Author: Jake Huolihan

The most common way for new homebrewers to take their beer from flat to fizzy is bottle conditioning, a simple method that involves dosing fermented beer with sugar then leaving sealed bottles alone while the yeast convert the sugar into CO2, which then gets absorbed into the beer. This is how I started out, it was fine at first, but after the novelty of wore off, I began to loathe the packaging process. Messy, boring, labor intensive, time consuming, not to mention the horrible task of cleaning 50 bottles for every 5 gallon batch. It simply wasn’t for me and so, less than a year after I started homebrewing, I bought some kegging equipment, a move that made packaging a task I abhorred to a mere annoyance and is likely responsible for keeping me in the hobby. Immediately after making the switch, I noticed an improvement in the overall quality of my beer that included more consistent carbonation, clarity, and in my opinion, flavor.

Having all but sworn off bottle conditioning, I recently became intrigued by its extensive use for particular styles of beer by respected professional and homebrewers. Based on snippets from various interviews, I’ve learned these natural carbonation adherents believe bottle conditioning has a qualitatively positive impact on the character of the finished beer. I initially viewed this as absolute rubbish, then I thought about it. Perhaps there is some benefit, for example, from the active yeast in the bottle scavenging available oxygen and thus retarding the staling process. Still, as a core concept, I struggle with the idea the carbonation from bottle conditioning produces a perceptibly different character than force carbonation– CO2 is CO2 regardless of the source. With increased curiosity, I shelved my hatred of the bottling process for the sake of learning and decided it was time to put this to the test!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between force carbonation and bottle conditioning in beers of the same recipe.

| METHODS |

A style commonly cited as benefiting from bottle conditioning is Saison, so I thought it most appropriate for this xBmt, and having entered our friends’ 2nd annual BrewUnited Challenge, this beer would end up serving two purposes.

BrewUnited Saison

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 29.2 IBUs 4.9 SRM 1.052 1.012 5.3 % Actuals 1.052 1.006 6.0 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pilsner (Weyermann) 3.5 lbs 33.33 Wheat - White Malt (Briess) 3.5 lbs 33.33 Vienna Malt (Weyermann) 3 lbs 28.57 Caravienne Malt 8 oz 4.76 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Hallertauer 57 g 60 min Boil Pellet 2.7 Hallertauer 30 g 30 min Boil Pellet 2.7 Hallertauer 15 g 5 min Boil Pellet 2.7 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Belgian Saison I Ale (WLP565) White Labs 70% 68°F - 75°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 41 | Mg 5 | Na 8 | SO4 66 | Cl 42

A few days before brewing, I prepared a traditional starter using my preferred yeast calculator at the ale pitch rate.

I collected my ingredients and water the evening prior to brew day, then woke up early the next morning and immediately began heating my strike water.

After water was to the appropriate temperature, I mashed in my crushed grains with the proper amounts of minerals and acid to achieve my desired water profile. A temperature check revealed I was right about where I wanted to be.

Following a 60 minute rest, I collected the first runnings and performed a simple batch sparge.

The wort was boiled for 60 minutes with hops added at the times listed in the recipe.

At the end of the boil, I quickly chilled the wort before splitting it evenly between a pair of 6 gallon PET carboys that were placed in my fermentation chamber to finish chilling to my preferred fermentation temperature.

At this point, I took a hydrometer reading showing the wort had indeed hit the predicted OG.

The following morning, both batches of wort had stabilized at my set temperature, so I split the decanted start of yeast evenly between the carboys then hit each with a 60 second dose of pure oxygen.

At 12 hours post-pitch, both beers had taken off.

I began gently ramping the temperature up after 24 hours of active fermentation, ultimately reaching a peak of 72°F/22°C a few days later in hopes of encouraging complete attenuation. I took an initial hydrometer reading at 2 weeks and found both beers were sitting at the same 1.006 SG, a nice site to see since I used a strain known for stalling. I checked again a few days later and observed both batches to be at the same SG, indicating the beers were done fermenting.

Consulting with the crew, we decided against cold crashing and fining with gelatin since the style doesn’t necessarily call for it, plus I had an inkling judges for the BrewUnited Challenge might frown upon a crystal clear Saison anyway. Time for the fun part! I wasn’t interested in bottling 5 gallons of beer by myself, so I solicited the assistance of my friend, Dave, promising him beer in exchange for his help with this laborious task.

In order to minimize the impact of as many extraneous variables as possible, both beers were initially racked to kegs, which we reasoned might reduce the risk of contamination or oxidation of the bottle conditioned batch. The force carbonation keg was placed in my cool keezer where it was connected to CO2 and set to carbonate slowly; the other beer was racked on top of a priming sugar solution before being pressure transferred with 1 psi of pressure to sanitized flip-top bottles via my Blichmann BeerGun.

With 49 bottles of beer in the box, we were finished. I was quite impressed with how well it all went and would definitely recommend those who have the gear trying it out! The filled bottles were left in a dark area of a bedroom that maintains a consistent 74°F/23°C to carbonate for 2 weeks before being chilled.

When it came time to have the beers evaluated by tasters, they were both well carbonated though didn’t share the same appearance.

| RESULTS |

A panel of 26 people with varying degrees of experience participated in this xBmt. Each taster, blind to the variable being investigated, was served 2 samples of the bottle conditioned beer and 1 sample of the keg conditioned beer in different colored opaque cups then instructed to select the unique sample. In order to keep things as equal as possible, the force carbonated samples were bottled prior to being served to participants, even those who completed the evaluation at my house. Given the sample size, a total of 14 correct selections (p<0.05) would have been required to achieve statistical significance, yet in this case only 12 tasters (p=0.12) chose the different beer, suggesting participants were unable to reliably distinguish a beer that was bottle conditioned from one that was force carbonated in the keg.

Since statistical significance was not achieved, the following data on taster preference ought to be interpreted with caution. The 12 tasters who were correct on the initial triangle test were instructed to select which sample they preferred, all still blind to the nature of the xBmt. The force carbonated sample took 6 votes while the bottle conditioned beer was preferred by 4 tasters and 2 people had no preference despite perceiving a difference.

My Impressions: I have to believe my knowledge of the variable combined with the fact I tasted these beers many times throughout the process is at least partially responsible for my ability to consistently tell them apart in “blind” triangles. However, it wasn’t as easy as I expected, particularly when left to warm up for a couple minutes. I perceived the bottle conditioned beer as being somewhat more gritty and rustic in flavor, which I actually enjoy in Saison. The force carbonated version tasted fresher and slightly brighter to my tongue, which certainly wasn’t bad, though I did have a slight preference for the bottle conditioned beer in this particular case. Regarding the beer, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest fan of Belgian styles, especially Saison, as the phenols and esters aren’t all too pleasing to my palate. That said, this one was really good! I’ll likely never make it again, but I found brewing to the constraints required for the BrewUnited Challenge was fun and refreshing. I look forward to seeing how this beer stacks up to others. Fingers crossed!

| DISCUSSION |

I’m equally as surprised this xBmt failed to achieve significance as I am by how similar the bottle conditioned and force carbonated beers truly were. Considering the fact the bottled beer sat at 74˚F/23˚C for two weeks while the force carbonated beer was in my 34˚F/1˚C keezer, I fully expected them to taste different enough for people to reliably tell them apart. These particular findings support the idea that a bottle conditioned beer, at least of the Saison style, can be equal in quality to one that is force carbonated, which corroborates the results from our recent xBmt comparing force carbonation to natural carbonation in the keg. Similar to that xBmt, the one obvious difference between the beers in this evaluation was in appearance with the bottle conditioned sample failing to reach the level of clarity the force carbonated batch did.

While I’ve no desire to start bottle conditioning more often, I find these results quite encouraging, particularly for those who may not have the means to get into kegging. I’m also left wondering at what point, if there even is a point, the beers would become more readily distinguishable, particularly whether age would bring them closer together or further apart. Finally, I’m curious the extent to which the impact of bottle conditioning is style dependent– would the results be similar for a Pale Ale, ESB, or German Pils? I look forward to exBEERimenting more with this variable in the future!

If you have any thoughts on the differences between bottle conditioning and force carbonation, please feel free to share them in the comments section below!

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