It takes 2-3 weeks to carbonate in bottles, at room temp 68-74F, also depending on how much viable yeast is in the bottles.Its almost been 1 week since I bottled my brew to allow for carbonation. Ill leave it for 2 weeks in total however my question is:
Bottle carbonation for 2 weeks and then place in fridge? If so for how long?
Or is it 2 weeks total including fridge time for example: bottle carbonation process at room temp for 12 days and then place in fridge for 2 days?
Then putting the carbonated bottles in the fridge for 6-12 hours is enough to get your first taste, but with longer times (2-5 days) the carbonation gets finer, more integrated, giving a thicker, denser head/foam too. The beer also clears more with longer fridge/cold storage times. Pick up and handle bottles gently, don't shake em around or lift and tilt. You don't want the sediment on the bottom to mix back in.
For the best pour, pour gently and slowly, in a steady stream, along the inside of a slightly tilted glass. At the very end of the pour you may pour into the middle of the beer, creating a little more head. Don't do a hard pour directly onto the bottom of the glass, unless you want an impressively large head and little carbonation left in your beer. As you pour, no glugging, no tilting back. As soon as you see a trail of sediment appear in the neck, tilt the bottle back quickly, to prevent the sludge getting into your glass.
Enjoy that gorgeous homebrew beer!