american amber ale

ba70665 · 08-31-2007, 12:30 AM

First time brewer here, had some mishaps during fermenting but think its alright, although it hasn't changed much as far as color in a week. im trying to gauge when its ok to bottle w/o hydrometer. thought it would be more pale and clear, but its a dark brown. any specific reasons why? or am i just being paranoid

jeff · 08-31-2007, 12:35 AM

Color shouldn't change during fermentation. Is there airlock activity? Without a hydrometer I would wait at least 3 days after the bubbling has stopped completely. In the mean time, give your fermenter a good swirl daily to get the yeast back in suspension to finish the job.

Congrats on your first brew

...and get a hydrometer!

ba70665 · 08-31-2007, 12:38 AM

thanks, yeah i took a cup full out and it looks/smells good, except its reallly hazy. bubbling has definitely stopped as of a few days ago. is the haze caused by moving the fermenter around? ii guess im asking if i should let it sit for like a day straight w/o moving it before bottling. also read something saying a week should be the minimum allowed to condition, and 2 weeks in the fermenter would be even better. any advice?

magno · 08-31-2007, 12:43 AM

The hazyness is the yeast. The beer looks a lot darker in the fermenter than it will in the glass. The light just has more beer to go through.

It is never a bad idea to let your beer condition for a while before bottling.

**Kayos** · 08-31-2007, 12:51 AM

Get a secondary so next time you can let it clear more. Before you do that...and for this batch....let it sit for 3 weeks if you don't have a secondary. This will let it clear and condition as much as possible without a secondary and also will assure you that it is totally done fermenting. Have I ruined your day yet with the waiting yet?

Professor Frink · 08-31-2007, 02:43 AM

What kind of yeast did you use? Depending on the floculation of the yeast, it will clear up quick or really slow. Like Kayos said, if you don't have a secondary, 3 weeks should give it plenty of time for most of the yeast to fall out of suspension.

ba70665 · 08-31-2007, 05:52 AM

ok. should i also try not to move it around? would that just undo days of waiting?

**Kayos** · 08-31-2007, 06:43 AM

Don't move it unless you have to. It will not undo days of waiting, it has cleared and doesn't need to actively clear again, but make sure you don't move it right before bottling, that would undo days of waiting.