Conditioning times

[schmurf]

I'm often a bit confused about how long I should let my homebrew condition before I drink it. I know it differs by things like the strength of the brew, colour, hoppiness etc. Does anyone have any good guidelines regarding conditioning time? Be it by ABV, style or anything else. (I usually keg btw)

 

[Ninoid]

For beers up to 6% ABV and bottle carbonation minimum is 5 days on room temperature and 3 on fridge. Ideal, week on room temperature and one week in fridge.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I like everything go a minimum of 10-14 days in the bottle warm before they hit the fridge unless it is a NEEPAH I want to turn ASAP. I am not sure they are surefire guidelines but I find anything above 8% add a week or two, obviously styles you want to age can go months.

 

[brownni5]

No real guidelines of which I am aware. I kegged a Kolsch 3 weeks ago and it still hasn't stopped clear. An APA? Might be good a week after force carbing. My low gravity Saisons? Totally different (and better) beers 8 weeks post bottling.

 

[OnePlate]

One very generalized guideline I've seen for ales often is one week per 10 points of original gravity from grain to glass. For very light beers or maybe a NEIPA you could probably knock a week off that but for beers with complex grain bills and higher gravity beers I think the rule holds up well.

For lagers there might be a similar guideline but I haven't seen anything.

 

[Dland]

Lagers tend to benefit from at least 4 weeks cold conditioning (ie lagering) after being crashed, and heavier ones even longer.

I like to let ales condition cold and carbonated for a couple of weeks too.

 

[kh54s10]

Talking about bottles? I never try one before 2 weeks. At 2 weeks some are carbonated, some are not. ALL have tasted better at 3 weeks or longer, even my IPAs. But dark, heavy beers, while carbonated might not taste best for months. I did a Russian Imperial Stout that I tried once a month it was very harsh for 6 months, then mellowed. Peak flavor was reached at a year and remained steady until I drank the last one at about 2 years.

 

[El Nino]

Depends on the ABV and what 'room temperature' is to you. Where I'm at the room temp is between 80-84 degrees, so 3 days for lighter beers and 5 days for medium strength beers (havent tried anything over 7.5%) usually gets full carb.

If you want your beers clear, a week+ in the fridge before drinking usually does it.

 

[cmac62]

I'm often a bit confused about how long I should let my homebrew condition before I drink it. I know it differs by things like the strength of the brew, colour, hoppiness etc. Does anyone have any good guidelines regarding conditioning time? Be it by ABV, style or anything else. (I usually keg btw)

Since you are usually kegging the only reason to bulk age (sit in a secondary or keg not cold) is to mellow things out. The does depend on strength of the beer and how much hops you want come out in the end. As you will loose hop aroma and flavor as it sits around. Of course there is also lagering. All beers will clear as they sit in the cold. My last Blue Moon Clone was bright clear by the time it kicked last night. So if nothing needs to mellow and your not to concerned about perfect clarity there is no reason to bulk age. Brew, ferment, crash, keg, carb and drink.

 

[MaxStout]

For most lower-gravity beers, 2-3 weeks at room temp, then chill in the fridge for a day or two (drives more CO2 into solution). You can try some earlier, but every bottle you open before it's ready is one less you'll be get to enjoy when it's at its best.

 

[JimRausch]

I always bottle one in a plastic soda bottle. Squeeze out the excess headspace and cap. When that's turgid, the rest of the batch is also carbonated. I have found that it does depend on the style, ABV, and the yeast strain used. Usually I plan on 2 weeks, although often the soda bottle is ready after 1 week. Then into the fridge for 2-3 days. But, bottled an IPA 2 days ago that I had used Kveik yeast on. That bottle is rock hard today. Time to put it in the fridge for a couple days before opening.

 

[smata67]

I'm often a bit confused about how long I should let my homebrew condition before I drink it. I know it differs by things like the strength of the brew, colour, hoppiness etc. Does anyone have any good guidelines regarding conditioning time? Be it by ABV, style or anything else. (I usually keg btw)

My pipeline usually runs dry (due to negligence and laziness) and so I'm keen to know EXACTLY when my beers are ready. That time is 3 weeks from bottling. I have often been disappointed trying beers at 2 and even 2 1/2 weeks to "beat the system," but 3 weeks seems to be the ticket. There is improvement from week 3 to 4, but 3 is "good enough" if you need to dig in and start enjoying the fruits of your labor.

 

[JimRausch]

Shoot. Thanks smata67. Looking at your post above I see the (I usually keg btw)
Schmurf- disregard my 'bottling discourse'.

 

[schmurf]

Thanks people. I'm getting a bit wiser for every reply!