Grain to glass and bottle conditioning

[Dadux]

Wherever you decide to read about bottle conditioning you see "leave for 2-3 weeks".
I have done several searches but cant find any real reason for this. In most cases the table sugar is consumed in two to five days (20°C room temp). What prevents me from putting the bottles in the fridge for 24-48h and drinking them?

Most beers improve with age and for medium OG malt based beers (1.055 or around) i guess a month is the minimum required so they dont taste green.
But what if i leave it for a month in primary? Can i bottle and drink in 5-7 days or is there some other reason to leave 2-3 weeks of bottle conditioning nontheless?

Also if i take more neutral high flocc yeasts could this times be cut down even more and go from grain to glass in 20 days/3 weeks (1-2 primary 1-2 bottle)?
Again, i know aging them will improve them but sometimes you find yourself in a pinch ans have to postpone bottling or want faster beer for an event or whatnot. So its good to know. Also i always find myself wondering this things. Thanks for any insight on the matter you can provide

 

[chris_the_goat]

Go ahead and try it. Especially for a well made light to medium gravity beer, extended conditioning is often unnecessary. If it tastes good at bottling time, it will taste good as soon as it is carbonated. Unless it is a big beer, it is usually fully conditioned in 2 weeks (in my experience).

 

[balrog]

My thinking would be that the priming sugar fermentation in the bottle conditioning is another fermentation, and while the majority of sugar-to-alcohol-and-CO2-conversion is finished in 2-3 days, perhaps there is cleanup time to be considered, just as when doing the main fermentation. Certainly the yeast-dropping-out part, which takes time in the bottle or the main ferment.

 

[bleme]

When I first started brewing, I would primary for 3 weeks, bottle, then put a bottle in the fridge every 3 days to see how it was coming along and there was a HUGE difference between week 1 and week 2.

The bottles opened after just 1 week had a bigger hiss on opening, but the beer itself was less carbonated. My guess is that pressure builds up in the headspace faster and it takes time to even out but I can't figure out why that would be.

 

[balrog]

At bottle conditioning temp (72°) CO2 does not dissolve into the liquid as much as when cold. Perhaps then the headspace has higher pressure when warm, then when cooled, dissolves more CO2 into the beer as it cools.

 

[chris_the_goat]

My thinking would be that the priming sugar fermentation in the bottle conditioning is another fermentation, and while the majority of sugar-to-alcohol-and-CO2-conversion is finished in 2-3 days, perhaps there is cleanup time to be considered, just as when doing the main fermentation. Certainly the yeast-dropping-out part, which takes time in the bottle or the main ferment.

I definitely agree with the yeast dropping out.

Most yeast derived flavors occur during the growth phase. After primary fermentation, they get cleaned up. There are plenty of yeast present to ferment the small amount of priming sugar, so there shouldn't be much (if any) additional flavor production.

 

[Dadux]

And yet if you put the bottles in the fridge the yeast drops way faster and co2 dissolves faster too

 

[chris_the_goat]

At bottle conditioning temp (72°) CO2 does not dissolve into the liquid as much as when cold. Perhaps then the headspace has higher pressure when warm, then when cooled, dissolves more CO2 into the beer as it cools.

Very true. Colder liquids hold more CO2 in solution. If the beer is not completely chilled, more CO2 is in the headspace and you will have a louder hiss and flatter beer.

A good experiment would be to put a bottle in the fridge every few days. The cold temps should stop (or at least slow) any yeast related conditioning. Once you have collected them over your time range, you can taste side by side to see the differences. You will have some cold conditioning that you can't account for, but it will give you an idea about how long you need to warm condition.

 

[PADave]

Nobody but yourself is preventing you from putting them in the fridge and drinking them. Try it and see for yourself. That's the great thing about this hobby, you can do what you want.

 

[Dadux]

totally true. And i will. But i was asking for insight i was sure people had tried already

 

[portguy]

When I first started brewing, I would primary for 3 weeks, bottle, then put a bottle in the fridge every 3 days to see how it was coming along and there was a HUGE difference between week 1 and week 2.

The bottles opened after just 1 week had a bigger hiss on opening, but the beer itself was less carbonated. My guess is that pressure builds up in the headspace faster and it takes time to even out but I can't figure out why that would be.

This is just what I've experienced in every single batch i brewed. From week 1 to week 2 there's a major carbonation difference.
Nowadays i just open my 1st bottle at 2 weeks. It gets way better after a month regarding head retention.

But it's just my experience so far.

 

[schematix]

I believe you will succeed doing this. You can get grain to fully bottle conditioned easily in 10-14 days. Primary only takes 2-4 days at most for an ale, and they’ll be carbed a few days later. Let them chill for a few more days and enjoy.

I have a similar timeline with kegging and conditioning in the keg. Think of it as a 5 gallon bottle - I do

Just follow good brewing practices.

 

[GHBWNY]

I have always bottle-conditioned @ 70F for a minimum of 3 weeks and then 1 week in fridge. As someone else mentioned, priming is simply a fermentation which deserves an adequate amount of time to fully finish and clean up. The reason some are tasting a major difference in their primed beer between early on compared to later is obviously because it is not finished. Go brew another beer and let this one take the time it needs. It will thank you for it.