Getting Beer to Carbonate Faster

Cooler temps are great for fermentation at home, but it can pose a problem when you bottle.

At my house we delay turning the heat on for as long as possible, so during the day the house may only be 60-65F.  This can lead to slow carbonation times in the bottle.  Here are some quick ideas for finding warmer places in your house to get bottles to “carb” up in the time you are used to.

1. Get bottles off the floor.  You’d be surprised to realize that the floor may be 10 degrees cooler than chest height in some places in the house.  Also, a cold floor acts as a heat sink and can suck warmth out of the cases if they sit on the floor.  Either get them up on a shelf or use a few old towels or blankets to get the bottles off the colder floor.
2. Where is your furnace?  Maybe set up some shelving nearby to take advantage of the heat given off from your furnace.  If you have forced hot air in your home, set the boxes near a vent in a spare room and drape a towel or blanket over the vent and cases to trap some hot air with the cases.  Rotate the cases daily to prevent uneven warming and carbing.  If you have radiators you can just place the cases in front of one rotating daily.  Just don’t lay them up agains tthe radiator as they can get too warm.  A 1ft distance should be fine.  Of course, none of these things work if you aren’t regularly heating your house yet.
3. Ever notice how much heat is coming out from behind your kitchen fridge?  Placing cases on top of the fridge with a blanket to make a “hood” will trap warm air rising up from behind the fridge and increase the ambient temp of the beer cases.  If space allows pull the fridge out enough to put the cases behind the fridge.  Set them up on a small bench to get them off the floor.  Push the fridge back against the cases for a week or so.  (Of course, clear this one with your spouse or roommates first.)
4. Use a heating pad as a heat source.  Sandwich a heating pad between two cases of bottles, set to low, with a blanket of the top is a great way to increase ambient temps.  Rotate the cases 90 degrees each day to ensure even warming.  You could even put two cases of bottled beer in the oven with a heating pad in there too…. just don’t forget to remove them before preheating the oven to make pizza.
5. Sit on the cases like an ostrich on an egg.  Of course this may require some time off from work and someone to fetch you food and water (or beer).