Bottle Conditioning

[hawktrap74]

Hey guys i thought I would throw out this topic: How long shoould I bottle condition my brew? Some people I spoke with said a month some say two weeks. I would like to hear how long you guys do it for. Thanks.

 

[loopmd]

Under the right conditions, 2 weeks should be plenty. Your brew should be good to go by then. I have had some in the bottle, conditioning for up to a year. It definately smoothes things out a bit, the longer you can hold out. You will not get any more carbonation by waiting longer, as after the 2 weeks that's about all the carbonation you will get. The taste will be the big difference by waiting longer to pop the tops.

 

[uglygoat]

depends on numerous things. how heavy is your beer ie how many fermentables? how long did you let it ferment in the secondary?

in my limited experience, beers that have set for a month in the secondary are prety well good to go after two weeks in the bottles, but i have some higher gravity beers that still need about a month or two in the bottle, even after a month in the secondary.

 

[Tophe]

I would say as a rule of thumb, 2 weeks minimum. I like to taste one after 2 weeks and see how it is. Ive noticed that all of mine have gotten better, the longer you can wait.

 

[ryser2k]

What I do is leave them in storage to condition for 2 weeks, then take a few bottles out and refrigerate them to drink, but leave the rest in storage. Whenever I drink all the cold ones I go and grab a few more bottles. By the time I am finishing up the last bottles, they have been conditioning for a month or more. You can definitely tell the difference that time makes.

 

[wwgiese]

Hey guys i thought I would throw out this topic: How long shoould I bottle condition my brew? Some people I spoke with said a month some say two weeks. I would like to hear how long you guys do it for. Thanks.

Two weeks is usualy enough. I allways but a bottle in the fridge and then try it out before refrigerating several. You will find that once it is carbonated that refrigerating the whole lot and aging it in the fridge will give you a cleaner and clear beer that will taste a bit better.

 

[Brewman]

this is very easy...........

AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!

I have yet to drink a young beer thats is better than an aged one.....

my only problem is wanting to drink them now...... if you can hold out they will taste better

 

[hawktrap74]

WOW DUDE STAY OFF THE COFFEE AND DRINK SOME BREW. other than that how long is too long i want to give bottles for x-mas is that too long.

 

[Janx]

Depending on the style of beer, Christmas may well be too long to age. Most beers brewed with an OG of less than 1.060 are best drunk about 1.5-3 months after they are made in my experience. After that, you start to lose some of the fresh qualities of the hops and malt.

Now, if you make a special Christmas brew like a barleywine or Imperial Stout, then it may well still be green by Christmas. Even a really huge IPA could last that long, but in general, 9 months is a bit long to age homebrew. Beer is best served fresh (after allowing it to finish completely...say 6 weeks or so).

 

[homebrewer_99]

I saw a recipe for a Barley Wine yesterday that recommended it age a minimum of 5 years.

 

[Janx]

Yeah the newest catalog from Beverage People has a story about them tasting a 15 year old Imperial Stout. It is apparently the best thing ever and far outdoes the younger tastings.

You just wouldn't want to do that to a Pale Ale

 

[DragonTail]

Generally 2 weeks has been fine for me. As long as the temps aren't to low. I had a few batches that I had to put in a spare bedroom for conditioning over the winter because the basement was a little too cool. As for how long can you keep, I have been putting at least 2 bottles from each batch that I do on the side and keeping for at least 1 year before sampling. I haven't found a bad one yet.