How long until I can bottle?

I'm on my first brew, I used a Brewer's Best kit (Cream Ale) and tranfered from the primary to the secondary after one week. It looks and smells good. The OG and the FG measurement at transfer time was right where they said it should be. My question is how long does it really need to be in the secondary before I can bottle and how long after I bottle can I chill and drink? Being my first batch, I can't wait to actually taste what the hell I created.

I know, I know...patience!

Thanks in advance.

3 weeks @70 is the standard for bottle conditioning moderate and low gravity beers from what I gather and 2-3 weeks fementation is a safe bet.

Rule I use is one week in primary (depends on hydro reading), two weeks in secondary, bottle, wait 2 weeks to drink....even though I break down and try 1 after one week in the bottle. Sometimes it takes up to 3 to lose the sugary taste from the priming sugar.

I suggest a minimum of 3 weeks in the fermenter(s) before bottling then another 2-3 weeks (at least) before chilling and drinking.

There's a million threads out there about this. Try searching for stuff like this, I've found pretty much any question I ever have has already been answered. This place is a library!

Also, I hope you have better luck on the BB Cream Ale. It was my first kit and didn't come out well, but I fermented far too warm (75ish F degrees ambient).

My beers get bottled a minimum of 1 month after I pitch my yeast. 95% of my beers stay in primary....The other 5 percent, the ones that I rack to secondary if I am adding oak, or fruit, get transferred to secondary at around the two week mark, and stay for a minimum of another 2 weeks....

You'll find that if you throw out your kit instructions and leave your beer alone for around a month, that it will greatly improve, especially if you allow prolonged contact in primary with the fermentation yeast.

John Palmer talks about it in How to Brew.

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

Click to expand...

If you haven't read the discusion in here, I suggest you do. This topic has pretty much been done to death there. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

SInce you already racked, I'd leave it a minimum of 2 weeks, more like three.

Your beer will thank you.

As you can see, most people say 3 weeks minimum. However, I bottled a low grav blond on day 9 and it was delicious. In fact, until this most recent batch, it was my best beer to date. If it is low grav and not too roasty, you can push it, but you will probably have a better product if you dont. Just make sure you've reached terminal gravity (use your hydrometer!). Don't want any bottle bombs!