods. The popular corn sugar primer, however, has a very minimal oxygen requirement and metabolize very quickly.

*** All above info provided by Charlie Papazian, The Essintial Handbook: The Home Brewer's Companion. Harper Collins Inc. New York, New York; 1994.

I know this doesn't settle and warm or cold aging debates, but I think what is said here can show a lot about the different ways, sugars and methods of conditioning beer. Good luck to all!

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