Issue with Bottling???

[Twtr25]

On Saturday I bottled my first batch of homebrew, a red ale. I didn't want to bottle all of it because I have a kegerator, so I only bottled 12 and kegged the rest.

Obviously the keg was force carbonated. However, I used Brewer's Best Carbonation Tablets for the bottles. I put 4 tablets in each bottle, which according to the package called for a medium amount of carbonation.

Here I am on Day 5, and looking at the bottles, I can't tell if they're working or not. Any suggestions, hints, tips, etc.? I read somewhere that the bottles shouldn't be opened for at least 10 days...but since I'm new to this, I wasn't sure if that was correct or if I should be seeing more in the bottle itself. Thanks!

 

[Krane]

Just wait it out. If you put the tablets in it will carbonate with enough time. 3 weeks is the standard waiting period. There are no definitive signs I know of to check it is working. Only thing I like to see is some yeast on the bottom of thd bottle. Sugar + yeast = carbonation. No reason to worry.

 

[ronclark]

Two weeks is the minimum time I've seen mentioned for opening bottles. As mentioned above, I would go with at least three weeks if you can stand the wait to allow for better conditioning.

 

[RM-MN]

Dang, why don't you open just one and find out. My beers all carbonated within the week but they didn't taste particularly good yet. You should try one and see why we keep telling people to wait.

 

[Twtr25]

I totally understand the sugar + yeast = carbonation. But doesn't the yeast get left behind when it's bottled? Or is there still yeast in the beer?

I left it in the primary for 7 or 8 days, then moved it to a secondary, then bottled.

 

[Revvy]

What do you expect to see when you look at your bottles? You can't tell whether a beer's carbed or not by looking at it.

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."

 

[unionrdr]

I remember the Munton's carb tabs recommending 4 tabs as well. But even if the beer racks fairly clear,there's still enough yeast in suspension to carb them up.