Notes on my first batch

This does not really sound like a mistake to me. The thermal mass of the batch of beer is >> than that of the priming solution, so it would have negligible impact on temperature, and therefore yeast survival and priming.

If it is not fully carbonated yet, some of that sweetness may be priming sugar. It might be helpful to know what your original and final gravity is so you can evaluate whether there was too much residual sweetness during fermentation.

 

Floating crud could be braun hefe (German term translates to brown yeast, refers to yeast clumps that have not flocced yet). The other term used for fermentation crud (or homebrew crud in general) is trub (rhymes with newb), but that one is usually reserved for stuff at the bottom of the kettle or fermenter, in my experience. There may be some technical terminology nuances that are lost on me here.

 

Once it is fully carbed, a few weeks in the fridge will change mouthfeel, head retention, and bubble size. There are likely still fine particles in suspension. This causes nucleation sites and causes a couple of things to happen. Co2 comes out of solution faster. Then the beer lacks residual co2 that reinforces the head that dissipates. You also get finer bubbles as fine particles are reduced.

 

You've given descriptions of issues that don't fit anything in the way of a 'normal' problem. I'd let these bottles carbonate another week and try another one to see if anything changes.

 

Once they are fully carbed, yes.

Cellarable beers use time instead of time and temp. You can get same results over time.

 

Try to be patient. Give them another 2 weeks in the bottle and then a solid few days in the fridge.

 

You want them to be properly carbed, so keep them at 70-72 degrees until you test one and determine that the carbonation is okay. Most beers are carbed in two weeks, but a beer with higher alcohol and a long fermentation would likely have tired yeast and would likely take longer to carb. You didn't say what style of beer yours is, but nothing tells the yeast to read the calendar.

If you have floaties, those things will take a while to settle out too, but at room temp it is slower for them, so you may be a catch-22 situation here. After you think the beer is carbed, drink a few of them and enjoy the fruits of your labor, but notice that as time goes by that the beer becomes better conditioned and tastier with the aging up to a month or so for hoppy beers, and longer for malty styles before their peak.

 

Below is something I posted in an on-line conversation to a first time homebrewer which I think is applicable here:

Feel free to try 1 bottle sooner if you feel compelled to try one but please wait at least two weeks before really drinking your beer. You will likely find that your beer will improve with some extra time in the bottle beyond the 2 week mark. I have a friend John and he has no patience in waiting to drink his homebrewed beer. He consistently reports that his best beer of the batch is the last beer he drinks. I keep telling him to not start going 'gang busters' once the beer is carbed but he just has no self-control.

Don't be a John!!

Cheers!

 

Peter,

I have posted in the past on the topic of CO2 hydration. Copied below is an example of this discussion. The below is referenced to forced carbonation (kegging) but I would think the physics of CO2 hydration would be applicable to bottle conditioning as well.

Based upon the descriptions you provided in your original post maybe the CO2 in your bottled beers just have not completed the CO2 hydration process yet?

Cheers!

“Below is something that Martin Brungard posted on another beer forum:

“We know we can infuse CO2 into solution fairly quickly. The soda manufacturers do that every day. Nice coarse and effervescent bubbles are formed. But with time, CO2 is hydrated and I feel that this mechanism is key to the change in carbonation quality that we brewers desire. The hydration of CO2 is a very time-dependent process and it cannot be accelerated. That is why you can force carbonate a keg in minutes, yet not have acceptable foam for a few weeks.”

 

FWIW, I have on a few occasions obtained very fresh commercial beer and I found they needed additional conditioning time for the beer to improve/mature. On two occasions I purchased Troegs Nugget Nectar just a few days from bottling. For both of those cases I really did not enjoy drinking those fresh bottles. Both times I just placed the cases of beer in my basement and let them 'sit' for another week. After that week of 'extra' conditioning time those beers were very tasty. Would a beer like Budweiser have this same 'issue'? I have no idea, I am not a Bud drinker.

Cheers!