Pelikan
Well-Known Member
Forgive the newbie question. I have read the FAQ's, a few online articles, and even a book -- and if anything I'm a bit more confused as to when to bottle. For this first time around, I'd prefer not to use the hydrometer, only because I don't have an adequate sampling vessel on hand, and I don't want to introduce contaminates. By all accounts it doesn't seem hard to wing it.
In any case, I'm using one of the kits that have the big plastic buckets, and a partial grain oatmeal stout recipe. A lot of sources I read say fermentation will be done in 3-10 days, up to 14 days at most. Going along with this, the general rule (as far as my knowledge goes) is to remove beer from a plastic fermenter after 14 days max because of the permeability.
Okay, fair enough. But I've read conflicting reports regarding the primary. Some people remove the beer the second it's ready, others keep it in there up to five weeks.
Should I keep my brew in the primary for about 14 days, then bottle and leave in the bottles for about 3ish weeks, or should I remove it closer to 10 days because of the plastic? I don't have a secondary for this first time around, but if I leave it in the bottles a bit longer than the 2 week minimum, will the bottle act as a kind of secondary?
In any case, I'm using one of the kits that have the big plastic buckets, and a partial grain oatmeal stout recipe. A lot of sources I read say fermentation will be done in 3-10 days, up to 14 days at most. Going along with this, the general rule (as far as my knowledge goes) is to remove beer from a plastic fermenter after 14 days max because of the permeability.
Okay, fair enough. But I've read conflicting reports regarding the primary. Some people remove the beer the second it's ready, others keep it in there up to five weeks.
Should I keep my brew in the primary for about 14 days, then bottle and leave in the bottles for about 3ish weeks, or should I remove it closer to 10 days because of the plastic? I don't have a secondary for this first time around, but if I leave it in the bottles a bit longer than the 2 week minimum, will the bottle act as a kind of secondary?