question about bottle conditioning

[doverox]

hey,
i bottled this pale ale 20 days ago. used priming sugar in bottling bucket for carbing. ran out of bottles toward the end of bottling so improvised and used a growler. kept the growler and the bottles at 68 degrees and out of the light.
i thought that it might be better to drink the growler after a week for freshness knowing that it would still be slightly flat but ok with it. it was actually carbed up alright and it was crystal clear. tasted good too.

a few days later, tried a bottle. did not refrigerate. was not very carbonated, tasted way different than the growler, not as good. point of confusion number one.

today (about a week later) i grabbed a bottle to stick in the fridge and i noticed that the brew is really cloudy looking. after almost 3 weeks of bottle conditioning, is that normal? will refrigeration clear that up like cold crashing does? and what might be up with the difference in the flavor of the growler versus that bottled brew i tried a few days later?
thanks!

 

[dsaavedra]

Refrigerating your bottles will help the CO2 stay in solution since cold liquid can hold more dissolved gas. A lot of times when you open a warm bottle you get a nice big hiss and then the bottle may start foaming over. This is all the CO2 leaving solution at the same time because the beer is warm and can't keep all that CO2 dissolved. Getting your bottles nice and cold for a while will help with their seemingly low carbonation.

Beers often get "chill haze" when you put them in the fridge. Keeping them in the fridge for a week or longer usually clears up this chill haze. Chill haze is said not to affect flavor.

 

[mrgrimm101]

+1 on chilling before drinking. I let my brews sit in the fridge for at least 2 days before drinking one. I have no idea why your growler was different than the bottles. I've always heard that growlers are not good for conditioning, because they aren't as strong as regular glass bottles, but maybe I've read wrong.

Be careful with your pour as well. I can't speak for everyone, but my bottles accumulate a small layer of sediment in the bottom, so I make sure to pour slowly and carefully so as not to disturb the yeast sediment, which can make a beer cloudy and affect the flavor (IMO).

 

[doverox]

+1 on chilling before drinking. I let my brews sit in the fridge for at least 2 days before drinking one. I have no idea why your growler was different than the bottles. I've always heard that growlers are not good for conditioning, because they aren't as strong as regular glass bottles, but maybe I've read wrong.

Be careful with your pour as well. I can't speak for everyone, but my bottles accumulate a small layer of sediment in the bottom, so I make sure to pour slowly and carefully so as not to disturb the yeast sediment, which can make a beer cloudy and affect the flavor (IMO).

thanks. i have to say, i had heard the same about growlers, that's what is so puzzling.
anyway, there's a bottle sitting in the fridge since yesterday afternoon and i can see that the yeast did in fact drop. going to open tonight and see if it has improved in flavor. the growler was so good, i just don't get it!

 

[mrgrimm101]

thanks. i have to say, i had heard the same about growlers, that's what is so puzzling.
anyway, there's a bottle sitting in the fridge since yesterday afternoon and i can see that the yeast did in fact drop. going to open tonight and see if it has improved in flavor. the growler was so good, i just don't get it!

It should help. I would put 3 bottles in the fridge at the same time and do a test. Drink 1 after 24 hours, drink the 2nd after 48 hours, and drink the 3rd after 72 hours. See if you can notice a difference in flavor and clarity. I think you'll be surprised.

 

[unionrdr]

The growler was OK this time because it was only given 1 week to carbonate. Full carbonation wasn't achieved that could've had different results. My bottled beers (12oz) usually drop clear some 3-4 days after bottling. #-4 weeks to carbonate & condition. The 5-7 days fridge time to give any chill haze time to form & settle like a fog. And to get an equilibrium of the Co2 between solution & head space.