Carbonating Bottles

[dannybzr]

Hi all,

I had my IPA kit fermenting for about 9 days or so and recently put into bottles.

I have 750ml bottles and used 2 carb drops per bottle, filled using the bottle filler and capped off. Then inverted the bottle about 4/5 times and now have them sitting in a dark room at about the same temp that they were in the fermenter as..

They have been in the bottles since Monday evening and the carb drops have dissolved and now look like a light sediment on the bottom of the bottle. There doesn't look to be much activity on the carb front, just wondering when I should start to see activity in the bottles and at what stage can i move them to another location without having to worry about temps etc..

 

[kiwisteveo]

Hi all,

I had my IPA kit fermenting for about 9 days or so and recently put into bottles.

I have 750ml bottles and used 2 carb drops per bottle, filled using the bottle filler and capped off. Then inverted the bottle about 4/5 times and now have them sitting in a dark room at about the same temp that they were in the fermenter as..

They have been in the bottles since Monday evening and the carb drops have dissolved and now look like a light sediment on the bottom of the bottle. There doesn't look to be much activity on the carb front, just wondering when I should start to see activity in the bottles and at what stage can i move them to another location without having to worry about temps etc..

i,ve done 7-8 brews now and i just leave em for 2 weeks then put one in the fridge to try when its cold and have had no problems even tried one after 10 days and was fine.

 

[Steve]

Danny leave them for another couple of weeks and then put one in the fridge and try it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[zebba]

Not sure what activity you are looking for. If they are plastic they will get firmer as they carb up, but glass you won't be able to tell until you crack one open, AFAIK.

2 weeks is the rule of thumb, but I leave all mine for a month or more. Certainly with IPA's I've found in my (limited) experience that they take longer to carb up properly.

On the temp front, I leave them in the same place to carb as I do for regular storage - dark, not too much in the way of temperature extremes. I don't worry about keeping them a constant 18 degrees or anything. My understanding was you only worry like that for lagers.

 

[jonocarroll]

There doesn't look to be much activity on the carb front, just wondering when I should start to see activity in the bottles

Just in case this isn't a poor phrasing - have you opened a bottle, or are you expecting to see activity in the sealed bottle?

 

[Eyelusion]

I'd just leave them where they are for 2 weeks.

You actually don't see any carbonation untill the bottle is open.
So after 2 weeks they should be carbed up, 3 weeks is better though.
But just try one after 2 weeks. Make sure its in the fridge overnight before trying.
Beers always better chilled overnight.

 

[Flash_DG]

PET (plastic) or glass bottles?
If they are PET you can feel then get hard after about a week
the ones I have in bottles right now are very clear and have no visible bubbles but are quite hard and that batch got bottled a week ago

Edit: hmmm see what happens when you don't refresh before answering :lol:

 

[zebba]

Edit: hmmm see what happens when you don't refresh before answering :lol:

If someone was to do a "top 10 reasons people don't answer questions on AHB", the #1 reason would be "cause they know they'll be beaten by 10 other people"

 

[dannybzr]

Just in case this isn't a poor phrasing - have you opened a bottle, or are you expecting to see activity in the sealed bottle?

No I haven't opened an of them, just have been looking at the bottles thats all. The look completely flat, but I guess that is the same with any beer before it is opened. After the 2/3 weeks period to allow them to carb, can I just pop them in the fridge and leave them sit there for a few weeks?

 

[dannybzr]

BTW, thanks for the awesomely fast response, I've never been on a forum where the response is so fast and it is actually useful info...

 

[Steve]

No I haven't opened an of them, just have been looking at the bottles thats all. The look completely flat, but I guess that is the same with any beer before it is opened. After the 2/3 weeks period to allow them to carb, can I just pop them in the fridge and leave them sit there for a few weeks?

I reckon once they are carbed up leave them out of the fridge and just stock up the fridge as you need them. They'll age better and mature quicker at room temp rather than in the fridge.
Cheers
Steve

 

[dannybzr]

I reckon once they are carbed up leave them out of the fridge and just stock up the fridge as you need them. They'll age better and mature quicker at room temp rather than in the fridge.
Cheers
Steve

Yeah thats what I was thinking, because I've heard so much about keeping them out of the light, that it spoils them. I'm not sure if this applies to light bulbs from a fridge or natural light only.

 

[Steve]

Yeah thats what I was thinking, because I've heard so much about keeping them out of the light, that it spoils them. I'm not sure if this applies to light bulbs from a fridge or natural light only.

Just direct sunlight, especially if you bottle in clear glass.

 

[dannybzr]

Just direct sunlight, especially if you bottle in clear glass.

Ok, thats cool. I'm using brown bottles anyway and at the moment they are sitting in complete darkness.. This is my first brew and I'm still really sus about how the beer is going to taste when I open that first bottle.

It looks really clear and at the moment there is very little in the way of sediment in the bottles..(Used finnings, which left plenty of sediment at the bottom of the fermenter)

 

[Steve]

at the moment they are sitting in complete darkness..

They dont need to be in complete darkness either if you want to open your curtains. Just somewhere out of direct sunlight
Cheers
Steve