How long for carbonation phase?

[p40whk]

Just bottled my first batch of American wheat yesterday and the instruction sheet didn't say how long to leave it before drinking. Was wondering what the average wait time is?

Since this my first attempt at brewing I have that thirsty impatience most new brewed have!

 

[duboman]

Keep the bottles at 70+ F and leave them for 2-3 weeks to carb and condition and then sample. If it's not quite done go another week and so on............

 

[unionrdr]

Yup,that's the long & short of it. My Berlin wheat took 3 weeks,as do most of my ales. But sometimes 4 weeks is better.

 

[joepfohl]

I second both what unionrdr and duboman said. My first beer (about to do #3 this upcoming weekend) took about 18 days to reach peak carb in the bottles. My second beer was perfect at 14 days. I would try tasting at each week and seeing how its coming. You know you'l be anxious to give it a taste!

- j o e

 

[p40whk]

I bottled two cases +4 so the 4 extra will be my sample beers.

Thanks guys!

 

[reverendj1]

In addition to what others have said, if you don't know, you should also give the beer 2+ days in the fridge before drinking. CO2 dissolves in liquids at lower temps, so you need to give it a little fridge time before testing.

 

[unionrdr]

I typically give'em 5-7 days fridge time. A week in there is good to give any chill haze that forms by the time they chill down to settle out. Getting co2 into solution,even cold,isn't a quick process. A week will give finer bubbles I good head. But two weeks gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation. I learned these things over a couple years of experimenting. The two week bit from some beers left in the fridge for a week after labor day last year.