Question on timing before bottling.

Background:
My 8th batch, all ales. I usually primary for one week, secondary for one week, two weeks in the bottle, chill and drink. Very good luck, great tasting beer so far. All of my batches have been 5 gallon partial mashes including between 7 and 9 pounds of liquid mash extract.

This batch:
IPA using 8# LME. Most recent SG 1.013, sorry I did not get a starting SG. Recipe I am using calls for OG 1.066, FG 1.016.

Maybe I have never checked very close, but I have fine bubbles and get a bubble in the airlock once every 40 seconds. It is now going on one week in primary and two weeks in secondary. We are finally getting cooler weather in Houston so I am fermenting cooler than in the past.

Hate to bottle it and risk exploding bottles.

With that low FG I wouldn't worry about any bottle bombs. I have bottled a 1.020 brown ale before using the common measurement of 3/4 cup of corn sugar and nothing came close to exploding.

Don't bottle until fermentation is complete and you have given the yeast some time to condition. Until your FG is consistent for several days, primary fermentation is not complete. Throw the calendar away, become one with the beer.....

You need to check with your hydrometer. If you get the same reading three or more days apart then your good to go. You don't want to rush it. Ive done that and they will indeed explode.

helibrewer said:

... become one with the beer.....

Click to expand...

Exactly, that's why I'm trying to get it in the bottle (and into my glass!)

SG has been steady for a week at roughly 1.013, my only concern is the bubble every 40 seconds. At this point the SG sample tasted good enough that I may have to put it back in the closet to continue aging. Going to be real good when it's ready.

If the hydro is steady, fermentation is done. Bubbles can and will still pop up for various reasons after fermentation is done. There are other reasons you may want to leave the beer in the fermenter, but to your question, the bubble every 40 seconds is not an indication that the beer is still fermenting.

I really don't think IPA's need a ton of aging. If your gravity has been steady for a week then the beer is probably conditioned pretty well.

Don't worry about it.. Fermenting ales cool is good.

My basement is now 62 degrees and I a pm so happy to be able to just put my fermenters down there to do their thing.

if the recipe calls for 1.016 and you are at 1.013 definitely no need to worry.