Finishing up 1st Brew

My 1st Brew is an Irish Red Extract kit from MoreBeer. I input it into hopville: http://hopville.com/recipe/1672038

Brew day was smooth and everything went fine.

Fermentation was good, and after about a week it had dropped from 1.058 to 1.022. I left it in the primary, and will continue to do so.

That being said, at now 16 days in I took another gravity, and it has barely moved: 1.021 now. I have checked the hydrometer and it reads 1.000 on RO Water.

I came in higher on OG than the kit suggested (1.046-1.050 on the instructions, 1.056 according to hopville). EDIT: Kit does not give a FG target, but has a 4.5% ABV, which I am already significantly over. Hopville says 1.014-1.017.



OK, so that aside - I want to brew again Saturday, which means I will need my carboy back. So I would like to get my Irish red bottled off on Thursday/Friday (EDIT:assuming Gravity stays steady), which is a couple days earlier than the "3-weeks", but I also would like to cold-crash before bottling.

How long do I need to have the carboy in the fridge (33-35 F) for it to get down to temp and show some benefit from the cold crash?

How much different on the beer is the bulk aging vs bottled aging? (ie: if instead of 3 weeks+3 weeks I end up with 2.5 + 3.5 - is there a noticeable difference?)

Thanks,
Ray

First you need to make sure it is done fermenting or you're going to have a lotion bottle bombs, what does the fg say on the recipe?

RUNningonbrew said:

First you need to make sure it is done fermenting or you're going to have a lotion bottle bombs, what does the fg say on the recipe?

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I added this info to my OP:

EDIT: Kit does not give a FG target, but has a 4.5% ABV, which I am already significantly over. Hopville says 1.014-1.017.


I'm not bottling if the gravity is still moving. Should have said that.

I've been brewing less than 1 year. I started out with 1 carboy and quickly got to 2. I now have 4 and could use more. Sounds like u need more also. Trust me u will use them.

mhobs126 said:

I've been brewing less than 1 year. I started out with 1 carboy and quickly got to 2. I now have 4 and could use more. Sounds like u need more also. Trust me u will use them.

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Definitely agree... but budget is really tight right now and available monies are going to improve beer quality rather than quantity. (Stir plate and temperature control in process)

I don't cold crash, but I've read recommendations of doing it for up to a week. You should notice the beer is clearer when it's done. You may need to take a sample in a glass to observe it.

You want to have 3 weeks in bottles at room temperature to carbonate. Some beers take more time, some take less. A lot of people on this board just wait for 3 weeks after bottling for just about every beer. For bigger beers, they wait a bit longer.

If you really want to brew and you have a few dollars to spare, you can get a food grade bucket, lid, and blowoff tubing for under $10 at Home Depot. Drill a hole in the lid to fit the tubing and run it to a pail of starsan and you have a brand new fermenter.

rayfound said:

Definitely agree... but budget is really tight right now and available monies are going to improve beer quality rather than quantity. (Stir plate and temperature control in process)

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I like that approach - quality first.

ludomonster said:

If you really want to brew and you have a few dollars to spare, you can get a food grade bucket, lid, and blowoff tubing for under $10 at Home Depot. Drill a hole in the lid to fit the tubing and run it to a pail of starsan and you have a brand new fermenter.

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It is a bit more complicated than that - Since my siphon setup is designed for Carboys (I use the PET Carboy from MoreBeer - my local LHBS). I've been trying to decide about getting buckets and an autosiphon, but I think I like being able to have a look at what is going on, the seal seems simple and works great on the carboy, and frankly, i think they look way cooler.

That being said, if I intend to brew this week, I think I will be buying another carboy.

unionrdr said:

What has your ferment temp been? Sounds like it's getting ready to stall. After 16 days it should be a bit closer to FG than that.

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Was at about 64-67 until active phase died out. then it dropped down to 61-62, so I moved the fermenter to a warmer room and it has stayed 66-67 for the remaining time.