Can I bottle now?

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.

erbo

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2013
Messages
22
Reaction score
2
Hello, just looking for some opinions here. It's my first batch.. Brewer's Best Double IPA. OG was about 1.080 (which was normal). The brew went well, and the batch has been in my primary fermenting bucket for about 2.5 weeks. (since the instructions didn't call for dry hopping, some people recommended that I skip the secondary fermentation, so I did.). The temp has been right around the mid-high 60's for the entire time. No air lock activity for a week.

I checked the FG today and it was 1.011, which is lower than the expected FG of 1.05-1.09. So I'm assuming that my beer is completely done fermenting.... Or it's infected. But I tasted it and thought it actually tasted pretty good!

I'm hesitant to let it continue to sit on the yeast, so I'm wondering if I can just bottle it now and let it sit for at least 3 weeks in the bottles? Thoughts? Thanks you.
 
I believe you meant 1.015-1.019 for the target FG. It will not hurt your beer to sit on the yeast for a few more days. Your FG is just slightly lower than 1.015. I try to hold off for at least 3 weeks before bottling, to allow the yeast to clean up a bit.
 
I believe you meant 1.015-1.019 for the target FG. It will not hurt your beer to sit on the yeast for a few more days. Your FG is just slightly lower than 1.015. I try to hold off for at least 3 weeks before bottling, to allow the yeast to clean up a bit.

Sorry, yes I meant 1.015-1.019.
Unfortunately I'm in a tough place with time. I'm out out town for the next almost week. So I can bottle today (at 17 days past brewing), or bottle next Sunday night (which would be 23 days past brewing). I guess I figured that since my FG was on the low side, it'd be ready to go.

And to that point, any idea why it's coming in low after a couple weeks?
 
Was it an extract recipe? You don't really need to worry about getting the beer off the yeast if that is what your concern is, it can stay there for weeks and weeks without having that be an issue. If you're in a hurry to bottle it because you're anxious (we all were on our first batches) then you're probably fine but you really should do another gravity reading a day or two apart from the last one to make sure that the gravity has stabilized at 1.011.
 
Was it an extract recipe? You don't really need to worry about getting the beer off the yeast if that is what your concern is, it can stay there for weeks and weeks without having that be an issue. If you're in a hurry to bottle it because you're anxious (we all were on our first batches) then you're probably fine but you really should do another gravity reading a day or two apart from the last one to make sure that the gravity has stabilized at 1.011.

Yes, it was an extract recipe. I'm definitely anxious... But I'm more concerned about a better end product. If I should bottle a week from today, then no problem. Unfortunately it either has to be today or a week from today (due to travel). I guess I'm more concerned about my FG coming in a bit low (predicting over 9% abv)... And I thought maybe it'd be wise to get it out of the bucket, assuming it is 'done.' But this is all pretty new to me, so I'm trying to learn from the experts! Thank you.
 
Don't worry about the FG coming in a few points under, that could have to do with you having a bit too much top-up water in it or something...its 4 points, that is not a sign of a big problem. For most of my ales, I tend to leave them in primary for about 3+ weeks before bottling, and for higher gravity beers I tend to lean toward a full month in primary. I have no doubt that your fermentation is complete and you can bottle, but if its not a biggy for you to wait another week, I would probably just do that.
 
1.011 isn't lower than (if you meant)1.005-1.009. The lower the number,the lower the gravity. Against an OG of 1.080,that's bloody good. If the FG is stable (tested 2-3 days apart,then it's good to go.
 
Ok, that's what I needed to hear - thanks everyone!

I'll bottle in a week, and I'm hoping it's a hit (or at least just drinkable!)
 
It'll be fine. It'll have time to finish & clean up by products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty by then.
 
1.011 isn't lower than (if you meant)1.005-1.009. The lower the number,the lower the gravity. Against an OG of 1.080,that's bloody good. If the FG is stable (tested 2-3 days apart,then it's good to go.

Gotcha.. and I did mean 1.015-1.019.. That was the target according to Brewers Best. So I'm a bit below that after 2 weeks. I spoke with a Brewers Best rep today and she sounded a bit concerned about my gravity reading being under their target.. She was wondering if it could be infected. But I was very careful in the process.. And I tasted it today for the first time after checking the gravity, and it tasted pretty damn good for a 2 week old double IPA... So I'm hoping it's not infected. Besides being flat, I could've consumed the whole 5 gallons today!
 
But for future reference, how long is too long in the primary (or if racked to secondary)?
 
+1 to what unionrdr said about gravity readings -- the only way to be absolutely sure the yeast isn't still working is to take two readings at least two or three days apart and make sure the gravity isn't still slowly dropping.

And, +1 to what everybody said about waiting; a month on the yeast will only help you with a beer that big.
 
In primary, it can probably go a few months before you need to really worry about anything. In secondary, you can go much longer.
 
In that case you're not too far off gravity-wise. There really isn't a "too long" time for primary or secondary within several months. But a few weeks in your case isn't anything to worry about.
 
A much more common problem with newer brewers and extract recipes is too HIGH a final gravity. So you must have done pretty good job making those yeasties ferment to 85% attenuation. Great job!!
 
A much more common problem with newer brewers and extract recipes is too HIGH a final gravity. So you must have done pretty good job making those yeasties ferment to 85% attenuation. Great job!!

Wow - thanks!
I guess I'd better wait until I try the end product though...
 
like Demus said, just means you attenuated a little better than was estimated, 85% actual vs 80% estimated

the good news is that instead of 8.5% abv, you have 9% :tank::drunk:
 
Yeah, and a common problem with extract DIPA's is they can taste a bit syrupy. That extra attenuation should give it a dryer finish more appropriate to the style. How did you aerate? Did you make a starter? Which yeast?
 
Back
Top