well i bottled my first ever batch of beer about 54 hours ago. in my ever going quest to understand how things work i decided to open a bottel every 2 days to see how the carbanation was working. well 54 hours after bottling there was no carbonation at all. maby just a light pshhht when i opened the bottle and it tasted verry flat. it tasted GOOD but flat. so i guess is this par for the course? i used bleach water for sanatizer and i hope i got it rinsed out well enough. thanks
post bottling observations
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I'm pretty sure that my friend waits around 2-4 weeks before opening to allow it to carbonate. That being said, he's had one brew, affectionately dubbed "Black Powder", because 2 weeks in it was exploding with gysers of foam. I'm pretty sure he used too much priming sugar on that batch though. 
I don't think you're going to find out much about how things work by opening a bottle every 2 days unless you have some scientific equipment at your disposal. What's happening is that the yeast is now consuming the sugar you added at bottling, and just like in a fermenter, they're producing CO2. In the fermenter, it escapes through the airlock so you don't build up pressure. In the bottle, you want it to build up pressure, as that will force the gas into solution, causing carbonation. The standard I've heard is 2 weeks from bottling to full carbonation. As those 2 weeks pass, the carbonation level should gradually grow.
It might be fun to open one halfway through to see how it's progressing, but yes, it's going to taste flat for several days, at least, because the carbonation hasn't built up yet. If there's a small hiss, that means that something's happening, just give it some time.
disclaimer: it's been a heck of a long time since chemistry class, but I think I got that mostly right.
It might be fun to open one halfway through to see how it's progressing, but yes, it's going to taste flat for several days, at least, because the carbonation hasn't built up yet. If there's a small hiss, that means that something's happening, just give it some time.
disclaimer: it's been a heck of a long time since chemistry class, but I think I got that mostly right.
my brew book says 10 days so i figured every 2 days wouldent hurt. if anything it is me not wanting to wait ten days to drink my beer.. lol
2 weeks is a good number. It depends a bit on temperature, the length of your fermentation, %abv, if you did a secondary (or lagering), etc etc. I've had batches that take 6 months to reach full carbonation (big beers with several months of secondary), and some that are set in a week (quick small beers).
