Is my Fermentation Complete???

I Brewed a wheat Beer 9 days ago today. And have heard a few different things about when it is okay to bottle. Is the saying that if the airlock slows to less than one bubble per minute then you are safe to bottle correct???


I am not too effective with a hydrometer and kind of need to bottle this stuff this weekend. My airlock bubbles once ever minute and 20 seconds... is that alright to bottle without worrying about over carbonation.

Thanks

Nate
:fro:

Well, I suggest you learn to "get effective" with your hydrometer. It's really not hard to take a reading.

The only accurate "sign of fermentation" will tell you what is happening is your hydrometer reading. "Airlock bubbling" that is NOT a trustworthy thing to go by.

Whether it's in a conical, a bucket, or a carboy, it's the same thing. An airlock is a VENT, a VALVE to release excess co2, nothing more.

If it's not bubbling it just means that there no excess co2 to be vented out.

A beer may ferment perfectly fine without a single blip in the airlock. Or can stop bubbling when the yeast STILL has a lot of work to do.
That's why you need to take a gravity reading to know how your fermentation is going, NOT go by airlocks. The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Thinking about "doing anything" like repitching, or bottling, without first taking a hydrometer reading is tantamount to the doctor deciding to cut you open without running any diagnostic tests....Taking one look at you and saying, "Yeah I'm going in." You would really want the doctor to use all means to properly diagnose what's going on?

What part of taking a hydrometer reading are you not effective at????

This video will help you to become more effective with it.

Well not effective is probably bad wording, I just didn't have it when I started the fermentation so I don't have an original gravity reading to compare it to. If the final gravity is in the right spot (maybe 1.010) then does it matter if I have the first reading?

oh that video is solid. Thanks for clearing this all up. This is my first batch of beer and to be honest there are so many opinions out there between my HB supply store and the internet, that it is tough to know what is credible. I'm sanitizing my hydrometer now. Thanks dude

You can usually estiment, especially with extract beers what the og was, even if you didn't take it. And most recipes will give you an idea what the fg should be, so taking a couple That;s why very few but only the newb brewers will rush their beer to bottles. We either secindary for 2 weeks, usually after 14 days in primary. But many more of us opt for long primaries of 3-4 weeks before bottling. To give our beer a chance to be the clearest and cleanest tasting that it can be.

Let's say my fermentation is done-like FG below 1.010-in two weeks, and I still want to reap the benefits of letting the yeast clean up; how do I determine when the job (clean up) is finished? Simply wait another week or two? Thanks

-d