Bottle carbonation time.

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Sosh

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Hi,

I was just wondering how long it really takes to for yeast to process the priming sugar after bottling - ie. how long before the bottle has carbonated. I would guess a couple of days, but have always left it longer. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
i'm kind of impatient at times with the waiting. i've drunk bottles after two or three days (not so good) after a week (getting better) after ten days (almost there) after two weeks (can see the finish line) and after three weeks (about ideal). i've also noticed each bottle really does it's own thing and is on it's own schedule and the few that do manage to last a month before they are consumed taste the best.

two weeks is really needed in my opinion to get the minimum amount of carbination i desire in a beer.
 
at least two weeks for 3/4 cup corn sugar used for priming. those were my best results when i bottled. 3 was even better ( that was w/ 2 stage fermentation too).
 
2-3 weeks is about usual if the temp is about 70F.

You should also give each bottle a spin while in the case. Just grab each cap and spin it twice. This will start a small tornadic effect which will aid in clarifying your beer by steering the yeast toward the bottom. :D
 
One thing that affects conditioning times, in my experience, is how long the brew sat in secondary fermenter, how high a gravity the brew is, or if it was lagered or otherwise cold conditioned. Basically, the longer it has been sitting after active fermentation has stopped, the more alcohol in the beer, and the colder the fermenter has been stored, the longer it will take for the yeast to re-activate and consume the priming sugar. 2 weeks works fine for a regular gravity ale that has only been in secondary for a few weeks, but for a strong brew that has been aging for a month or two, it will take quite a while. If you are dealing with an extreeme case, like a barley wine that has been aging for a long time, you might want to pitch a bit of powdered yeast at bottling to insure that there are enough active yeasts to get the job done.
 
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