How long do you bottle condition?

[Nick667]

I just want to get an idea how long other brewers leave the beer in the bottles to carbonate and get a decent head.
I suppose it can depend on what style of beer and what yeast you use but lets say if you use a dry yeast eg US-05 or Nottingham and brew an IPA or ale and bottle carb with sugar as I do.
I know that US-05 is pretty quick but sometimes it doesn't like to stop.
I BIAB and don't chill but just started temp control.
In the past I have hidden a few bottles of a late hopped ipa away and opened them 5 or so months later and the hops had all but dropped out but I always start tasting to early as well " just to test".
So how long do you leave it?

 

[stewy]

I usually leave 4 weeks. Seems to be when its ready for APA/IPA style
If it's a hoppy APA/IPA I try to polish it all off within 3months from bottling as after that a lot of hop aroma is gone

 

[Rod]

I do a minimum of 6 weeks before trying then play it by ear

usually ends up 12 weeks

 

[technobabble66]

~2 weeks to do the basic carbonation, maybe plus a week or 2 to have it "settle in" properly.

However, I've found it depends on the style/recipe:
Malts seem to take maybe 4 weeks to balance out a little, then the darker grains take ~8-12 weeks to smooth out fully.
Hops flavour and aroma are generally ready to go asap (& the aroma can fade fairly quickly, over 2-3 mo's), but the bitterness can take a few weeks to smooth out.
Yeast is still a bit of a mystery to me - i generally find the 8-12 weeks is again good for them but i've read some yeast characteristics are better fresher.
And generally the lighter the beer the earlier it gets ploughed into, whereas the RIS i've got is ~8 months already and seems to still be improving.

2c

 

[siege]

I'm often trying my ales after 2 weeks in the bottle but most of it is left for longer than that.
I did a double IPA hop bomb though and if I hadn't tasted it early I would have been dissapointed. At 3 weeks it was huge and full of aroma and flavour. opening the last of it now 3 months out and theres almost none of that hop aroma left.

I've actually changed my storage process for hoppy ales now and throw them in the fridge after 2 to 3 weeks to try to protect the aroma.

 

[bonk1972]

I'm glad I read this forum. I've just started dry hopping and found that after 2 weeks my coopers pale ale has a real good hoppy aroma but after 4 weeks its hardly noticeable I just thought I wasn't putting enough in.. Cheers

 

[micblair]

you're really looking for 2 things:

1. Clearing of fermentation by-porudcts/intermediates (VDK, acetaldehyde);
2. Complete re-fermentatioreaching reaching target carbonation

Temperature will dictate how long these processes take, but at normal room temps (20C thereabouts), about 7-10 days is usually sufficient.

When bottle conditioning, theres usually enough bottles to perform daily checks -- thats what Little creatures do for instance in their warm conditioning warehouse for their pale.

 

[warra48]

Totally depends on the beer style.

The time of year also makes a difference, carbing up in summer is a lot quicker.

Most of my beers seem to be at their best after about 6 to 8 weeks, and then drink well for months. I agree AIPAs seem to lose some of their hoppiness after 2 to 3 months, but I'm not sure if this is actual or if it's just the bitterness smoothing out.

Had a Belgian Dark Strong Ale a couple of weeks ago. It was brewed and bottled back in 2010, and it's now better than ever.

 

[AndrewQLD]

I'm a big fan of conditioning for bottle carbing at the temp that the yeast is suited to and for a minimum of six weeks, so for an ale I will bottle condition at 18c for six weeks and for a lager I will bottle condition at 9c for 8 weeks.

 

[verysupple]

Wow, some people really like to let their beers age. My standard gravity ales like APAs, best bitters, etc. are usually properly carbonated after 3 - 4 weeks. I CC and gelatine so carbing takes a little longer. Before I CC'd and fined they were generally ready after 1 - 2 weeks. By the time they're properly carbonated they're tasting pretty good and don't usually improve after that.

The only times I've had batches take longer to hit their prime were high gravity beers or ones where I had fermentation issues. When it was fermentation issues it took a while for the nasties to either get processed to less nasty tasting things or oxidise to something less offensive (still not a great option).

 

[Jazzman]

I'm vastly under experienced compared to many on this forum, but l have a good rotation going now of AIPA style beers, and I put them in the fridge at 2 weeks and drink em a day or two later.
I'm of the opinion that a beer (not the darker ones) is a 'new' drink. Like some wines are a 'nouveau', meaning young and to drink now. I don't think they really get better with age.
When you go and get a beer at the pub, it's always the best when freshly delivered. I remember going to the Clare (Claire?) next to the old Broadway brewery in Sydney and having a beer that was straight in from next door. Same thing happens in Pilsen. Fresh is best.
Of course there are exceptions, and others feel differently and strongly about this.
When it's carbonated it's time to drink it l reckon.

 

[Nizmoose]

I'm vastly under experienced compared to many on this forum, but l have a good rotation going now of AIPA style beers, and I put them in the fridge at 2 weeks and drink em a day or two later.
I'm of the opinion that a beer (not the darker ones) is a 'new' drink. Like some wines are a 'nouveau', meaning young and to drink now. I don't think they really get better with age.
When you go and get a beer at the pub, it's always the best when freshly delivered. I remember going to the Clare (Claire?) next to the old Broadway brewery in Sydney and having a beer that was straight in from next door. Same thing happens in Pilsen. Fresh is best.
Of course there are exceptions, and others feel differently and strongly about this.
When it's carbonated it's time to drink it l reckon.

I think the fresh is best is true but more so for commercial beers and especially kegged beers, they have usually been in a secondary vessel to 'condition' then are carbed up kegged and served 'fresh'. You might find they aren't any younger than a bottle conditioned beer it's just they have been conditioned in a different way. If I was kegging a beer is secondary it and clear or whatever then carb up and drink nice and fresh, I do however think a bottle conditioned beer needs time to improve for a few weeks, 'green' beer in the bottle has always tasted not quite as good as a few weeks down the line. Just my opinion and 2c

 

[panzerd18]

At least 10 days at 22 degrees.

 

[burrster]

For my 2 cents, I leave mine for a minimum of 4 weeks in the bottle, with head being better developed at 6 - 8 weeks. Most of my beers don't last beyond 12-14 weeks but a few have, and with only one so far, being really good at 6 months Hops flavours/aromas definitely fade early so my hoppy beers seem best before 8 weeks

 

[supertonio]

Wow, some people really like to let their beers age. My standard gravity ales like APAs, best bitters, etc. are usually properly carbonated after 3 - 4 weeks. I CC and gelatine so carbing takes a little longer. Before I CC'd and fined they were generally ready after 1 - 2 weeks. By the time they're properly carbonated they're tasting pretty good and don't usually improve after that.

The only times I've had batches take longer to hit their prime were high gravity beers or ones where I had fermentation issues. When it was fermentation issues it took a while for the nasties to either get processed to less nasty tasting things or oxidise to something less offensive (still not a great option).

I agree with this completely that a lot of my beers seem to be ready after about 2-3 weeks. Half the enjoyment of brewing is learning how your beer changes over time and what you can learn to put into practise the next time when conditioning.

As many have said it depends on style. A hefe is best to drink when it's fairly young whereas a barley wine may taste like dog piss from a nettle after only a couple of weeks. I had a double ipa start to get really good just as I got to my last five bottles, but that's a lesson learnt.

My advice is that as a brewer you have to develop patience through the many stages of brewing but as I said above trial and error will tell you when your beer is ready for your palate.

 

[professional_drunk]

5 days. Take a gravity reading of the bottled beer to confirm you're at FG.

 

[Nick667]

How much does the yeast make a difference?
I had US-05 carbing up really fast and sometimes not stopping even though the gravity was low.
Now I am using Nottingham and it seems to take forever.
I have had beer getting good as I was finishing the last few bottles as someone said above as well.
It depends on temp as well don't you think. Here in Auckland the winter has killed off carbonation early so how do you keep your temps after bottling? Hot water cupboard?

 

[Nizmoose]

How much does the yeast make a difference?
I had US-05 carbing up really fast and sometimes not stopping even though the gravity was low.
Now I am using Nottingham and it seems to take forever.
I have had beer getting good as I was finishing the last few bottles as someone said above as well.
It depends on temp as well don't you think. Here in Auckland the winter has killed off carbonation early so how do you keep your temps after bottling? Hot water cupboard?

Temp should be more of a factor but different yeast will definitely behave differently at a guess mainly because different strains flocculate out in the fermenter more than others leaving less or more in the bottle which will impact carbonation time

 

[verysupple]

How much does the yeast make a difference?

As Nizmoose said, the strain can make a bit of difference due to different amounts left in suspension but also just the rate at which it works.

I had US-05 carbing up really fast and sometimes not stopping even though the gravity was low.

You shouldn't be bottling before it's reached terminal gravity and adding priming sugar shouldn't change the terminal gravity. Unless you have an infection, the gravity should only go as low as it was before bottling. If it keeps going then you probably bottled too early or have an infection.

It depends on temp as well don't you think. Here in Auckland the winter has killed off carbonation early so how do you keep your temps after bottling? Hot water cupboard?

Yes, temp. will have quite an affect on the time it takes to carbonate. I carbonate mine in the kitchen and in winter that doesn't really get much cooler than 15 C. At those temps my ales carb up fine, but they might take a week or so longer than in summer. If yours are getting cooler than that then that may have halted the yeast activity. If you need to keep them warmer then there are many ways. The hot water heater cupboard would work if it doesn't get too hot. If you have a fermenting fridge you can put a heat source in there and use that. You could use a controlled heat source in a cupboard even, as you don't need to warm the bottles much, it just wouldn't be as efficient as a fridge.

 

[hwall95]

When I bottle I generally try to find a cool dark spot and then depending on the beer/how keen I'm to try it I'll try one after one or two weeks just for the sake of my curiosity. When I actually start drinking the others depend on style for me:
Hoppy - 3-4 weeks
Saisons - 1+ months
Hefe's - 2-3 weeks
Milds - 1-3 weeks
Porter & Stouts - A month
Lager - A month at cool temperature