Conditioning question

[Chillilight]

Hello,

fellow 'new' brewer here. Just joined the forum. I am trying to read as much as I can and have a few extract kit brews behind me. I bottle and have until now more or less done the following: ferment approx. 2 weeks (primary) at around 68. then bottle and wait (carbonation) for 2-3 weeks at as well 68.

One thing I am trying to understand is the CONDITIONING info mainly given in All Grain Recipes that I read. Ie. it says FERMENT 2 Weeks at 60.... then COLD CONDITION for 7 weeks at 37). I am setting myself up with a small fridge that can be temperature controlled.

The question is, do you bottle and let sit for 2 weeks at ie 64-68 for carbonation and then condition at said temps for several weeks or do cold condition first and then bottle? Maybe it is because I translate some info incorrectly.

 

[Jag75]

Hey , welcome to HBT !

Always go by yeast manufacturers preferred temps . I usually start out on the lower side of said preferred temp . Once your fermentation starts it raises the temperature. So if you pitch on the higher side you risk exceeding that max temp. Towards the tail end I let it come up to room temp (70f) for clean up.

Leaving your beer in the FV for 2 - 3 weeks will help with sediment issues in bottles along with using whirfloc. Once you bottle leave at that room temp for 2- 3 weeks then put one in the fridge for a day then crack it . If your carbination is good you can place them on the fridge . I keg normally but when I do bottle I only put a handful in the fridge and replace as they get drank .

 

[Julian Høstan Urrea]

Conditioning that long would be for lagers. You put the bottles out at room temp for 2 weeks then you put them in fridge to condition

 

[Chillilight]

Thank you both for your fast replies. Let me give additional info. The questions come from reading Greg Hughes book Home Brew Beer. An example is for instance Altbier (Ferment at 64) ; Conditioning 7 weeks at 37). I am unsure if the conditioning refers to the 'carbonation' phase or if this is something you do in addition. And if it is in addition, do you do that before bottling (and before the carbonation) or do you do it after (after the carbonation)? Reading the last post it is then AFTER carbonation?

 

[Jag75]

Conditioning is different then priming in that example imo. I do think some brewers here cold crash their beer before bottling then up the temp then bottle and carbonate. As a newer brewer I'd stay away from cold crashing . You have to have the right set up to combat o2 ingestion ( suck back) . Also stay away from secondary, risks aren't worth the reward .

Maybe someone here that cold conditions and bottles may be of more help.

 

[Chillilight]

Thanks Jag75. I read about Cold Crashing (near freezing temps) as well and I understood it to be something different than what I am describing. Specifically in the book I referenced... all recipes read FERMENT at ie 68 - which I understand)... but then the CONDITIONING Part is a mystery to me.. (I understood carbonation as conditioning at ie. 68)... but the recipes say ie... Altbier Conditioning 7 weeks at 37... or a Summer Ale Ferment 68... Conditioning 4 weeks at 54)...

 

[Julian Høstan Urrea]

Conditioning just means leave in a cool place to mature. When you bottle and rely on natural carbonation you need the yeast to be alive and well (not hibernating) at room temp, so it can eat the added sugar, so it can produce co2 in your beer. If you cool down the beer it won't carbonate because the yeast won't eat the sugars because its sleeping. When you cap a bottle you are trapping the co2 which the yeast makes when eating sugar inside the bottle.

I may have over written about it now. Hope you get the picture. Happy brewing.

 

[Julian Høstan Urrea]

So again. After fermentation is complete. You add sugar and trap the yeast and sugar inside the bottle with the cap. Then you leave itfor 2 weeks. In that time the yeast will have eaten the new source of food, aka sugar, and put co2 in your beer. Then you can put them in the fridge for conditioning. Also you can go ahead and try one when it's cold. And learn how much the beer transforms from the first day till the recommended 7 weeks

 

[Chillilight]

Thanks Julian. I got it ( let’s hope haha). I think I was thinking what you just described but was not sure... Tack.

 

[grbr]

Fellow beginner here. I am reading "How to brew" from John J Palmer. Here's what he says about cold conditioning (here speaking about types of maturation):

"The first type is the reduction of fermentation byproducts by the yeast, as described in the section above. The second type is physical clarification of the beer, that is, clearing it of excess yeast and haze, and this is what we call cold conditioning."

First type as I got it is maturation after the primary (high growth) fermentation is done. In this phase the yeast should eat most of it's byproducts.

Second type is cold conditioning where the beer temp is lowered by 1C per day, for a week or so. The goal is to put the yeast I hibernation mode and let the beer clear itself.

I did not found a clear statement about this, but I think cold conditioning must happen before bottling. Though, I think this info is there in the book for completeness and I doubt he recommends beginner home brewers doing it.

 

[mattdee1]

Thanks Jag75. I read about Cold Crashing (near freezing temps) as well and I understood it to be something different than what I am describing. Specifically in the book I referenced... all recipes read FERMENT at ie 68 - which I understand)... but then the CONDITIONING Part is a mystery to me.. (I understood carbonation as conditioning at ie. 68)... but the recipes say ie... Altbier Conditioning 7 weeks at 37... or a Summer Ale Ferment 68... Conditioning 4 weeks at 54)...

IMO, these guidelines are overly-prescriptive for a homebrewer. Why precisely 7 weeks at precisely 37? Why not make it a round 8 weeks at 35? Only the author knows for sure, but regardless, I'd bet my bottom dollar that it wouldn't make a lick of meaningful difference in the result of that Altbier or your enjoyment thereof.

I mean, I get it - the author of a book aimed at beginners is going to try to provide very specific instructions that can be followed to get reliable results, and those instructions definitely fit that bill. But sometimes I feel like these books lend a false impression that brewing is much more rigid than it actually is in terms of what types of processes and schedules can be used to achieve success.

Everybody has to start somewhere, but my suggestion would be for you to step back and understand what is "supposed" to be going on in each step, and then make temperature and time schedules that work for you rather than sticking to rote execution of dance steps listed in a book. I'm sure you plan on doing this with or without unsolicited advice from me, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

Get that beer out of the fermentor and into the bottles shortly after fermentation completes - 10-14 days is plenty in the vast majority of cases. For most beers, I found carbonation in the bottle to require no more than 1 week at room temperature (be wary of cold cellar floors, etc. which slow the process down). You can wait 2 weeks if you want, but I doubt much else is happening beyond 1 week.

At that point, you have a packaged, carbonated beer, regardless of what style it is or what yeast you used. From there, you're free to make whatever decisions suit the beer at hand. Some "conditioning" may be in order. For the altbier described above, I'm sure that 7 weeks at low temperature was primarily to encourage the yeast and proteins to drop out and make the beer look better. Other beers just taste better after a certain length of time. Still others (IPAs) taste best when they're really new. The point is - don't sweat the textbooks, you'll fall into a process that works for you.