Bottle Conditioning Advice please

Hi all, new here but have enjoyed reading and learning here for a while. Onto my third batch and have followed each recipe almost to the letter (Chinook IPA, Sierra Madre and currently Dead Ringer).

Only issue I seem to be having is with bottle conditioning and wondered if others had the same.

My first two batches didn’t really taste right until 8 plus weeks in the bottle with the recipe calling for only 1 to 2 weeks. As this has happened twice wondered if this is the norm and should not open my new batch until around this time. Confused as everything else timing wise in the kits i have bought seems spot on.

The Sierra Madre in particular tasted watery at first and i put this down to going slightly over 5 gallons after I had a low yield from my first attempt with the Chinook and overcorrected, but to my surprise this has gone after two months as I finish the final bottles.

Thanks all!

Most bottled beer kept at 72° to 75°F will begin showing good carbonation in 2 weeks. Three weeks to reach optimum carbonation. High ABV will typically take longer to carbonate than low ABV beers. The flavors of dark beers usually take longer to mature than light colored beers.

My Chinook IPA is usually ready to drink in three weeks. My Dead Ringer usually four weeks and the carbonation and flavor is just right.

I bottled a dry Irish stout on 5/29. Bottles are at 68°F. Barely any carbonation yet. It’s a dark beer so I’m just going to give it more time to carbonate and mature. Might try another bottle in four weeks.

My yield will be 48 twelve ounce bottles when I fill the fermentor to the measured 5 gallon mark. That’s what I like to get. Two full cases is easier to store than two cases and one to three loose bottles in a six pack holder.

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My chinook was ok at 2 weeks and much better at 3 weeks in the bottle. My Irish red was a little light in body but I think I did the same as you, I added a bit too much top off water to get a " full batch". Plus I misread the Irish moss dosage and put about 10x the amount.
My dead ringer was an all grain and I kegged that. Ended up with less than I hoped but I look at the SG and if it’s close to the target then I take what I have and don’t mess with it.

One habit I got into after someone suggested it, while bottle conditioning I would go into the room ( usually about 70 deg) , and pick each bottle upside down and give it a swirl to mix up the yeast settled at the bottom of the bottle. I have no idea if it has had any significant affect but I figure it can’t hurt.

Maybe you should have your water tested in case it is way off in some way? Not usually a problem with extract batches I don’t think.

Although water isn’t as important in extract as all grain the old “if your water tastes fine” saying is a misnomer. Tap water often contains chlorine or chloramines which can lend to chlorophenols. Plus, the minerals in the extract have been set by the manufacturer. So if the manufacturer has water high in a mineral your water is high in that mineral you can have off flavors.

Do I think that’s the case here? Nope. I think you had green beer. For some reason we now think that certain beers need to be drank RIGHT NOW with no age. Sure commercial IPAs state to drink immediately but we need to remember that those are still aged as they sit at the brewery, ages as they wait to get shipped, aged as they sit at a distributor, then age as they sit on a store shelf. It’s okay to give your beers some time and I think you’ll find they turn out better!

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Spot on advise Loopie! Spot on! Sneezles61

Thanks all!