Hello! Conditioning ale?

[Mross]

Hi all, I’m new to him brewing but have found this site so useful, and wanted to join the convo.

I have my first batch of ale going, and will bottle this weekend. I only have two spots to bottle condition - one at fermenting temp of ~67-68, or a small boiler room that is regularly 85. Seems like the general opinion on bottle conditioning temp is mixed. Any recommendations? Should I do the 67 or 85 temp?

Thanks in advance! Happy to join the convo.

 

[mac_1103]

I bottle condition all of my brews in the unfinished part of my basement, which stays pretty close to 65F year round. I suspect that they would carb faster a few degrees warmer, but I don't think I would go to 85.

 

[Mross]

Thanks so much mac - I was guessing this would be the case. What have you done at 65 duration wise? 2-3 weeks at that temp? Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[mac_1103]

I let them go two weeks minimum. And then I try to give them a week in the fridge. I know it's hard...

A trick I learned from another poster here... fill one or two used small plastic water bottles. Leave a good bit of headspace in these, then squeeze the bottles until the beer is at the lip and cap. As the bottles carbonate, they will regain their shape and headspace and get hard. That way you know when your beer is carbed without having to open a real bottle to test.

 

[govner1]

I rarely bottle my beer but I do keg condition once in a while and leave the keg at room temperature. 68°F- 70°F. Usually I leave it for 10-14 days.

 

[T Murph]

Dido to what @govner1 stated. Then hold in the fridge for week.

 

[NSMikeD]

I posted this in another threads, it's a pretty good rule of thumb from the home brewers assoc. ferment 2 weeks and bottle a for 2 - 4 weeks, all at 65°- 80°.


you can tweak this a whole bunch of ways but for a beginner this is a good rule of thumb to follow while your journey delves deeper into fermentation and what yeast does and how it impacts taste.

 

[Mross]

Thank you all so much! These are aweosme tips - really appreciate it. I just tried the water bottle trick! Thanks for recommending! Waiting 2-3 more weeks sure is hard hahaha (I definitely tried some of the left over brew that couldn’t fit in a bottle haha

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

Back when I bottled, it took 2 weeks in my 65 degree basement to finish. Sometimes it was fully carbed , but the flavor seemed to improve sometimes as I gave it another week. Cool and dark is the rule of thumb.
If you find your are anxious to see how it turned out, it helps to establish a pipeline, so you have more beer in other stages to focus on. If you have 3 beers to be thinking about, you won't be staring at the calendar waiting for that one batch to be ready to drink.

Welcome to the hobby, and always remember Charlie Papazian: "Relax, don't worry, have a home brew".

 

[Mross]

Back when I bottled, it took 2 weeks in my 65 degree basement to finish. Sometimes it was fully carbed , but the flavor seemed to improve sometimes as I gave it another week. Cool and dark is the rule of thumb.
If you find your are anxious to see how it turned out, it helps to establish a pipeline, so you have more beer in other stages to focus on. If you have 3 beers to be thinking about, you won't be staring at the calendar waiting for that one batch to be ready to drink.

Welcome to the hobby, and always remember Charlie Papazian: "Relax, don't worry, have a home brew".

You’re so right… I think my house is turning into a small beer factory lol. Thanks for the advice, makes total sense. Started my third batch last night!

 

[T Murph]

Sounds like you are falling hard into the rabbit hole of homebrewing. You stated your house is turning into a beer factory, lol you have only just begun.

 

[Mross]

Sounds like you are falling hard into the rabbit hole of homebrewing. You stated your house is turning into a beer factory, lol you have only just begun.

Hahaha ohhhh wow… I believe you!!!