First off, thanks everyone for the tips! I figured out how to use my hydrometer correctly and from the advice from the guys at my local brew shop I let my Milk Stout sit and ferment an extra week. Upon taking the last reading the alcohol content was right where I wanted it and needed it to be! So my question is my buddy and I bottled up and got about 45 bottles filled from our 5 gallon batch. Now do I want to stick the bottles in the fridge for the next 2 weeks? Or can I let them sit out in the laundry room(kept at 69 degrees) to carbonate? Thanks again!
I let them sit out until carbonation is where I want them and then crash cool them in the fridge to stop from over carbonating. If carbonation isn't happening I try to move them to a warmer part of the house.
You can and you should. Fridge temps will halt carbonation. If you calculated the priming sugar properly, you should wait for it to completely finish and have no worries about over-carbonation. Afterward, a few days in the fridge will help more C02 to dissolve into the beer and not sit in the headspace of the bottle.
You need warmth for the yeast to start producing CO2. Storing at 69 is a good temp, even a little warmer would not hurt. If your beer has completely finished fermenting (hydrometer reading) and if you calculated the proper amount of sugar for your carb level and if you measured/dissolved the sugar properly and if the yeast are still active and if your bottle cap is solid, then after a 2+ week period you will have perfect results. But don't let all those ifs make you nervous, this is a pretty routine operation and you will quickly achieve expert status. I find the biggest variable is activity of yeast. Even a tiny bit of active yeast will normally get the job done, but it may take another week or so. As you approach the 2 week mark you might want to sample a beer for quality assurance . . . just to make sure it hasn't gone hyper on you. It is not uncommon to take three weeks to be complete. I wouldn't chill the remainder until your taste-test says you have arrived. Remember, the beer is conditioning (i.e. getting better) while you wait. I know you are anxious to start drinking, but my guess is your stout will continue to improve in the bottle for months to come.
Is there a check to test the beer for the correct amount of carbonation prior to refrigerating other than drinking it? Thanks!
No. Well, at least not without pouring it. In which case you might as well drink it. But if attenuation was finished before bottling and if you used the right amount of priming sugar, you won't overcarbonate, if that's why you're asking.
They'll never carbonate in the fridge. Room temperature for at least two weeks. I've now got a few 7oz bottles I use as test bottles. I pop one about nine days, and frequently they are carbonated pretty well, but invariably they are always better beyond the 2 week mark, and frequently into the month mark is when they reach their peak.
For me, bottle conditioning was the most frustrating thing about being a novitiate brewer. Some beers carbonate quickly at 70 degrees F, while others of mine (sours, strong things) have taken 6-12 months to fully carbonate. Use a good priming calculator, weigh your priming sugar, place in warm spot, be patient while drinking test bottles.
I did buy a boxed kit for my first go, so it had all the sugars and yeasts premeasured. When I went from the fermentor to the bottling bucket I noticed that "Yeast Cake" everyone talked about. Should have I gotten some of that in the bottling bucket? Or do I naturally get yeast carrying over?
No, generally you should take pains to avoid transferring trub. The yeast you want is still suspended in the beer.
