Bottle Conditioning

[clockhouse]

Whats the best temperature for bottle conditioning? About 12-13 degrees?

Here's my set up

I ferment at around 18-19 degrees (depending on the recipe) in my fermenting fridge for 10-14 days

Then I bottle and put the bottles back in the fridge and lower to 12-13

As I only have limited space in my fridge, it reduces my brewing to about once month. Which is painful, as I have plenty of brews planned, but not enough space/equipment for more.

So my thinking is, if I can bottle condition at room temperature, I can get the brew fridge back after 2 weeks to start the next brew.

But as its pretty hot at the moment, room temp is about 24 degrees. Is that going to ruin my hard work...?

[Jim]

Straight after bottling I leave them at around 16C for 4 or 5 days, then put them to condition long-term at 12 or 13C. They'll take longer to carbonate if you put them straight at 12-13 after bottling (though as long as the yeast will still work at that temperature they'll be OK).

[LeeH]

I solved that little issue with a 2nd fridge.

They seem to multiply just like corni kegs!


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[clockhouse]

Ah good point about the longer to carbonate. I had noticed that, but didn't put 2 and 2 together.

But if I leave them at room temp, from bottling, how much do you think it would effect the conditioning?

Id love a 2nd fridge!

[LeeH]

As long as you can keep them in a cool (ish) dark place then it’s all good.

As you know it’s just easy to get a decent carbonation when you can control the variables. Temperature being one of them.


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[Meatymc]

I only have the 1 small brew fridge like you and bottle. Simply leave mine on the work top (utility) for a week during the warmer months or into the airing cupboard during winter for up to 2 weeks depending on temps/brew. I also no chill so have wort and whatever yeast I'm using ready and waiting on bottling day hence bottle/clean/sanitise/pitch next brew - all within a couple of hours.

[chefgage]

Mine usually hava a week at about 20'c in a spare bedroom. They then go in a building thats separate to the house that does not have heating. So in this building the temperature can change from about 4'c in winter to about 35'c in the summer! Beer seems ok though. Like whats been said, at the lower temperatures it just takes longer to carbonate. I then usually leave them for another 3 to 4 weeks to condition after they have carbonated.

[Kingfisher4]

Straight after bottling I leave them at around 16C for 4 or 5 days, then put them to condition long-term at 12 or 13C. They'll take longer to carbonate if you put them straight at 12-13 after bottling (though as long as the yeast will still work at that temperature they'll be OK).

Help and advice with another conundrum would be much appreciated.

I am only on my eighth all-grain brew. I do not have the controllability of a brew fridge and do not currently have space to install one. I have managed to control fermentation temperature quite well, following advice on this forum. I have a fastferment conical plastic fermenter, with an insulating jacket which I can increase or decrease temperature with Hot water bottles or frozen 2 L ice bottles respectively. This has made a huge difference to fermentation temperature control stability ( 18-22 degree achieved, stepping up later in fermentation).

Bottle conditioning in the garage has been much less variable, as it is dark and much cooler, until the recent hot weather!

My most recent two brews have obviously continued to ferment much further in the bottle than previous brews and the expected maximum attenuation of the yeast.

I have assumed secondary fermentation has finished when a combination of static final gravity over two or three days combined with quoted expected percent attenuation of yeast is reached. I will be continuing to use dried yeast, predominantly mangrove jacks, reconstituted before pitching as per instructions.

The most recent brew which has relatively overcarbonated has dropped from 1.012 gravity at bottling to 1.006 now. The attenuation from mangrove jacks M36 was calculated as 75% at bottling (expected 74-78%), I added 3 g/L of dried malt extract to give 1.5 volumes of CO2 via Brewers Friend calculator. I cannot allow for the additional sugars from that priming, ( not yet ventured as far as Beersmith etc) but the further drop in gravity and relatively high carbonation suggests an attenuation of well over 80%, (88% excluding the additional DME). The level of carbonation would be fine for a lager but is too high for me with an ale.

I will allow for likely temperature during conditioning, when considering priming in future, but my main question is how do I decide when secondary fermentation has finished and it is time to bottle? Is it from the expected yeast attenuation and static gravity readings, assuming my fermentation temp control is as per recipe?

[Jocky]

It sounds like you're doing the right things - raising the temperature at the end of the fermentation helps squeeze out the maximum attenuation. Other than that, it may just need time - an extra couple of days to check the FG is really static won't hurt.

Having said that, 1.006 is a very low FG for a non-diastatic yeast, and I wonder if you've got something else in there other than your M36 that is breaking down and chewing on your long chain sugars (e.g. could be a residual amount of a saison yeast).

[Kingfisher4]

Thanks, that’s very reassuring. I have only used M 36 for the last three brews and haven’t yet ventured into anything more exotic than golden and traditional English style bitters. I have tried to keep my cleaning regime scrupulously thorough, so hope I don’t have too much chance of stray yeast.

I like the versatility of bottled beers, also probably means I drink it less quickly than a keg, so need to try to get them as close to ideal carbonation as possible!

[FermentedCulture2]

Most breweries use heated bottle conditioning rooms with heated floors and fans to keep it a consistent temperature. In most cases, especially hefeweizens, the temperatures are actually higher than what they are during fermentation.

The benefits of increased temperatures isn't just faster carbonation rates but also the yeast absorbs any O2 during the bottling stage quicker. In the case of hefeweizens there is slightly more esters produced doing it this way.