Conditioning temp

[Kev888]

You get different answers because there are many different ways of doing these things, and also people have their own individual circumstances, requirements and preferences. Not all of which will necessarily apply to other people or recipes etc. On this particular subject there can also be confusion over terminology; 'condition' is frequently used to mean the carbonation, and so conditioning can be used to describe the process of achieving that. However 'conditioning' can instead (some would say should) refer to the more general process of the new beer maturing (by-products of fermentation being converted, flavours melding etc). Its not always easy to tell which is meant, and is further muddied because they can happen at about the same time.

The good thing is that now you have temperature control you can try some of the common methods and so make your own mind up on what works best for you. Though I would suggest not using time as the only measure of fermentation progress, in home brew situations it can vary so measure the gravity to double-check what is actually happening.

There are many valid ways, but in case its of use my own process (when bottling) is as follows: cool the FV to 0c (or as low as the fridge will go) for a couple of days after fermentation has ended, to help the larger suspended particles drop out. Then bottle, prime, cap and put it somewhere warm for several days to speed yeast activity in carbonating the beer. And then store and mature at cellar temperatures (~12c) - ideally for at least a few weeks - before serving.

As has been mentioned, beer can carbonate without the warm phase but it will happen more slowly and (for me anyway) its success depends on the yeast variety, and whether cold conditioning or lagering suits the style of beer. For British styles with true ale yeast I personally found it more consistent and bomb-proof to carbonate warm before moving to cellar teperatures, though as always mileage may vary.

Cheers
Kev

[sbond10]

Cheers folks I shall try them all. But hopefully I will see an improvement in my beer quality

[Kev888]

I think you will, once you've worked out your approach. Especially in summer, and you should also get improved consistency as well as quality.

Best of luck,
Kev

[IronBlue]

As you say, you will get a hundred contrary answers. I completely echo Kev's advice, i believe conditioning should mainly mean ageing or maturing, rather than carbonation. Although they certainly run in parallel for the first couple of weeks etc..

When I bottle carbonated I would fully ferment, bottle and leave at room temperature for 2 weeks, then store in a standard fridge from that point on. I have CO2 carbed for the last couple of years, and condition in the kegs for a few weeks at about 10C then bottle and again fridge.

What I have found is, once you have carbed, keep the bottles cold if you can. I deliberately kept some bottles at room temperature for a few months and they were not great, the same beers in the shed fridge were perfect...

[wezzel01]

A handy tip is to use 1 plastic (PET) bottle along with your glass ones. When the beer is fully carbonated it feels firm to the touch when squeezed.