Can someone tell me if this is done?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

roadto15RTR

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hey all, some buddies and I brewed our first batch ever a week ago, it was the american wheat extract kit from Northern Brewer. I know everyone says just wait a little bit longer just in case, but we all have stuff going on over the next couple weeks so it will be a long time before we were able to touch it. And the instructions say that it should be done fermenting after 1-2 weeks. We were planning on moving it to the secondary for a few days even though the recipe says it is not necessary, I read that doing so helps with clarity and smoothness. So can anyone tell me if this looks done? Also it is still bubbling a little bit, on average once every 53 seconds. The photo is attached

Fermentation.jpg
 
its "done" when ever you want it to be done. will it be better if you leave it in the carboy for about 30ish days? yes. do you need to? no. did you guys take gravity readings or any thing?
 
roadto15RTR said:
Hey all, some buddies and I brewed our first batch ever a week ago, it was the american wheat extract kit from Northern Brewer. I know everyone says just wait a little bit longer just in case, but we all have stuff going on over the next couple weeks so it will be a long time before we were able to touch it. And the instructions say that it should be done fermenting after 1-2 weeks. We were planning on moving it to the secondary for a few days even though the recipe says it is not necessary, I read that doing so helps with clarity and smoothness. So can anyone tell me if this looks done? Also it is still bubbling a little bit, on average once every 53 seconds. The photo is attached

Leave it alone. Let it sit for 3-4 weeks. It will be fine relax.
 
Leave it alone. Let it sit for 3-4 weeks. It will be fine relax.

+1. Let it sit in primary until you have time to bottle it. You'll accomplish very little by racking to secondary for a couple of days. Also, racking to bottling bucket and bottling only takes about 2 hours. My first time it took me 3 hours from prep to clean up and I was by myself. If you have a buddy or two you'll be done in no time with one guy prepping bottles, one filling bottles, and one capping. Cheers.
 
It's a wheat beer! Clarity is not a issue. If the gravity has been stable for a few days it's ready to bottle. Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, tops. No secondary, no cold crash. If it's done, bottle it and you'll be drinking your fresh wheat beer that much sooner.
 
take a gravity reading then wait a couple days and take another one. If it doesn't change then it's done in primary. There are debates currently about if it's beneficial to leave the beer on the yeast for a while after it's done or if one should take it off immediately. I usually let mine go for about 2 weeks then either bottle/keg or put it in secondary for clarity.
 
take a gravity reading then wait a couple days and take another one. If it doesn't change then it's done in primary. There are debates currently about if it's beneficial to leave the beer on the yeast for a while after it's done or if one should take it off immediately. I usually let mine go for about 2 weeks then either bottle/keg or put it in secondary for clarity.

The only thing you want to avoid is packaging early (if bottling, moot if kegging) to avoid bottle bombs. This is one reason why many folks like to wait 3-4 weeks, just to be sure. But if it is done fermenting, then it is done, and for a wheat beer, there really is no reason to do a long conditioning (either in the primary or in a secondary).

As to the debate over primary only, versus secondary, I personally find this silly, as it really is personal preference. Either method is perfectly valid and can make great beer. It comes down to which method gives you the flavors YOU want. You can't debate what somebody else prefers. The best thing to do is to brew the same beer both ways and see which you prefer.

As to your beer, if is starting to clear, it is probably ready to package, just do the gravity checks to be sure (if bottling). If you keg, then don't worry, you'll just end up with more yeast in the bottom if it wasn't quite done yet.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top