How warm for carbonation and conditioning?

[Haversham]

I’m totally new to this. My first-ever two kit brews have been fermenting about 9 days now and I'll wait another few days before I King Keg one of them (Woodforde's Wherry) and bottle the other (Admiral's Reserve). I've been reading a ton of helpful posts across the forum (thank you) about these next stages and I think I've got a handle on what to do and when. One question though. Everyone says something like 'carbonate for 2 weeks in the warm and condition for another few weeks in cooler conditions'. OK great, but just how warm, and how cool? For carbonation, what's meant by 'warm'? Airing cupboard type warmth? And how cool should we be aiming at for the post-carb conditioning? Some rough figures would be helpful. Thank you!

 

[Pennine]

Yes carbonate in room temps, and then cold condition in the refrigerator although that's not necessary they can stay in room temps longer term if needed. Sample one after 2 weeks to make sure they are fully carbonated before putting them in the fridge.

 

[StJayJay]

I’ve not bottled for a while but generally did it at the same temperature range for the yeast I was using, ideally finding somewhere in the house with a fairly constant temperature. If the primary fermentation temp was, say, 22c, I’d aim to keep it similar for however long it takes to carbonate. Once the yeast is done with secondary fermentation, it’s okay to store cooler, and the cold can help the beer clear up and the yeast settle and compact. For this, I usually put some bottles in the fridge for a few days.
Just remember different styles have different optimal temperature ranges and lagers generally benefit from a long cool storage where ales can be done quicker.

 

[Stevieboy]

Carbonation is fermentation. Think of it like that.

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

I carbonate for 2 weeks at 20C then move to a colder room to store. Tricky at this time of year but I've got an air-con room I can use which is at 15C. During winter I just store in my garage.

 

[Buffers brewery]

As @Stevieboy says, carbonation (if using sugar priming solution) is a fermentation process but the fermentation gas is prevented from escaping, so carbonate at the same temperature as you fermented your beer. After a couple of weeks I cool my beer to around 12C in my brew fridge for 2 weeks but a cool concrete garage floor will suffice.

 

[Haversham]

OK thanks All. At least I have a few figures to work with now. I realise that this needn't be an exact science but I have the answer I need (but couldn't find) -- that the carbonation/2nd fermentation should be about the same temp as the first. That's no problem. If everything stayed the same, I would have a challenge getting the conditioning done at a lower temperature i.e, I don't yet have the right equipment to do that. But as I'm in no hurry to drink the stuff I'm hoping that a gradual drop in natural ambient temp through September and October will see to that. Cheers!

 

[Haversham]

Update: I cold-crashed my Wherry for 3 days (after 12 days of fermentation) which seems to have really helped to clear the beer. Siphoned into King Keg with 85g of dissolved brewing sugar and lugged the keg to the garage where the temperature is about 18 degrees, a bit cooler than expected. Question: if I'm not planning to drink the beer for at least 6-8 weeks, should I still follow the '2 weeks warm for carbonation, 2 weeks+ cooler for conditioning' guideline? Put another way, if time is not an issue, will the carbonation still take place at a slightly lower temperature, even if it takes longer? Or should I bring the keg back into the house for the extra 2 or 3 degrees of warmth before returning to the garage after 2 weeks? Thanks.

 

[Stevieboy]

Update: I cold-crashed my Wherry for 3 days (after 12 days of fermentation) which seems to have really helped to clear the beer. Siphoned into King Keg with 85g of dissolved brewing sugar and lugged the keg to the garage where the temperature is about 18 degrees, a bit cooler than expected. Question: if I'm not planning to drink the beer for at least 6-8 weeks, should I still follow the '2 weeks warm for carbonation, 2 weeks+ cooler for conditioning' guideline? Put another way, if time is not an issue, will the carbonation still take place at a slightly lower temperature, even if it takes longer? Or should I bring the keg back into the house for the extra 2 or 3 degrees of warmth before returning to the garage after 2 weeks? Thanks.

Yes the carbing will still happen at lower temps. Leave it there and you'll have a great beer.

 

[KentishMan]

I use a combination of 5l kegs (as they fit in the family fridge) and bottles.
I have found they carbonate at different speeds, kegs seem to be a lot quicker and also different styles of beer vary as well.
After legging and bottling, I keep them all in the same place I primary ferment, and keep everything there until I have some room in the fridge. Sometimes for months.
About 5 days in the fridge seems to clear pretty well, and I take them out the fridge about an hour before opening to bring it up to something like 12C.
In short, give it about 2 weeks to carbonate and mature, but keep in stored as long as you need. Then a chill to help clear.