Is 1.070 too big to bottle after 4 weeks?

I've decided to skip the secondary and go straight to bottle with this batch. I know many on here do that already, but I was wondering if I should leave it in the primary longer..? At what point is it too long in the primary?

What was the OG?

What was your mash temp?

I'm assuming you mean the OG was 1.070 - if that's the FG, something is very, very wrong.

I'm planning to bottle my 1.089 stout after 4 weeks. How it'll be, I don't know yet. I've heard you can get away with up to a couple months in primary with no autolysis, but I've never pushed it past 5 weeks with a session-strength beer (and it tasted good).

If I'm reading this right, you brewed a 1.070 OG Ale 4 weeks ago. You are wondering if now is the appropriate time to bottle. Short answer would be yes, but I would still check the FG. And more importantly at this point, taste a sample first before preparing your bottles and priming solution.

you'll be fine bottling now. wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer but gains are minimal at this point: fermentation should be over (confirm this) and you're now into bulk aging. not a required step so bottle as/when you want.

I just bottled a 1.070 IPA after 4 weeks in the primary and it's fine. It's been in the bottle for just a week as of yesterday and it tastes great. I'd say you're fine to bottle.

I'm glad I stumbled upon this as I have the same question.

I've got a 1.071 IPA in primary now that I was wondering what time frame I should be shooting for. I was thinking 3 weeks but maybe I'll push it out to 4.

atimmerman88 said:

I was thinking 3 weeks but maybe I'll push it out to 4.

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For 1.070 OG, I typically do 4 weeks in the primary (the last week is the dryhop).

bobbrews said:

For 1.070 OG, I typically do 4 weeks in the primary (the last week is the dryhop).

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That's what I'm thinking.

3 weeks, rack [if I'm feeling ambitious], and dry hop.

Won't be ready for x-mas but I can certainly give out some under carbed samples.

I just dryhop in the primary, but you could rack first if you choose to.

I've always done it that way in the past, I want to try and wash this yeast, did a little reading and a few guys were saying it might be a good idea to was the cake prior to dry hopping, it vary well might not make a big deal at all.

As long as your FG is where you want it to be (im assuming your shooting between 1.05 - 1.15) you can bottle it whenever you want. I'd highly recommend a secondary for such a big brew though.

Thanks for the answers guys.

Yes 1.070 is the OG and im shooting for 1.010. I've used a secondary with all of my other batches(5 so far), so I decided to try something different. I figure ill bottle condition instead of using a secondary to see if it makes any difference.

It's the saison de Noel extract kit from northern brewer. The beer is pitch black and I don't really care about clarity. If it tastes good, I'm happy.

It will be exactly 4 weeks this Thursday, so I plan on bottling it up and storing for 2 mths before tasting. Any thoughts?

Thanks again!

superfknmario said:

It will be exactly 4 weeks this Thursday, so I plan on bottling it up and storing for 2 mths before tasting. Any thoughts?

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sounds like a good plan to me.

don't drink it all in 2 months just because you said you'd wait that long. try to have some left to try in 6 and 12 months so you can learn how the beer evolves over time.

sweetcell said:

sounds like a good plan to me.

don't drink it all in 2 months just because you said you'd wait that long. try ti have some left to try in 6 and 12 months so you can learn how the beer evolves over time.

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+1 to this. You might be surprised/amazed at how a big beer matures.

The length of time in the fermenter doesn't matter, once the FG has been steady for at least three days. My preference is to not bottle until the beer is clear, or at least clearing, so there is less crud in the bottles. I've never left a beer in the primary for more than three weeks that I can recall, but any well made 1.080 beer (or even higher) should be ready to bottle after 2 weeks. Leaving it longer won't hurt, but I don't see the advantage either.

Yooper said:

The length of time in the fermenter doesn't matter, once the FG has been steady for at least three days. My preference is to not bottle until the beer is clear, or at least clearing, so there is less crud in the bottles. I've never left a beer in the primary for more than three weeks that I can recall, but any well made 1.080 beer (or even higher) should be ready to bottle after 2 weeks. Leaving it longer won't hurt, but I don't see the advantage either.

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Hmm, interesting. I'll have to test this out. The only thing I've ever bottled before 3 weeks is hefe (2 weeks), as I heard it's best young. How long do you recommend for an average 1.050ish beer, assuming the hydrometer readings are steady?

(Part of me is excitedly hoping that perhaps my Guinness clone will be ready for Christmas after all!)

andycr said:

Hmm, interesting. I'll have to test this out. The only thing I've ever bottled before 3 weeks is hefe (2 weeks), as I heard it's best young. How long do you recommend for an average 1.050ish beer, assuming the hydrometer readings are steady?

(Part of me is excitedly hoping that perhaps my Guinness clone will be ready for Christmas after all!)

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Assuming the beer is made well (correct pitching rate for yeast, correct pitching temperature, correct fermentation temperature), most beers can be bottled when they start to clear, approximately at day 10-14 depending on the yeast strain.

I feel that the beer needs 48 hours in the fermenter after FG is reached to "clean up". After active fermentation starts to wind down, the yeast are scouring for things to eat. They will even go back at that time and digest their own waste products like diacetyl. After that, the beer will start to clear. I try to package only clear beer, but some beers (wheats, those with non-flocculant yeast) may not be really clear. "No suspended stuff" might be a better description.

Some beer styles need time for the flavors to meld and condition. That happens in the bottle just as well in a fermenter, though.

My 1.072 IPA bottomed out at 1.015 after two weeks. I am bottling at 3 weeks (primary).

sweetcell said:

sounds like a good plan to me.

don't drink it all in 2 months just because you said you'd wait that long. try to have some left to try in 6 and 12 months so you can learn how the beer evolves over time.

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Ill definitely do that. I usually give away roughly half and then go to town on the rest. Lol

I'll definitely save at least 4 beers and try them at 2 month intervals. I'll probably save 6 of the strong belgian gold ale(1.081!) that I currently have in the secondary.

I'm actually storing two holy mackerals since it recommends you cellar a few. In case you're wondering, Holy Mackeral is a commercial beer brand that makes belgian style ales. They got their start just a few miles away in Ft. Lauderdale. If u like beers above 8% ABV, I highly recommend it.

homebrewdad said:

+1 to this. You might be surprised/amazed at how a big beer matures.

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Cant agree more. I brewed a batch of Gotlandsdricka (smoked german ale) a few months back and after 3-4 weeks after secondary it was unbelievably smokey. 3 months in everything has had time to condition and now the flavor balance is just perfect. I'd definitely set a few bottles aside with dates to drink on them. Record your thoughts in the notes section of your recipe in beersmith or brewtoad.

Yooper said:

The length of time in the fermenter doesn't matter, once the FG has been steady for at least three days. My preference is to not bottle until the beer is clear, or at least clearing, so there is less crud in the bottles. I've never left a beer in the primary for more than three weeks that I can recall, but any well made 1.080 beer (or even higher) should be ready to bottle after 2 weeks. Leaving it longer won't hurt, but I don't see the advantage either.

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This is what I do as well. Usually 3 weeks after brewing, if my FG reading is consistent, I'm bottling and I've never had any issues. If I'm dry hopping, I usually throw the hops in my bucket after 14 days or so and leave them in for the last 7 days and then bottle.

I think the answer is style dependent and to make sure your at your final gravity. I have a barleywine that is almost 4 weeks in now and still has positive pressure coming out of the keg, checking by closing the release valve and giving it a few minutes to see how much pressure I get. Then again it started at 1.116