AG stout - conditioning time

[BrewDan]

I bottled up my second all grain nearly two weeks ago, and have left it in my fermentation chamber at 20c, primed 500ml bottles with half a teaspoon brewing sugar.


I forgot to check keynotes before posting this, but I had left it a couple of months before bottling.

As this is only my second all grain, I was just wondering how long people would leave this to condition? It was meant to be a chocolate oatmeal stout, ended up around 5%abv from memory. My plan was to leave for two weeks at 20c and then drop the temp to around 12c for 2-4 weeks, but have no idea how long to leave for the best results.

I want to get a few more under my belt , and hopefully next year enter the secret Santa

Shall post an update when I do give it a go, I'm thinking maybe it will be ready for this Christmas, however I usually leave my brews for 6-12 months before drinking them

Cheers

 

[Dr Mike]

Normal strength beers should be perfectly drinkable at 4 to 6 weeks from bottling which is not to say they won't continue to improve for months after. The actual conditioning (carbonation) probably only takes a matter of days at warm temps. The additional time is just for the flavours to mellow etc.