carbonation after 7 days:is it possible?

[t-bag]

i have an english pale ale sitting in my closet and i was wondering when carbonation will take place. ive been told two weeks is good but im just curious if there would be any fizz after only 7 days in the bottle? also will it be noticeable?

 

[jldc]

You may well have some fizz after a week. It's not for certain, but why don't you try one bottle and see?

 

[jmiracle]

7 days it's drinkable, it's not carbonated but not totally flat either...it's good to experiment, chill one down and drink it--for science!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Possibly - unfortunately it's impossible to give a definitive answer because there are so many variables that influence carbonation. I have seen full carbonation after as little as five days, and in other cases it took over three weeks. Your best bet is to put a bottle in the fridge overnight after a week and taste it.

 

[Budzu]

It's strange how short carbonation can take sometimes. Some of my ales have taken 2 weeks or slightly more to become fully carbonated. Some beers take only days... One thing that surprised me greatly: I just bottled a lager that I kept in the low 40's for like 6 weeks. Used czech pilsner yeast. It was fully carbonated in only 4-5 days :O It didn't taste as good as it does now though. Which brings up this point:

Important thing to remember is that you aren't only carbonating when you bottle, you are also conditioning. Conditioning usually takes longer than carbonation. Let this process happen, it improves taste greatly.

I say open a bottle early, ideally as its first carbed (after 5-10 days), then wait another week and see how some conditioning affected your flavors.

Cheers!

 

[Edcculus]

The suggestion says it takes 2 weeks for carbonation and conditioning. That doesn't mean you can't try it now. Use it as a learning experience. Try one now, then try one after 2 weeks, then after 3. Mark the differences in taste and carbonation. Find a time period that works with your taste.

 

[Greyhound]

C'mon, crack one open. You know you want to. I'll bet you get a "pfft" and some bubbles in the glass and the satisfaction of knowing that no matter how good it is, the next one will be even better.

 

[brian_g]

My first couple of batches I tried to cheat and taste them early. In my experience, two weeks is the minimum, three weeks recommended. I've tasted them on the 9 day mark, and they just weren't done. The bad thing about tasting is that every beer you taste early is one less beer you will have that's finished. They say the best bottle of beer is your last one. So if you want to taste them early, it's your beer, but I think after you brew a few batches you'll realize it's not worth it.

 

[Grinder12000]

Totally possible without a doubt - might not taste very good but it can be carbonated. I've had a few that pour perfect heads after 1 week. Tastes pretty freaking green also!