Time in a Bottle (Brewferm Triple)

[OfficerMitchel]

I am currently brewing a Breferm Triple in a Mr. Ber LBK. I used the can alone, without additional DME or LME and only 1/2 cup brown sugar (can called for pound of candy sugar). I did not take OG (no hydrometer yet, it's in the mail). The store I bought the kit from said 2 1/2 weeks primary would be fine, but I think I'll give it a full three to be sure. I will be bottling into 16 oz swing top bottles (from the same source) and bottling from the primary with table sugar added to the bottles (one teaspoon per bottle).

So far, everything looks OK, LBK has been bubbling away nicely since Sunday night (about 2 hours after pitching the dry yeast that came with the kit). I taped a wireless thermometer to the back of the fermenter, and temp is holding right around 63F in a swamp cooler. Unfortunately, my worries will start after the bottling.

Within a day or two of bottling I have to hit the road for Ohio on family business. This may take me away for some months. I intend to take the freshly bottled batch with me secured in a cooler with a couple of ice packs as my truck's A/C doesn't work and don't want to risk over heating. Once in Ohio, it will rest at room temperature or in a cool (not cold) basement.

My ultimate question (sorry to take so long getting to it) is will this be "ready" to drink by July 20? I know the longer the better, but the beer is specifically being brewed for a party on that date. If I had known about long Belgian conditioning, I would have gone with something else. Like a Munton's traditional ale or a wheat.

 

[cardinalsfan]

the answer is yes, it will be carbonated and ready to drink by then. will it be at its best? prolly not. You didn't add much adjunct to it so it may not take as long to condition but it should be carbonated about 3-4 weeks after bottling and the rest of the time can be spent cold conditioning.

I too have this same beer carbonating right now. Fermented for 3 weeks with WLP500 and it carbed up just fine. I need to move to cold storage soon.

 

[sweetcell]

table sugar added to the bottles (one teaspoon per bottle).

are you sure that is the right amount of priming sugar? was this amount "a rule of thumb" that someone recommended to you? seems a bit high to me. are you using 22 oz bottles?

I intend to take the freshly bottled batch with me secured in a cooler with a couple of ice packs as my truck's A/C doesn't work and don't want to risk over heating.

how hot do you expect your truck to get? ideally your bottles should be aging/carb'ing at 70*F, so up to 80*F is fine. i might get worried above 90.

will you have access to this cooler, or will it be packed away somewhere out of reach?

 

[OfficerMitchel]

are you sure that is the right amount of priming sugar? was this amount "a rule of thumb" that someone recommended to you? seems a bit high to me. are you using 22 oz bottles?



how hot do you expect your truck to get? ideally your bottles should be aging/carb'ing at 70*F, so up to 80*F is fine. i might get worried above 90.

will you have access to this cooler, or will it be packed away somewhere out of reach?

I'll be using 16 oz swing tops, and this is the amount recommended by Mr. Beer (don't laugh, that chart has worked for me before) and the LHBS clerk who sold me the kit. Of course, I have no idea what a Belgian's normal carb level should be.

Considering last week (when I started this thread) we were hitting 100* and yesterday barely made 70, I have NO idea. The cooler would be riding in the cab with me, but I'm not going to be mucking with it while I'm on the interstate.

 

[OfficerMitchel]

the answer is yes, it will be carbonated and ready to drink by then. will it be at its best? prolly not. You didn't add much adjunct to it so it may not take as long to condition but it should be carbonated about 3-4 weeks after bottling and the rest of the time can be spent cold conditioning.

I too have this same beer carbonating right now. Fermented for 3 weeks with WLP500 and it carbed up just fine. I need to move to cold storage soon.

When you say "cold conditioning", I hope you mean sitting in the basement at 60*, not in a fridge at 40.

I know I'll be serving this beer "young", I just don't want to serve it "green".

Good luck with your Triple.