Bottling and storage - cold garage

[H@wkeye!]

Hi all

Quick one. I'm currently storing my beer (have a few brews bottled at present in various phases) in my garage, which is bloody cold (in Canberra and the garage gets well below 10 - say 5 degrees constant?) and wondering whether it's having an effect on the carbonation process.

I've noticed that most brews after being bottled for 1-2 weeks still have little or not carbonation, while others which have been bottled for some months have about the right amount. Thinking that the coldness of the storage area is delaying the carbonation. This likely? If so, should i consider a warmer place, or just leave them for longer?

Cheers,

Hawk

 

[Waratah67]

It will definitely affect carbonation at that cold. You need to keep your bottles at fermenting temp for at least three days (Say 18-22C). They way I do it in place them on the heat pad I use to ferment with and cover them all with a blanket. After that they can be stored in a cold garage no issue.

 

[Unclestewbrew]

They will carb up but it will take a lot longer , depends if you can wait or not.

Do you have a temp controlled fermenting fridge ? If so , put a few in there if you are doing ales between 18 -22 degrees and they will carb up nicely
If you have good heating inside the house which I suspect you would have in Canberra , take a few crates inside to help them along ,

Cheers

 

[H@wkeye!]

Old house, rubbish insulation (eventually getting fixed) and only one built in heater. As soon as heater off, heat is gone. Planning to fix this next year. Don't have a temp controlled fridge, but that will be high on the priority list, next to a boiler for sparge water.

 

[Rocker1986]

In my experience with this issue, I would say if you can, get them in to a warmer environment for a week or two. Three days isn't really long enough. The other option is to brew lagers over the colder months, provided you like lagers that is.

I had a couple of batches of ale a few years back that were stored in similar conditions in my garage which failed to carbonate, or at least very well. Probably not quite as low as 5, but I'd say around 10. I was given the same "they'll carb up eventually, just take longer" advice and at least for me it was ********. The things never carbed up any more than they were at two weeks, even when the weather warmed up and they were left in the sun (in boxes of course). I'm guessing they carbonated a little while the bottles were still warm from the fermenter but once they dropped too far, they stayed there and that was that.

This is why I now brew lagers in the colder months. They can sit in that cupboard and still carbonate without any need for heating. B)

 

[zeggie]

Yeah I'm suffering the same here in Melbourne. Last 2 batches I've brewed haven't carbed in the garage. I've been bringing them inside and slipping a hot water bottle into the box to hopefully solve the problem.

 

[Rod]

would love to have that temperature

I am in sydney where in summer it gets to 30 odd inside garage

as I age my brew for 3 months it could carbonate in cold temperatures for a while

do not brew in Dec , Jan , Feb

 

[yum beer]

Hey h@wkeye,
I'm not real far from Canberra with very similar temps, I allow all my brews to carbonate in a cupboard in the garage then into a temp controlled fridge till they get drank.
In winter they can take 4-6 weeks to carb up...but come summer their good in 5 or 6 days. Winter will pass and the problem will disappear until the same time next year.
I check a bottle after 2 weeks then 1 or 2 weeks after depending on what temps we have had, then when they are carbed enough into the fridge with 'em.
Its not much fun in the depths of winter when you want to get into your brews but if a warmer place inside is not possible then grasshopper my friend, you shall need to find patience.

 

[Dave70]

Get yourself one of those big old plastic tubs from a major hardware retailer and a fish tank heater.
Squeeze as many bottles as you can in the tub and add the fish tank heater. Fill with enough water to satisfy the heater and plug it in. About a week and a bit at 20 deg and you should be good to go.
My cheapie heater works in the range of 20 to 40 deg, give or take so if I'm not brewing with it, I'm making yogurt. Quite a useful bit of kit.
Lifes to brief to wait for unnecessarily long carbing up of bottles.

 

[Vini2ton]

Remember tea-chests? Knew a bloke who used to put a light-bulb suspended in one for a fermentation chamber. Yeah I know yeast performs best in the dark (I had a girlfriend once who....), but it worked for him. In this day and age with digital this and that, where there's a will there's a way. Just be fire safe. 20c for a week gets them carbed enough for further cooler storage.

 

[Lowlyf]

Ever thought of ditching the bottles and buying a keg? That's what I would do. As soon as I start to get decent beer, I'll be kegging

 

[Benn]

would love to have that temperature

I am in sydney where in summer it gets to 30 odd inside garage

as I age my brew for 3 months it could carbonate in cold temperatures for a while

do not brew in Dec , Jan , Feb

Is your house on stumps? much cooler and more stable temps under your house. My bottles go under the house in summer as my shed gets very hot during the day then cools right off at night. Radical temperature swing.

 

[spog]

I have the same issues with the cold slowing carbing I have a brew atm that's been in the bottle for 2 1/2 wks and almost flat.
I bottled 2 brews at the same time ,the first I put on the floor of my brew room on top of a piece of cardboard ,the second I put in wooden crates I built and this brew is more carbed than the first though not were it should be after this period of time .
Given the cold weather I'm not surprised, its taking more time in the morning to get myself going.

Who stole the warm weather !

 

[manticle]

would love to have that temperature

I am in sydney where in summer it gets to 30 odd inside garage

as I age my brew for 3 months it could carbonate in cold temperatures for a while

do not brew in Dec , Jan , Feb

Gets to 30+ in summer in melbourne too mate.

This is winter.

 

[Rocker1986]

Same in Brisbane and I must say I'm looking forward to this cold weather (for us anyway) going away in favour of the summer heat. I've always hated winter. It is good for lager brewing although I have a temp controlled fridge anyway.

I'm not really sure why it's such a surprise that ale yeast isn't working to carbonate the beers when they drop below its operating range. You wouldn't put an ale in primary at 5 or 10 degrees and expect it to do anything so why would you expect it to do anything in the bottle at these temps?