1 week into carbonation...is it working?

[htims05]

Is there any way to know if my beer carbonated or is carbonating?

Bottled 7 days ago and all I can tell looking through the brown glass is there is sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Not sure if that the sugar or just more settling...I let it sit in the fermenter for 3 weeks.

 

[Jag75]

How much priming sugar did you use and what temp are your bottles? I usually find that 2 - 3 weeks is what it takes.

 

[JimRausch]

Nope, you can't tell by staring at the bottles. Patience will be your friend. Give them 2 weeks, then refrig. one for 24 hours and crack it open. In the future, bottle one in an empty soda bottle. Squeeze out the air and cap. When that bottle is turgid, then the rest of your batch is ready. Patience is the hardest lesson to learn. (Sounds like it should be a quote from Kung Fu)

 

[balrog]

Can you see it clearing? When I bottled (non wheat) I could see when the bottle was clear half way down then all the way down. Clear is guuuud.

 

[OnePlate]

I always open one bottle at 7 days. If it's good enough, I start drinking. If not, wait another week and try again.

 

[htims05]

How much priming sugar did you use and what temp are your bottles? I usually find that 2 - 3 weeks is what it takes.

It was a beginner kit so I used the sugar that came with the kit...I don’t know how much it was.

 

[htims05]

Can you see it clearing? When I bottled (non wheat) I could see when the bottle was clear half way down then all the way down. Clear is guuuud.

It seems clear too to bottom. That is what struck me the most...it wasn’t that clear when bottling...like I don’t think I could see through the bottle then like I can now.

 

[kh54s10]

The layer on the bottom is a little bit of debris and mostly yeast. I never try a bottle at a week - that is just a waste. I often try one at 2 weeks @ 70 degrees and cooling for almost 24 hours. I find that most have some carbonation, some fully and a few almost nothing. At 3 weeks, every beer that I have bottled has tasted better. Some bigger beers take longer to come into their own, some much longer.

Patience.....

 

[RM-MN]

The way to tell if your beer is carbonating when in glass bottles is to open on and pour it into a glass. I have enough beer on hand that I don't mind experimenting a bit so I try my beers at different times. The shortest I have tried is 24 hours at room temp followed by 24 in the refrigerator. That one was carbonated but had no heading. At one week the beer started to develop the heading but still wasn't the best flavor. 2 weeks was better, 3 better yet as by then most beers will produce a good head.

What kind of beer also needs to be considered. While a light color, low alcohol beer will be at its peak at 3 weeks, as you make beers that are darker and/or higher in alcohol you need to wait longer for the flavor to peak.

 

[CharlieW]

The layer on the bottom is a little bit of debris and mostly yeast. I never try a bottle at a week - that is just a waste. I often try one at 2 weeks @ 70 degrees and cooling for almost 24 hours. I find that most have some carbonation, some fully and a few almost nothing. At 3 weeks, every beer that I have bottled has tasted better. Some bigger beers take longer to come into their own, some much longer.

Patience.....

I agree. Temp plays a part in the bottle conditioning also, where are you keeping them and at what temp? Where I keep my bottles it's abt 68 F. If you move them to a place with slightly higher temps I think they will perhaps carbonate a little faster. I brewed a Blueberry Ale that took 3 weeks at 68F to be properly carbonated at abt 45F. Patience is the watchword.