Low Foam after 6 Days in Bottle Conditioning – Normal?

[Strons]

Hey everyone,

I’ve had my beer in bottle conditioning for 6 days now, planning to leave it for a total of 10 days. So far, I'm noticing there's very little foam when I open a test bottle. Is this normal at this stage, or should I be concerned?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mac_1103]

How long it takes to bottle condition depends on a number of different factors, but six days would be on the short end in most cases. It's also possible to have a beer that pours with very little head for reasons that have little to do with carbonation/conditioning. I would let them go at least two weeks total before being too concerned.

Beyond that it's hard to say much without knowing more about your process, recipe, etc. "Normal" is kind of a loaded term. You will find authoritative sounding resources on the internet that say things like "Most table sugar-primed beers take 2-3 weeks to fully carbonate if stored between 65-70 degrees" but what it you didn't use table sugar and stored the bottles colder or warmer? If your bottles are below 65F/18C try moving them to a warmer location. And then make sure that you chill the test bottle down to 40F/4C before you judge it.

 

[MaxStout]

6 days is wishful thinking. If you keep them at room temp they might be carbonated in 10 days, but my experience has been 2-3 weeks.

Patience, grasshopper.

 

[BrewZer]

Let it ride.

 

[worlddivides]

I bottled for years and I pretty much never opened bottles before 14 days of bottle conditioning. There have been a few times where I filled all the bottles I had and there was maybe a little beer left over, so I put it into a PET bottle. In that case, I would usually open the PET bottle before full carbonation (largely because I didn't have high hopes for the PET bottle. It was just extra). And, as expected, after 7 days of "bottle" conditioning, it was usually only about half-carbonated.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I’ve had my beer in bottle conditioning for 6 days now, planning to leave it for a total of 10 days. So far, I'm noticing there's very little foam when I open a test bottle. Is this normal at this stage, or should I be concerned?

Assuming a "room temperature" of around 65F, your experience is normal.

@MaxStout, in #3, offers good advice. @mac_1103 (in #2) hints at the contents of a "master class' for home brew bottle conditioning.

Let it ride.

... and sample the next bottle at about 21 days from bottling day.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

with fresh yeast at bottling and stored in the mid 70s bottles can carb up rather quickly

however, under several other normal conditions, such as if the beer is high abv, the bottles are stored at cooler temps, the yeast was dormant for an extended period of time before bottling (i.e. 10+ several weeks in primary), it can take longer

I keg prime all of my beers nowadays with priming sugar and usually have a fully carbonated keg within 2-5 days. I ramp the temperature up to the mid 70s and shake the crap out of the keg a few times a day to keep the yeast in suspension though. My beers typically aren't in the primary for much more than a week (ales - lagers a bit longer) so the yeast is a bit more active. I never pitch fresh yeast in the keg.

I think bottles take a bit longer because of the smaller volume. So six days is nothing to worry about. Back in the day when I was a bottler, I'd often need to wait ~10 days.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

with fresh yeast at bottling and stored in the mid 70s bottles can carb up rather quickly

I'm still dong that (bottle condition with fresh CBC-1 at 75F for 5 to 7 days). Some styles may benefit from some additional conditioning time at ambient temperature.

I tried the various combinations of CBC-1 & temperature. Without the fresh yeast, 75F still took a couple of weeks to carb up.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

I'm still dong that (bottle condition with fresh CBC-1 at 75F for 5 to 7 days). Some styles may benefit from some additional conditioning time at ambient temperature.

I tried the various combinations of CBC-1 & temperature. Without the fresh yeast, 75F still took a couple of weeks to carb up.

Yeah I guess even adding dry yeast, that yeast isn't especially active immediately. So could take time. Are you rehydating it before adding?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Are you rehydating it before adding?

Currently, I am not rehydrating.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

Currently, I am not rehydrating.

Try rehydating and see if it helps speed things up

My understanding is that beer with alcohol is a much harsher environment than wort or water. Rehydration not as necessary for wort, but may be helpful when bottle conditioning

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Try rehydating and see if it helps speed things up

My goal with my bottle conditioning exBEERiments was to find a process where all the bottles would carbonate within about a week - even in the winter when my basement gets into the upper 50s. I have that process, so I'm not likely to explore any changes in the near future (12 - 18 months). eta: for some beer styles, the beer does get better with some additional conditioning time.

 

[MikeCo]

Currently, I am not rehydrating.

I always rehydrate bottling yeast with a couple ounces of water just to help it it mix into the beer evenly for bottling.

 

[mac_1103]

I always rehydrate bottling yeast with a couple ounces of water just to help it it mix into the beer evenly for bottling.

IIRC, he prefers not to because he doses individual bottles. Personally, I do rehydrate and also dose individual bottles by first mixing the yeast with a small amount of the beer and then adding the priming sugar. It's more arithmetic but less pipetting.

 

[MaxStout]

I've used CBC-1 for high gravity and/or long fermentations. Wine yeast works, too, and is cheap. It only ferments simple sugars, so works well for bottle-carbing.

 

[kevin58]

6 days is nothing. 10 days isn't even long enough. Let them sit for two weeks.

 

[MikeCo]

I've used CBC-1 for high gravity and/or long fermentations. Wine yeast works, too, and is cheap. It only ferments simple sugars, so works well for bottle-carbing.

I do the same thing using CBC-1. I've recently used Lalvin EC-1118 with success also. I like that it comes in 5g packages. A ten-pack is currently selling for $8.53 on Amazon.

 

[hotbeer]

I’ve had my beer in bottle conditioning for 6 days now, planning to leave it for a total of 10 days. So far, I'm noticing there's very little foam when I open a test bottle. Is this normal at this stage, or should I be concerned?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Foam as in the white frothy stuff on the top of a freshly poured glass of beer? Or the bubbles of carbonation that stream to the surface.

If the former, some beers don't make much foam. Some contaminants, even on the glass you pour it in, can destroy it quickly as it forms.

If the latter, I'm all for leaving it longer. And suggest you go back and review if you made any mistakes measuring things when you primed. Or calculated the priming amount of sugar incorrectly.

Is this a high ABV beer.