Taking a trip while my bottles carbonate/condition

tjndaltx · Feb 12, 2017

Hello.

I'd like to know the following please:

I've had my lager (not really cold lagering) in the bottles for two weeks and had planned on leaving them alone until they had conditioned for 3 weeks.

However, I'm taking a road trip for several weeks and I don't want to wait forever to drink my beer.

Will it hurt my beer if I place it in my vehicle and take it with me - letting it carbonate/condition for another week.

I'm not going to be in a beat up truck, I'll be in a Cadillac Escalade so the ride will be smooth.

This time of year it will not get hot - cold maybe but not hot.

Will it hurt my beer for me to take it along with me and then drink it with the last week of conditioning being in my vehicle?

I really appreciate any advice.

Thank you.

ncbrewer · Feb 12, 2017

I used to condition at about 65F in the winter, and they took longer to carb up - around 5 - 6 weeks. It would take longer if they get even colder. Also, temperature fluctuations are bad for normal fermentation, so I expect they would be bad for conditioning, too. Overall, I think it would be a problem.

tjndaltx · Feb 12, 2017

Thank you very much for the info.

I work too hard on these brews to mess 'em up. That's why I wanted to ask what you more experienced hands had to say.

I'll just leave the bottles of brew at home and enjoy them when I return.

Thank you very much.

TJ

max384 · Feb 12, 2017

I agree. I wouldn't risk it with the temperature swings.

This will actually be good. You'll be forced to let your bottles wait, so when you get home, your beer will be ready for you to try.

Though, now that I've typed this, if it were me, and I was itching to try my new brew, I'd probably take a sixer with me. This way, you'll get to try your beer... and if it's bad, it's only a six pack. It might be interesting to see how the taste compares to the ones left at home in a temperature controlled environment.