Does bottling sooner create quicker or more carbonation?

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nasmeyer

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After the majority of fermentation is finished after 5-7 days, C02 bubbles continue to rise and slowly taper off within a few weeks (general assumption not based on any particular style or gravity) Knowing that fermentation was finished, if a beer was bottled while these bubbles were still rising say at 12-14 days of fermentation, would the beer carbonate quicker or have more carbonation due to C02 still present, as opposed to bottling the same beer at 4 weeks after the bubbles have tapered off or stopped completely?
 
If beer is bottled before it reaches final gravity which means there are still fermentables in it I'm not sure it will carbonate faster but you risk over carbonating and even worse, bottle bombs.

Final gravity will tell you when your beer is ready to bottle. Not bubbles.
 
Quicker, yes. I typically bottle at ten days while the yeast is still fairly active. If I bottle condition in the 80's it takes five days. Now in the winter my apartment is more like 65F, it takes 10-14 days.

The carbonation is a function of temperature, as more CO2 will be in solution at a lower temperature. That’s why priming calculators ask for temperature.

The evolution of CO2 bubbles is probably insignificant. Use a hydrometer to determine final gravity. They’ll keep bubbling for a long time. It’s worrying, but the hydrometer won’t lie. The conventional wisdom is the reading should be constant over three days. I have a precision hydrometer that easily reads within a half point, I do it over a day.
 
When beer ferments is naturally will have carbonation to a certain extend depending on it's temperature. Here's a chart from byo.

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1391122006.952068.jpg

You should let your beers have at least 2-3 weeks to complete fermentation because they will clean up byproducts of fermentation when they are done. The longer you wait the more yeast will flocculate but there will still be enough to carb your beer when you add priming sugar but may need a bit more time.

If you really are worried about leaving it out for a long time you could always add a tiny bit of neutral yeast to carbonate.

Edit: here is the whole article. http://byo.com/resources/carbonation


- ISM NRP
 
UK brewers who cask their ales habitually rack with 2 gravity points to go, for that natural conditioning. You need a Forced Wort Test to see when that is, of course.

Just had that nugget to impart.
 
If beer is bottled before it reaches final gravity which means there are still fermentables in it I'm not sure it will carbonate faster but you risk over carbonating and even worse, bottle bombs.

Final gravity will tell you when your beer is ready to bottle. Not bubbles.

I was trying to post my original question at a point where I knew my fermentation was over/complete, and was wondering if at that point (completed fermentation) would I get quicker or better carbonation bottling at 10-14 days, or waiting 2 more weeks after the C02 bubbles have tapered off.

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Sorry nasmeyer, my mistake. I suppose the only way to find out for sure is to give it a shot. Maybe bottle half the batch at 10-14 days and the rest after three weeks and determine if the earlier batch carbs faster and/or if you notice any flavor differences. :mug:
 
Trying to time final fermentation with bottling is tricky. Per Dan's post bottle bombs are a risk. Most of us let the beer finish out in the primary (3-4 weeks), then use Beersmith, Brewers Friend, or some other software to determine the right amount of priming sugar. The added benefit is the couple of extra weeks in the primary give the yeast time to clean up and improve the overall taste of the beer.
 
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