Can I carbonate bottles at 80F?

[jcsweat]

Tasted a porter I bottled two weeks ago, relatively low carbonation. I'm not surprised, and I'll taste it again in a week, but this needs to be ready to drink on April 2nd. Will they carb faster at about 80F (or higher?) and if so, will that cause any negative flavors or other bad effects to the beer? It tastes pretty good at this point, I would hate to mess it up now. But I also want to make sure it's good and carbed by the 2nd.

 

[BendBrewer]

How long did you refrigerate the bottle before opening it?

 

[jcsweat]

about 9 hours. Would that make a difference? I know prolonged chilling helps to clear haze, but was unaware of any effect on apparent carbonation. As an aside, I was impressed with the clarity of the beer. First time using irish moss as a fining agent, I'll definitely be using it more in the future.

 

[BendBrewer]

You first need to produce the Co2 at warm temps (room temp).

Then, you need that Co2 to be absorbed into solution and that happens at cooler temps. 40 ish and below. Without absorbing all the Co2, you get a nice POP when you open it but a beer that is kinda flat. That Co2 didn't get absorbed and jumps out of the bottle as soon as you open it.

Throw some in the fridge and check them in 3-4 days.

 

[jcsweat]

Understood. I'll definitely chill the beers starting on maybe the 30th. In the mean time, would carbing at 80F hurt them in any way?

 

[BendBrewer]

Understood. I'll definitely chill the beers starting on maybe the 30th. In the mean time, would carbing at 80F hurt them in any way?

I used to do mine at 75. I don't see how 5 more degrees would make much difference.

Is there a Hiss or Pop when you crack it open? The carbonation might be there and just needs to be absorbed.

 

[jcsweat]

There was a definite hiss, sounded about the same as opening any commercial beer. Almost no head though, but definitely carbonation on the tongue. Like I said I'm not surprised it's low at this point, it's only been 2 weeks and I only added enough sugar for 2 volumes of CO2. Just making sure carbing at a higher temp won't have any effect. I just want them to be good and carbed by April 2.

 

[Malticulous]

CO2 is already absorbed for the most part. It's is produced in the beer. Once there is some pressure it just stays in solution. It's not like force carbonating. Chilling only helps a little bit. The biggest impact comes from the bite of the carbonic acid that forms after it's carbonated.