bigmac58

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Just brewed my first ever batch with my brother today. It's an Irish Pale Ale from Midwest. I think it went ok. The initial gravity when I pitched the yeast was 1.045. Does this sound ok? Also, we gave it a quick taste from the sample pulled for the hydrometer and it wasn't too bad. Hoping to bottle in a couple weeks.

Thanks for all the great info on this site!

Hammy71

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1.045 sounds just fine for a pale. Congrats!

Copbrew133

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Youll be good. Dont get too caught up in efficiency on the first few. Take your readings, get your procedures down, and be patient. Trust your hydrometer. Don't plan on a fixed calendar date to plan to bottle. Wait until the beer tells you its time......and by the way congrats!

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bigmac58

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How do I know when to bottle? When the hydrometer reading is the same for 3 days or so? Is there any benefit/risks to leaving the beer in the fermenter once fermentation is done?

Thanks!

duboman

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I will usually leave my beer in primary 3-4 weeks and then bottle, gives the yeast time to clean things up after actual fermentation occurs.

The yeast will continue to look for more food and clean up their own waste.

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whirlybirds

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You would be correct. Beer is like a fine wine, the longer it sits, the better it will taste. Most people on here will tell you not to use a secondary fermenter, but I would recommend it. It will leave your beer a little clearer on bottling day. But when it comes to fermenting, I would not ferment any less than 2 weeks. 1 week in the primary and 1 week in secondary. Good luck and happy drinking to you!

boscobeans

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Will the fermentation that goes on after bottling and during carbonation do the same job in cleaning up the yeast's waste??

bosco

JimTheHick

Recipes 

I would say it can work that way in the bottle but remember that is a sealed system with a very high beer/yeast ratio. If the brew is still on the Carboy yeast layer it has a lot more yeast to clean up the flavor of the beer then when it's in the bottle.

kpr121

Recipes 

This. Also think about this when deciding between long primary vs secondary


Edit: thanks jimthehick for the warning. I gotta get swmbo buzzed up and see if shell let me take pics! Lol yea that ain't happening..

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Primary: Two Hearted Ale (3/31/13 - WLP029 and Bells Strain), Elin (Blonde Pale) (2/23 - US05), Brown Trout Stout (2/23)
Kegged: Elin (Blonde Pale) (2/23), Brown Trout Stout (2/23), Miller Lite Clone (1/18), Apfelwein (12/31/12), Pliny Clone (12/28),
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JimTheHick

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Better make your 2,000th post special, kpr!