Confused on when to bottle. My 1st batch

First Timer today and have started setting up and cleaning. I'm going to be away next weekend and my recipe says to bottle 7 days after fermentation. Does that mean 7 days after the fermentation stops or 7 days after the wort is poured into the fermentation vessel?? Ahhh!! I'm a little paranoid and want to get it right.
Does a day or two extra in the vessel hurt before bottling?
FYI, I'm using a true brew IPA kit.

And yes , I did try search first, sorry I had to add that. Forums are excellent sources of knowledge and I know the rules, 'search is your friend'

Thanks in advance folks.

Buddy

No it doesn't matter and would wait even longer than 7 days

I would wait and bottle between 10-14 days

Longer is better. 7 days will get you beer, but is way too soon. leave at least 14 days from the start, preferably longer. I'm bottling one tonight that has been 3 months in the fermenter.

I'm going ahead then. Good info.

Cheers,

All the pics and bids show the yeast being spread over the top of the bucket and gently stirred in. I have a carboy glass and a plastic bucket for bottling.

Is this wrong and i have them switched. Or is it ok?

Thanks

some kits come with a bucket fermentor and some a glass carboy. Mine came with both the 6 1/2 gal bucket & 5 gal carboy plus a 6 1/2 gal bottling bucket.

Don't use your bottling bucket as a fermenter.

Gently stir? I get a sanitized spoon and vigorously stir trying to oxygenate it as much as possible

How do I get my steamed wood chips into the glass carboy??

RUNningonbrew said:

Gently stir? I get a sanitized spoon and vigorously stir trying to oxygenate it as much as possible

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Thanks but how can I stir through the neck opening? I cant shake it, it's pretty heavy.

Thanks. Im so stressed I need a beer.

If you are using a Carboy as your primary then you cannot stir with a spoon, you need to shake the vessel-slosh the wort around and if it's glass you need to be very very very careful as its heavy and slippery! Then pitch the yeast and slosh some more, put in the bung, airlock cover it with a tee shirt and let it ferment, ideally at the proper temperature for the yeast, probably around 65f until its done, which you will verify by hydrometer readings, not airlock activity

You can always just break up the wood chips if they don't fit through the neck of the carboy. Just be sure if you do that then only use sanitized tools (or hands, whichever).

When it comes time to shake up your fermenter, since yours is glass you can just put it on a towel or some kind of padding on the ground (so you don't rub it against a hard surface and risk breaking it) and shake it side to side or give it a little tilt and kinda go up and down. You don't literally need to pick it up and shake it. When I first started I would aerate it with a sanitized whisk (but then again I was using buckets) before getting a pump and airstone. Just be sure to cool the wort before splashing it around.

As for when to bottle, it doesn't really matter when. I do two week cycles (2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary, then 2 weeks in the bottle) for a total of four weeks fermenting before bottling. An extra couple of days will be fine. It will actually likely allow for a clearer beer, too.

I never use my carboy for primary. I always use the my plastic vessel for primary, carboy for secondary. Reason being I once put a 5gal batch into my carboy for primary and ended up with a volcano. The pressure from primary was too much and actually shot the airlock and stopper out of the carboy, not the greatest thing to come home from work to. So just be careful of that if youre doing a 5gal batch.

As for the length of time for primary you dont need to follow the directions, you certainly cant hurt it by letting it sit longer. Like a few other people have said letting it sit longer may even help make the beer better!

hey guys, I brewed on Saturday afternoon and haven't seen a bubble yet. My airlock levels have not moved since the first day I put it in the carboy.
Was my yeast (Munton's which came with my True Brew IPA kit) crap?? The temp has been in the 64 to 67 range since it's been sitting.

I've given the carboy a bit of a shake here and there but nothing. Should I not worry about the bubbling and just take a sample for the hydrometer? and Bottle based on that?

Any krausen or other signs of fermentation? I brewed my first batch a little over two weeks ago, and haven't seen a single bubble in the airlock--but it's fermented (SG has dropped from 1.053 to 1.01x). Must be a loose-fitting carboy cap.

A hydrometer reading would definitely tell you if something's happening, but may not be necessary.

I too use the bucket for primary (first ferment) for 1 week, then the glass carboy for secondary for 2 weeks, then rack it back into the bucket to bottle it and wait 3 weeks. Works great.

CBUDGO said:

hey guys, I brewed on Saturday afternoon and haven't seen a bubble yet. My airlock levels have not moved since the first day I put it in the carboy.
Was my yeast (Munton's which came with my True Brew IPA kit) crap?? The temp has been in the 64 to 67 range since it's been sitting.

I've given the carboy a bit of a shake here and there but nothing. Should I not worry about the bubbling and just take a sample for the hydrometer? and Bottle based on that?

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Look for krausen (foam) on the surface of the beer. If you have krausen you have fermentation. Stop shaking it for now. You no longer want any aeration. Wait another day or 2 and, If you have a good seal on your vessel your airlock should bubble. If not take a gravity reading and see if it is changing. A slightly warmer temperature may also get things going. Your temperature is not too low (this is the range I aim for) but low temperature = slower fermentation.

heckler73 said:

I too use the bucket for primary (first ferment) for 1 week, then the glass carboy for secondary for 2 weeks, then rack it back into the bucket to bottle it and wait 3 weeks. Works great.

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I like that idea of plastic to start. But, my instructions did not include a secondary fermentation. What happens? do I add ingredients or is it juts a move from one vessel to another?

does your glass carboy have a flat bottom or does it, not sure how to explain this, go in like a cone to the middle? If it has the cone, you can set the carboy on a tennis ball and rock it around in a circle to airate and mix.

iskuse said:

does your glass carboy have a flat bottom or does it, not sure how to explain this, go in like a cone to the middle? If it has the cone, you can set the carboy on a tennis ball and rock it around in a circle to airate and mix.

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Thanks Iskuse and that is a very clear explanation and the tennis ball is a good idea. I just dont know if i have a flat bottom or not, I'll have to check later when I get home from work.

Also RE: the cooler equals a slower fermentation it may have spiked today in the heat we have locally. so we'll see what happens tonight. I used the swamp cooler, Ice and water in t-shirt with a fan. ugh. My last batch I hope. AND never again in the Summer. It's so much easier to pull into my local beer store.

Also RE: the cooler equals a slower fermentation it may have spiked today in the heat we have locally. so we'll see what happens tonight. I used the swamp cooler, Ice and water in t-shirt with a fan. ugh. My last batch I hope. AND never again in the Summer. It's so much easier to pull into my local beer store.

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True it is easier to buy beer, but then you do not get the satisfaction of brewing, and the pride of being able to say "I made that". In my opinion, there is much more to brewing than just cost and convenience.

Seth, I appreciate your confidence but up til an hour ago i was sure this was going down the drain. But now, ... I. have... KRAUSEN!!!!! My fermenter is showing signs of life and I am encouraged after all!! Hurray!! I was also able to fend off the 95 degree temps with some ice and water in the tub I have the carboy in. Looking good for now. Still no bubbles in the airlock yet.

From what I have read..its most likely a faulty airlock seal. Make sure it is seated correctly.

The foam is rather thick though. ABout an inch and a half in a 6.5 gallon carboy. and the airlock is bubbling. I hope it doesnt blow over in this heat we're experiencing here. I'm keeping it in range with water and Ice so I should be ok.

CBUDGO said:

The foam is rather thick though. ABout an inch and a half in a 6.5 gallon carboy. and the airlock is bubbling. I hope it doesnt blow over in this heat we're experiencing here. I'm keeping it in range with water and Ice so I should be ok.

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Time is always your friend with beer. One of the hardest parts of brewing is patience. (at least for me, it is!)

FG is 1.018 it's been int the fermenter for a month. it's been at 1.018 for 2 to 3 weeks.

the kit targets 1.012 to 1. 014 for FG.

Im racking to my bottling bucket

My test sample tasted like a mildy hopped beer. Flat of course.

What d ya think?

i think im ready to bottle...

RUNningonbrew said:

Gently stir? I get a sanitized spoon and vigorously stir trying to oxygenate it as much as possible

Click to expand...

I thought you sprinkle yeast on top AFTER aerating the wort. Isn't that the case? Maybe I'm wrong.

sidepart said:

I thought you sprinkle yeast on top AFTER aerating the wort. Isn't that the case? Maybe I'm wrong.

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I pitch after airating. I got yeast all over the walls of my fermenter the one time I stirred the wort after pitching.

I'll let you know what happens in a few weeks. I have very low expectations for this kit based on my reading here

Just what i was afraid of. No or very little alcohol content in my beer.

It's beautiful though. the bottle opens with a nice, kssh. Pours nice with a great head some lace on the glass when swirled. Smells great, good mouth feel and taste is relatively hoppy but not too heavy. Only problem? No hooch!!

I never got an OG because i poured my just cooled wort right into a glass fermentation vessel. I took 3 readings after the obvious fermenting action slowed down and the were all 1.018, i think. I'll take a read from a bottle tonight.

It may have been the yeast in the kit sucked.

I'll chuck it and try again in the Fall.

I'll be sticking with the store bought for a while.

Extract brew? How much base malt/extract went in. If you are at 1.018 then there is alcohol in there.

from my post #26

FG is 1.018 it's been in the fermenter for a month. it's been at 1.018 for 2 to 3 weeks.

the kit targets 1.012 to 1. 014 for FG.

CBUDGO said:

from my post #26

FG is 1.018 it's been in the fermenter for a month. it's been at 1.018 for 2 to 3 weeks.

the kit targets 1.012 to 1. 014 for FG.

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Right but I doubt it was 1.018 when it first went into your fermentor. The fact that it carbonated shows you had viable yeast. If you know how much extract went in we can estimate OG

It was an IPA kit with two cans of concentrate and one packet of dry yeast. Sorry i dont have the exact quantities it was a True Brew IPA kit. the Maestro series i believe

CBUDGO said:

It was an IPA kit with two cans of concentrate and one packet of dry yeast. Sorry i dont have the exact quantities it was a True Brew IPA kit. the Maestro series i believe

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That's probably about 6.5 lbs of liquid malt, which is an og of about 1.048. Your beer is probably in the 4.5% range. Don't dump!

CBUDGO;
Don't dump it man!! You've got something there that you have made with your own two hands! Like rifraf said you do have alcohol in your beer.. At the very lowest you prob started @ 1.035, I have not seen many kits lower than that.. But if you still insist on getting rid of it then send it to me for PROPER DISPOSAL

grem135 said:

Don't use your bottling bucket as a fermenter.

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Curious as to why? (Other than pipeline management issues, i.e. you may want to bottle while you have another batch in primary fermentation.)

I have two buckets that both double as primary fermenters and bottling buckets...seems to work great for me, I'm running a batch through the cycle every week or two.

OK OK, I'll toss back a few tonight and see if I can get a buzz going.

Thanks for the encouragement and input.

Cheers

CBUDGO said:

OK OK, I'll toss back a few tonight and see if I can get a buzz going.

Thanks for the encouragement and input.

Cheers

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No problem! The nice thing about extract is that it's really easy to predict OG, because you're basically assured a certain amount of sugar. As long as you to off to the right amount you're pretty much golden. Keep brewing