"Conditioning"

[SmokinMesa]

Hey guys, so ordered some basic gear (arriving next week).

I appreciate a cornerstone of home brew is patience, that being said.......

I'm aiming for a single grain single hop BITB "smash".

Once fermentation is done and I've bottled, how long before I can chuck in the fridge and drink?

My 1st attempt I'm going cheap ass and will use 2l fizzie drinks bottles (out of daylight).

I read and watch all ranges from a week or two after bottling to 30 days.

I'm not going to dry hop attempt #1

Thanks all

 

[Harbey]

General rule is 2 weeks fermentation, 2 weeks to carb up (somewhere warmish), and 2 weeks to condition (somewhere coolish).

Or, you could do a week fermenting, a few days carbing and a day or two conditioning. It won't be as good, but it'll be beer.

Patience is massively important but for those first few brews, you're bound to want to taste it ASAP so don't beat yourself up too much if you cut a few corners. Just make sure the beer has been at the same gravity reading for a few days before bottling. Oh, and go find some 0.5l bottles. I'm not sure about using 2l bottles.

 

[SmokinMesa]

General rule is 2 weeks fermentation, 2 weeks to carb up (somewhere warmish), and 2 weeks to condition (somewhere coolish).

Or, you could do a week fermenting, a few days carbing and a day or two conditioning. It won't be as good, but it'll be beer.

Patience is massively important but for those first few brews, you're bound to want to taste it ASAP so don't beat yourself up too much if you cut a few corners. Just make sure the beer has been at the same gravity reading for a few days before bottling. Oh, and go find some 0.5l bottles. I'm not sure about using 2l bottles.

Thanks dude. I've got some 700odd ml so will use them instead. I drink lots so they wont be around for long

 

[terrym]

@SmokinMesa
Tip.... If you are using PET bottles squeeze them gently before filling to exclude the air before screwing on the cap. they will go a bit saggy but will regain their shape when they get pressurised.
And its worth putting one or two bottles aside for a few weeks to see how they have changed with longer conditioning. If you are drinking your beer soon after bottling you may notice an improvement.

 

[SmokinMesa]

@SmokinMesa
Tip.... If you are using PET bottles squeeze them gently before filling to exclude the air before screwing on the cap. they will go a bit saggy but will regain their shape when they get pressurised.
And its worth putting one or two bottles aside for a few weeks to see how they have changed with longer conditioning. If you are drinking your beer soon after bottling you may notice an improvement.

Wicked thanks for the tip.

I'm almost certain to get a new batch on as soon as bottled. I did think about keeping a bit aside to compare.

Will more than likely end up with some 500ml brown swing tops before the end of the month but psychologically trying to "ease into it".

 

[Hew's Brews]

In my experience it depends on the recipe. But quite often I've cracked in to a bottle four or five days after bottling (just for testing purposes you understand) and it has been quite drinkable. They do improve after a couple of weeks but who can wait that long?

 

[Session]

When I bottled I always found my beer tasted best 4-6 weeks after bottling. It still tasted like beer after 2, but can taste a bit ‘green’. I’m not sure how to describe what a ‘green’ beer tastes like... a bit rough around the edges perhaps? Try a bottle at 2 weeks and compare it to one after 4 - you’ll see what I mean!

 

[Cyberjip]

I'm almost certain to get a new batch on as soon as bottled. I did think about keeping a bit aside to compare

This is key, you're always going to drink the first batch or two prematurely as you have no other stock.

Keep hammering out the batches untill you don't need to drink them early because you have enough beer to drink in the meantime.

After that just brew at the rate you drink and you should never need to drink rushed beer again.

 

[Charles Stanley-Grey]

There are much more experienced people on here, but my two pennies worth...

I have found three weeks fermenting means I can bottle and drink in 4-5 days for an initial drinkable beer without compromising the flavour, as plenty of conditioning has already been completed Then I just let them carbonate a bit and try a bottle every few days as the flavour develops over the next few weeks. I like giving the whole batch plenty of time in the FV before it is messed with basically.

I also believe I am not wrong in saying very highly hopped beers will slowly degrade over time. I did an American style IPA as one of my original brews which tasted amazing after three weeks in the FV and two weeks in a bottle, but now over two months or so later the flavour has reduced considerably, though still nice.

On a final thought, once you sort out your rotation, you wont be rushing as you will have more on hand than you can likely drink by yourself. I give a good chunk of what I brew to people at work for free and then keep an amount for myself. Its a great kick when you get positive comments back!

 

[Harbey]

After that just brew at the rate you drink and you should never need to drink rushed beer again.

Until Christmas or lockdown when you drink twice as much as usual and find stock severely depleted

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Hey guys, so ordered some basic gear (arriving next week).

I appreciate a cornerstone of home brew is patience, that being said.......

I'm aiming for a single grain single hop BITB "smash".

Once fermentation is done and I've bottled, how long before I can chuck in the fridge and drink?

My 1st attempt I'm going cheap ass and will use 2l fizzie drinks bottles (out of daylight).

I read and watch all ranges from a week or two after bottling to 30 days.

I'm not going to dry hop attempt #1

Thanks all

One small consideration - there will be sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Once you tip it to pour you can’t tip the bottle back without disturbing the sediment.

 

[SmokinMesa]

When I bottled I always found my beer tasted best 4-6 weeks after bottling. It still tasted like beer after 2, but can taste a bit ‘green’. I’m not sure how to describe what a ‘green’ beer tastes like... a bit rough around the edges perhaps? Try a bottle at 2 weeks and compare it to one after 4 - you’ll see what I mean!

Man. That's a long time Haha. Will need a good rotation schedule

 

[SmokinMesa]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. As said this will be effectively brew #1 (of many, regular).

As I understand IPA (especially) are susceptible to degradation over time. Not that I plan on leaving stuff lying around. Guess theres a sweet spot as most commercial beers suggest drinking "fresh" (some even have a drank best before dates on the label).

 

[dwhite60]

The two liter bottles will be fine. I use some one liters and have not had any problems. Some I've refilled at least five times and they still have the same lids. Only issue is pouring. You will disturb the yeast at the bottom. Letting it sit for a while should get it settled down again. You can pour the whole thing into a pitcher in one shot and not have to worry about the yeast.

I like Fermentis S-04 yeast. It compacts really nice at the end of fermentation and sticks to the bottom of the bottle real well. Coopers ale yeast settles better and clings to the bottle better than S-04.

 

[SmokinMesa]

Ah man I thought yeast was yeast till recently. But got some Fermntis Safale S-04 Dry Ale yeast for this go

 

[dwhite60]

Ah man I thought yeast was yeast till recently. But got some Fermntis Safale S-04 Dry Ale yeast for this go

Good choice. It's fast and fairly clean yet just a bit fruity. It really needs to be kept down at 16-19C. It puts off a good bit of heat while working.

I've got a chill box I ferment in. Always takes more ice when it takes off.

 

[pms67]

Ive had a beer fermented out in three days and ready to drink a week later (I’m sure Coopers use yeast additives) but every brew is different.
Enjoy your journey

 

[Bevvied]

I have 1 litre pop bottles as a full brew bottling choice and they are perfectly fine.

IMHO Nottingham ale yeast, available from Wilkos, is a great yeast as well, works great at lower temps if you have a cool room in the house. 17/18 ish degrees.

 

[Harbey]

And just to stick my oar in... If you like wheat beers, they are ready to drink really quickly, they love a nice warm spot for fermentation so no need to keep em cool, and you usually add the yeast from the bottle to the beer anyway so no worries about pouring.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I just made a Hoegaarden clone and used my heat mat and Inkbird for the first time to ferment at 24C , after 7 days moved to 2FV. I intend to give it 7 more days then bottle. Then 14 days to carbonate and then move to the garage and 14+ days to condition.