Can I Warm (possibly Get More Carbonation) In Chilled, Bottled Beer?

[Clutch]

I may have been a bit too keen on putting my Tooheys Extra Dry clone into the fridge last week, chilling them after about a week at room temp. I've opened one to try it and there's not a lot of carbonation.
This was the first batch I've used an additive to get a creamier head on but there's nothing going on except a few bubbles form the bottom of the glass.

Do I leave it and wait, or can I pull it out of the fridge and warm it up for a bit? The PET bottles don't seem as firm as my other batches, (I've done about 4 so far).

 

[Ash in Perth]

PET's are great for this. Pull them out of the fridge, mix them up a bit and keep them around 20 Degrees C. Chilling them early will have slowed the yeast right down but they should condition OK, just a bit slower now. You can just feel the pressure in the bottles when they are more carbonated.

 

[bignath]

I may have been a bit too keen on putting my Tooheys Extra Dry clone into the fridge last week, chilling them after about a week at room temp. I've opened one to try it and there's not a lot of carbonation.
This was the first batch I've used an additive to get a creamier head on but there's nothing going on except a few bubbles form the bottom of the glass.

Do I leave it and wait, or can I pull it out of the fridge and warm it up for a bit? The PET bottles don't seem as firm as my other batches, (I've done about 4 so far).

Get it out of the fridge for sure, and leave it for another week or so at ambient room temp.

What yeast did you use? If you used an ale yeast you'll definitely not get any carbing in the fridge. Most serving fridges would probably run around 5-7 degrees i reckon. Way too cold to get yeasties to wake up, have a feed and fart.

 

[jacknohe]

Hi Clutch. The answer from my experience is yes. I do this all the time but with glass bottles. I often misjudge my carb levels and refrigerate too early but then just warm them up again. Living in Sydney with my beers stacked in the coldest room of the house (under SWMBO's orders) I have the same issue this time of year. In my old house I would place my crates in the hot water cupboard for a week after bottling but I don't have one now.

I've used a heat pad once and stacked bottles on it but wasn't too efficient. Now I use the heat pad inside my brew fridge and it works great.

Good luck mate. If you've racked and/or used finings it can take a little longer.

 

[Clutch]

Thanks guys, that's some quick answers!

I used finings, and I can definitely feel pressure in the bottle, just not as much as my other brews. I'll head down to the mancave now and sort it out.

If I have another batch that is rock hard in the bottle, will chilling them now reduce the carbonation or just stop it?
I've got a Pure Blonde that's been sitting upstairs in the warmth for 2 days and the bottles feel pressurised already. I'm not concerned with them exploding as it was in the fermenter for 12 days and 3 consecutive days gave me low SG readings, but I'd rather have my fridge being used for something right now, not to mention SWMBO raising eyebrows at have 4 milkcrates of beer in the kitchen...

 

[Lodan]

will chilling them now reduce the carbonation or just stop it?
I've got a Pure Blonde that's been sitting upstairs in the warmth for 2 days and the bottles feel pressurised already. I'm not concerned with them exploding as it was in the fermenter for 12 days and 3 consecutive days gave me low SG readings

Chilling them now will stop them from carbonating further. Sounds like secondary fermentation is going quickly. When you say pressurised do you mean that your feel resistance or that you can't make a dent in the bottle at all?

Consecutive sg is good but make sure that the sg is around about what you expect as well

 

[Clutch]

Chilling them now will stop them from carbonating further. Sounds like secondary fermentation is going quickly. When you say pressurised do you mean that your feel resistance or that you can't make a dent in the bottle at all?

Consecutive sg is good but make sure that the sg is around about what you expect as well

I can still dent the bottle squeezing with thumb and forefinger. If I can feel them getting any harder I may well stow them in the fridge to slow any carbonation down, as the last thing I want is SWMBO's newly renovated kitchen being covered in beer
Just made a warm box in the mancave using my heatpad and some other stuff laying around for the Extra Dry.

 

[bignath]

If I have another batch that is rock hard in the bottle, will chilling them now reduce the carbonation or just stop it?

If you have carbonated with the correct amount of priming medium (table sugar, dextrose, light dry malt etc...) i wouldn't worry about stopping carbonation. If you need the fridge for other things, i'd just keep them warm until you need to get 'em ready to serve.

Having said that, the most basic answer to your question is yes. Chilling a beer whilst it is trying to carbonate will slow or stop carbonation (yeast and temp dependent).

I often think about beer making as a three dimensional sphere and that somewhere in that sphere, is the ultimate target which comprises of processes being done correctly, to produce a beer with expected flavour, colour, bitterness, and carbonation. And i'm constantly trying to hit that small little dot somewhere in that sphere where all the variables intersect.

It's certainly not like carbonation will continue ad nauseum until your bottles go bang. It's a balance between giving the yeast enough sugars to eat and fart (produce co2 - carbonation) to arrive at the expected level of carbonation. Too much sugar = bang. Too little = flat.

Give it time and temp, all will be ok.

Nath

 

[fergi]

now that you have stopped fermentation by putting them in the fridge you are going to take about 2 weeks for them to carb up properly, it will take a few days for the yeast to wake up and start working again.put them somewhere warmish around 18/20 deg and give them 2 more weeks ,they will be fine.
fergi

 

[Cube]

Distribute the bottles around your engine bay and drive around the block to warm them up.. Three times in a ford, one time in a Holden because holdens are better.

Or stash them in your man cave for a week as above.
:lol:

 

[Dribs]

In relation to this question, is it worth shaking/spinning/rolling the PET bottle to move the yeast and sugar around or does it carbonate quicker if you leave it rest at the bottom?

I've tried two of my stouts after one week of been bottled to find one was perfect while the other was way under carbed. I believe I harassed both of those bottles.

 

[RobboMC]

With regard to those rock hard PET bottles another advantage of PET is the screw caps,
once when I over primed and was getting worried thwey were too hard I was able to
unscrew slightly and reduce the pressure. Can't do that with a crown seal.

 

[HeavyNova]

With regard to those rock hard PET bottles another advantage of PET is the screw caps,
once when I over primed and was getting worried thwey were too hard I was able to
unscrew slightly and reduce the pressure. Can't do that with a crown seal.

I can lift the crown seal slightly to let excess CO2 out. The key ring bottle openers probably aren't best as they tend to bend the cap and want to put a crease in it - I used the opener on the top of one of those 'men with arms' wine bottle openers. Did it to a whole batch of ginger beer I bottled too early about a year ago.

 

[jacknohe]

In relation to this question, is it worth shaking/spinning/rolling the PET bottle to move the yeast and sugar around or does it carbonate quicker if you leave it rest at the bottom?

I've tried two of my stouts after one week of been bottled to find one was perfect while the other was way under carbed. I believe I harassed both of those bottles.

I gentley invert the bottle three times and if required a gentle shake when the bottle is upside down to loosen the sediment. I do this to rouse what yeast I have in the bottle and to make sure the sugar is moved around also. Particulalry if I've chilled first then found that it wasn't carbed and had to warm again. Can't say I've done a conclusive test either way but it seems to work well for me.