Bottle Conditioning - Advice please!

[CJjelly]

Maybe this has been asked before but I haven’t found a thread on it yet. About 12 days ago I bottled my Continental Saison (my second ever home-brew) and stored them in my cupboard at about room temp or just below. Today I moved them into the conservatory to keep cooler for about 3 weeks as per the instructions I’d been given. However my conservatory isn’t insulated at all and gets really cold at night at the moment and obviously if the suns out can get fairly warm during the day.

I understand that the first week or so of bottle conditioning should be warmer for the yeast to consume the priming sugars (160g sugar drops in my case), but how important is it to age at a certain temperature?

Is this fluctuating temperature going to seriously affect my beer or am I over thinking it??

cheers,
CJ

 

[VikeMan]

Once carbonation is finished, you can store your beer at whatever temperature (above freezing) you want. But be aware that the warmer the beer, the faster it will age/stale. And unless you have reason to believe this beer will get better with age, cooler is better.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about whether carbonation was actually finished. 12 days might be ambitious.

I understand that the first week or so of bottle conditioning should be warmer for the yeast to consume the priming sugars (160g sugar drops in my case), but how important is it to age at a certain temperature?

I think you got some bad information. Until carbonation is finished, there's no reason at all to decrease the temperature.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I'm with @VikeMan 12 days is a bit early to basically crash your bottles. I go a full solid 14 days before I consider it, but I also sample a bottle at day 14 to know for sure. The only way to know is to know by sensory evaluation. Cold conditioning is all fine and dandy, just need to make sure the yeastie boys have completed their task. So, if I were you, I would chill down a bottle in the fridge right now and then pop it open and pour into a clean pint glass to test carbonation and flavor. Saisons typically are supposed to be consumed young/fresh/soon after carbonation is complete. Either way, RDWHAHB and report back with your findings.

 

[Jag75]

Agreed , 12 days is probably premature , but you never know . I usually go 2 weeks minimum and thats only 2 days less. You could pop one then decide .

 

[Birrofilo]

I go a full solid 14 days before I consider it, but I also sample a bottle at day 14 to know for sure. The only way to know is to know by sensory evaluation

That, or using an aphrometer, of which I am a great fan.

I bottled a beer on March 6th and, strangely enough, the aphrometer needle is beginning only tonight to barely move from the rest position. One cannot predict exactly how slow the carbonation will be. Rules of thumb which just count a certain number of days are unreliable. I have been following my previous carbonation with an aphrometer and after 4 weeks I still was having a little increase in inner pressure.

 

[RM-MN]

Today I moved them into the conservatory to keep cooler for about 3 weeks as per the instructions I’d been given. However my conservatory isn’t insulated at all and gets really cold at night at the moment and obviously if the suns out can get fairly warm during the day.

Throw out those instructions. Leave the beer where it is warm to make sure the carbonation is complete, then leave it where it is warm until a couple days before you want to drink it, then refrigerate it.