Carbonation

[chandlerbayou]

Hi everyone I am new so forgive me.

I bottled my first batch 4 days ago and put the right amount of carbonation drops into the bottles but I just tried a beer and it seems not as carbonated as store beer. Am I too impatient and need to wait longer for carbonation to take effect?

 

[Ace_Club]

Bingo! Usually, full carbonation takes anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks after bottling to develop. Though, with some beer styles, it can take up to 3 months!

Be patient, make sure you are storing your bottles at room temp to help them develop carbonation and try another bottle in ~3 weeks.

 

[chandlerbayou]

Wow what a great site. Thank you so much for your reply and so quickly.!! Cheers from Australia

 

[chandlerbayou]

Do I need to shake the bottles periodically to get the carbonation going as they are aging?
Sorry if the question is stupid...

 

[Ace_Club]

No, there is no need to agitate the bottles.

 

[Revvy]

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.


Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

 

[chandlerbayou]

Thanks very much for the info Ace and Revvy much appreciated!