Bottle conditioned beer

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

Many canned kits will advise bottling the beer after one week or after the krausen has subsided. This is not a good idea because the beer has not yet gone through the Conditioning phase. At this time the beer would taste a bit rough around the edges (e.g. yeasty flavors, buttery tones, green apple flavors) but these off-flavors will disappear after a few weeks of conditioning.
credit John Palmer

I bottle from 4 to 8 days and after 24 hours a clear layer of yeast can be seen on the bottom of the bottles. So the beer is conditioning in bottle. Don't understand why John Palmer is against early bottling.

ps please no comments about bottle bombs,I have explained before how I avoid this......

 

[NTXBrauer]

If you consider what the yeast is doing around 4-8 days, it may explain why Palmer and others are against bottling too soon. There are way too many factors to consider here with regards to the exact time it takes for fermentation to complete (yeast strain, temperature, style of beer, condition of yeast, starter/no starter, O2 level, sugar concentration..etc), but you can get the picture.

After yeast cells have completed the vigorous growth and a 'high krausen' has occurred, the beer enters what is considered a stationary or conditioning phase. It is during this time that the beer begins to mature and flavors balance out. The yeast reabsorbs the diacetyl and acetaldehyde (by products from fermentation), as well as hydrogen sulfide continues to escape.

This conditioning phase does not normally begin until the most active fermentation is over, which can be hours to 3 or 4 days depending on the factors mentioned in the first paragraph above. Consider the fact that this conditioning phase may not be completed for another week or more, if you are bottling at 4 days, then you could completely be bypassing the conditioning stage, which would only improve on the flavor profile of your beer.

While I cannot speak for Palmer, this is a reason I keep my beer in the primary for at minimum 2-3 weeks before cold crashing and either bottling/kegging. A great read on this process is the book "Yeast, A Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation" by White and Zainasheff. I gained alot of knowledge on this amazing organism from this read. Cheers!

 

[cooldood]

I let mine sit in the fermenter 2- 3 weeks before bottling

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

but after 4 days there is a lot of yeast in the bottle so surely conditioning occurs in bottle, in the uk we even describe it as bottle conditioned beer

 

[NTXBrauer]

True, to some degree. The yeast will actually go back to consuming the fermentable priming sugar added for carbonation, and stop "as we say" cleaning up after themselves. So the removal of any residual diacetyl and acetaldehyde will take a back burner while the priming sugar is consumed, and the removal of hydrogen sulfide will cease, as your bottle is sealed.

If you then put the bottles in the fridge, following the normal pattern of 2-3 weeks, the yeast may not have had the time required to go back to cleaning up and conditioning would be minimal before they go dormant and settle to the bottom.

IMO, the longer the bottles remain at room temperature, the more conditioning will take place, but this does not fully equate to the conditioning that would have taken place in your fermentation vessel during the stationary phase.

You might split your next batch into 2 separate ones. Follow your normal process for the one, and leave the other for another week or two in the FV before bottling. Give them another 2-3 weeks and compare them side by side. This is the only way for you to experience the difference. Taste is of course subjective, and either way, it will boil down to what 'you' prefer and consider the better tasting beer, as you will be the one drinking it. Cheers!

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

Nixbrauer - thanks for that. I do not put my bottles into the fridge. I never knew hydrogen sulphide occurred in beer, and have never tasted it it any of my beers.