I have some chinook ipa conditioning in bottles in the basement where it’s quite chilly. It’s an unfinished basement so I don’t worry about heating it like the rest of the house. My bottles are sitting on the floor, which is cold… About 57 - 60 degrees a few inches off the floor. I sampled a bottle after three weeks and felt the carbonation was a bit weak. Used fizz drops. Not terrible just weaker than I expected. Can this cool environment be too cool for proper yeast /sugar activities?
If yes, would a warmer environment and tipping/gently agitating the bottle a few times activate more carbonation?
i would try a warmer climate for sure but no guarantees though. Most important thing to do is skip the fizz drops and learn to batch prime - - -it’s super easy and turns out great. Another thing i recommend is to put at least one of your beers in plastic that way you can “feel” the carbonation without opening one.
Your beer is basically just fermenting some more in the bottle, so fermentation temperature is just as important now as it was when it was in the primary fermenter. Most ale yeasts are not too comfortable working at that low a temp, but will still give you a carbonated beer, it’ll just take a while longer than it would at a more ideal temp. If you can’t get your beer to a warmer spot, you’ll just have to wait at least a week or so longer than usual, but you should still get carbonated beer before too long. Just be careful about shocking the yeast by moving the beer to a location where the temp is radically higher in one shot. That can freak the yeast out and potentially cause some slight off-flavors. I wouldn’t worry too much, though. I’m sure your upstairs can’t be more than 10 degrees warmer, right?
