New to home brewing and made a coopers IPA. It’s been exactly 2 weeks of bottle conditioning with the recommended amount of coopers tablets.
I tried one today and I liked it a lot. My question is this - will longer in the bottle (in addition to this 2 weeks) create more carbonation ? I would love to have some more carbonation in the beer. Thanks for the info/ advice.
Once all the glucose of the tablet is consumed, no further carbonation will occur. After two weeks, whatever carbonation level you have now is what it’s going to stay at.
The exception is if wild microbes got in the beer during bottling. These bugs consume carbohydrates (slowly) that brewers yeast cannot and continue making CO2. This is something you do not want because it can create bottle bombs. Once you have determined that carbonation is complete from the tablet, refrigerating the bottles is good insurance against continued carbonation by wild bugs.
Possibly, but no guarantee. Given longer for the CO2 to go into solution in the beer, the carbonation might increase a bit.
Where has it been stored? If stored cold(refrigerator) then it is likely the yeast is still working its way through the primings.
if stored at room temp then you have the carbonation levels of the finished beer
Adjust your next batch accordingly
welcome to a great hobby
Sometimes carbonation will continue in the bottles for 3-4 weeks or even a little longer, especially if the beer was dry hopped like in the case of most IPAs. Hops contain enzymes that slowly produce more fermentable sugars that the yeast will eat in the bottles – this effect is known as “hop creep”. Otherwise typically your priming sugar (Cooper’s tablets) will be all eaten up in the first few weeks and then stabilize. If you want even more carbonation next time, you can add an extra 1/2 tablet or about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sugar per bottle. Or, if you bulk prime (pre-dissolving all the priming sugar together to add in the bottling bucket), you can just increase the amount of priming sugar by like 10-15% or whatever to get just a little extra fizz next time.
Cheers
In my experience and testing, hop creep almost never happens with homebrew. Especially with pellets.
I have found that sometimes it takes up to 3 weeks for my beers to fully carbonate in bottles. It’s going to depend on the temperature they’re stored at, health of remaining yeast, and other unpredictable factors.
In my experience, temperature plays a big role. Typically 70-72F (21-22C) for 2 weeks is needed for 4-5% ABV beers (Longer for high gravity). Also, I’ve found it takes 4-6 weeks to condition to peak flavor. I’ve never had good luck with the carb drops, I batch prime using the Brewer’s Friend calculator.
Time vs. temperature play a big role in bottle conditioning.
Recently tried to bottle carbonate at 59-60F and essentially flat after two weeks. Moved to 65F area and carbonation came around after another two weeks or so. Best of luck!
I’ve found best results for 4-6% beers is 70F for two weeks
Welcome to the hobby and craft!
This is one of those questions where you’ll hear a dozen different answers, but in my experience the common instructions to “2 weeks at room temp, then chill for 2-3 days” was never enough to get the best flavor, carbonation, or appearance.
When I first started brewing, it was with the Mr. Beer HME kits that used bottling tablets (now Coopers). Following the instructions exactly, I’d try the 2 weeks at ambient, then 2–3 days in the fridge, crack one open…and I’d get little to no pop, fizz, or foam. The beer always tasted young and unfinished.
Once I started holding bottles at ambient for a full 4 weeks and then giving them 2 weeks of cold conditioning, everything changed. I finally got that satisfying POP when opening the bottle, proper carbonation, better flavor, clearer appearance, and a steady stream of CO2 bubbles rising in the glass.
Everyone’s process is a little different, but extending the warm conditioning phase made a huge difference for me. You might want to try different lengths of conditioning (warm and cold) and see what works best for you.
Cheers and happy brewing!
Good point on conditioning. I don’t think new brewers give enough time in the bottle to reach peak. In my experience, 6-8 weeks is needed. I store in a cool closet between 55-65F and then move to the fridge as needed.