How Long to Bottle Condition in fridge?

[mooonshine199]

I'm on my 2nd Mr. Beer brew. The Cold Morning Maple Wheat. I fermented for three weeks, then bottled using Priming caps (5 per bottle). I tried one after two weeks and there was good carb, but some odd flavor- kind of sharp chemical tasting at first but not bad... so I let the bottles sit in the closet at 70 another week to this Saturday 3/31 to try to eat up some of that flavor.(will this help?) I read a lot of info saying I should then move them to the fridge for another 2 full weeks. My question is, and I understand the room temp conditioning process, however, what does the fridge/cold conditioning do? The yeast will go dormant and some things may settle- but what else does the time in the fridge do? Does anyone think I should see any noticeable change from 1 day to 14 in the fridge? Also, when bottling, after I put the prime caps and beer in, I let the caps sit loosely for about 15 minutes. The caps fluttered a bit as I progressed through the bottling, then I crimped them on. Is there any rules or advice on how long to let the initial Co2 push the air out of the top of the bottle? Is there a "too long" time before I crimp caps? Thanks for any advice!

 

[dragonbreath11]

Usually you should crimp your caps as soon as you fill them so as to avoid any wild yeast or bacteria contaminating your hard work. From my experience, cold conditioning will further mellow the beer and make it less yeasty and more crisp though the yeast will continue to assert its powers on the beer. Also I've found out that if my beer doesn't taste good when bottling, it may improve a bit, but I don't get my hopes up.

 

[Stauffbier]

I always fill all of my bottles and put the cap on loosely. Then I crimp all of the caps at once. If you sanitized everything good, this won't be a problem at all. Most beers will improve in taste if you let them condition longer than the initial 3 weeks it takes to carbonate. Most of my beers taste "eh" at 3 weeks but at 6 weeks they taste great! The reason it's better to keep them in the fridge for 2 weeks vs. 2 days is because it gives the co2 time to absorb into the beer, which will give you better head retention. It also allows things like yeast and other proteins and compounds to settle which helps the flavor.. Although, I'm very impatient and I usually start drinking them after 2 or 3 days of being in the fridge

 

[mooonshine199]

Thanks for the reply! Stauffbier, so those last couple bottled don't get any time really to vent air? Do your caps flutter as well? The head retention makes sense too-

 

[mooonshine199]

Update: So after initial fermentation of 3 weeks, bottle conditioned for two- threw two in the fridge for a day and tried them- and it was well- not so good. After the third week in the closet though, I put 4 more in the fridge with the plan to cold condition them another couple weeks. Well, I tried one after being refrigerated for only about 8 hours, and although it was cold, when I opened the bottle, there was WAY too much pressure in there- it wasn't a gusher, just seemed like there was too much pressure in the top of the bottle. This bottle was ok, but when I drank the next ones 2 days after being refrigerated, this time was definitely better! Excellent opening, no big pressure popping- actual head on the beer! Whew! Going to let the rest bottle condition in the closet another few weeks, and the fridge condition even longer- these are going to turn out great after all!! Thanks everyone!

 

[unionrdr]

I've found that 4-5 weeks at 70F is better for beers up through mid gravity in regard to conditioning as well as carbonation. 2 weeks fridge time not only gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation,but also gives plenty of time for yeast & chill haze to settle out clear. The yeast trub will also compact on the bottom of the bottom more,so you can pour off more beer before you have to stop.

 

[mastamind]

I've found that 4-5 weeks at 70F is better for beers up through mid gravity in regard to conditioning as well as carbonation. 2 weeks fridge time not only gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation,but also gives plenty of time for yeast & chill haze to settle out clear. The yeast trub will also compact on the bottom of the bottom more,so you can pour off more beer before you have to stop.

I usually let me beers sit at room temp in my closest in primary for 3 weeks and then in bottle for 2 weeks. I try my beer at 10 days just to see were the carb level is. From there I can judge how long I would like the beer to condition before I think it's worth trying again.

 

[homebrewdad]

Carbonation happens at room temps. In the fridge, you get little to no carbonation, as the yeast go dormant. What you do get is the headspace CO2 dissolved into solution, which gives you better head and better retention... as well as more consistent flavor.

 

[Genjin]

I follow the same procedure as mastamind. I test bottles until the carbonation level seems right and then cold condition. The longer you can wait the better like dad said. For me that usually isn't too long, but others are more patient.