My first ever batch is currently bottled and (hopefully) carbonating. After 1 week in the bottle, I wanted to make sure there was no infection or anything, so I popped one bottle open. There was little-to-no "hiss" as the cap came off. The beer smelled fairly sweet, and tasted extremely flat and watery. Is this normal, needing of more time, or could the batch just be ruined?

It's normal for carbonation to take 2 or 3 weeks. what temp are you storing it at? You want it around the same as fermentation temps. If it's sitting in a cool basement, it could take even longer to carb.

There's probably a few bottles in the bunch that'll make a hiss at 1 week. Several bottles will hiss after two weeks, but they won't be fully carbonated. If you're going the bottling route, wait three weeks before even trying a bottled beer. If you're going to stick with the hobby, get some corney kegs and a CO2 bottle. Kegging is much quicker and more enjoyable IMHO.

GuitarLord5000 wrote:If you're going to stick with the hobby, get some corney kegs and a CO2 bottle. Kegging is much quicker and more enjoyable IMHO.

AMEN Brother! I've only bottle conditioned two batches in the last 3 years since I started kegging.

curlyfat wrote:AMEN Brother! I've only bottle conditioned two batches in the last 3 years since I started kegging.

You know, when I first started brewing beer, bottling day was an exciting day for me. I'd lug all those bottles in and start cleaning and sanitizing everything. Then get all the bottles full and capped. Then clean up everything. It'd take me most of the day. By the third batch, I'd had enough. It's too much work for a lazy brewer like myself.
For me, kegging was a no brainer. I haven't bottle conditioned a single batch since I got my CO2 bottle filled for the first time. It's just too much darn work! And then you have to wait three whole weeks to drink your beer! I love the fact that I can drink my kegged beer literally within hours of it being done fermenting. That's tough to beat!

And to tbargebeer...Wait until the beer is fully carbonated before making any decisions about taste. The same beer you loathed while flat, you may very well love after it's been fully carbonated. Sometimes it can be a night and day difference.

As a bottle brewer for over five years, I concur with the other guys, I always wait a week to test my first one, If I get the slighest fizz I'm happy and know Its going the right way. Make sure its at room temp., second week test another bottle. ...a little more fizz.....excellent. By the 3rd week it should be drinkable!! assuming all else went right. Make sure you get another batch going soon.
Good Luck

When I was bottling I would try a test bottle after two weeks. I feel that two weeks is a better indicator of how the brew is doing. It will always be a little sweet after only one week, just not enough time to let the corn sugar do its thing.
Since I've been kegging I've only bottled one batch, and that was a Bitters recipe that isn't stellar, but is sure good enough for steaming local shrimp.