Is it safe to drink my beer before priming/bottling?

So it seems that my first batch has finished fermenting, but I'm going to give it another three days before formally bottling.

I think it's finished fermenting because the SG has read 1.021 three days apart. But, again, I'll give it more time.

Anyways, while testing the SG, I poured some beer into a tube to get the hydrometer readings. And I tasted it. And it's not bad.

Not wanting to waste beer, could I just drink the beer in the tube? Is it safe? Am I weird to think it's not so bad being warm and uncarbonated?

P

Your fine. It's just flat beer.

Yeah, you should sample your beer through every phase of the brewing process

Not only do I drink the samples after fermentation, I also drink them before and during! It's kind of neat to see the way the beer changes, and even though it changes aLOT, with experience you can kind of get a glimpse of what the finished beer will be. I sampled my freshly made wort today, to see how the bitterness was. I realize it'll change- but I have done this enough times to almost know what it will change into!

Besides, after fermentation, it's BEER! You have to drink it- to pour it out would be wasting beer!

Of course you are safe..though sometimes it taste like crap at that stage, but it can't hurt you...Do yourself a BIG favor, and don't be in a rush to bottle it...Let it sit in the fermenter for at least another week, preferably another 2-3...After the beer is done fermenting, the yeasts aren't done doing their job...

During fermentation the yeastiebeasties throw off a lot of gunk, while converting the sugar to alcohol...when there is no more sugar, but before they go to sleep, they clean up after themselves...consuming all the byproducts of fermentation that can lead to off flavors...

If you let them do that, your beer will be 10 times better than if you bottle it in a couple days...Although I know you are impatient, it being your first beer and all...but if you wait at least a week, you won't be sorry...If you wait a month you will be even happier...but it being your first beer at least another week...

I leave mine in primary for a month...I used to secondary and use the 1-2-3 method...But my beer became incredible when I started leaving it alone for 3-4 weeks...and then letting it carb and condition for at least 3 weeks @ 70 degrees in the bottle.



I know it is hard, but patience is a virtue in brewing!

you're definitely weird

DeathBrewer said:

you're definitely weird

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I'm so weird, I'm sitting here now, tasting my flat beer, thinking, can I just bottle this now without priming? Don't you think that this is how people drank beer in the old days? Is it how they used to drink beer in the old days?

Revvy said:

If you let them do that, your beer will be 10 times better than if you bottle it in a couple days...Although I know you are impatient, it being your first beer and all...but if you wait at least a week, you won't be sorry...If you wait a month you will be even happier...but it being your first beer at least another week...

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OK, I'll take your advice, Revvy. I'll wait one week, then I'm going away for a week, so when I come back it'll be two, and *then* I'll start my bottling. Patience is a virtue, but virtues are no fun...

P

hardpack said:

I'm so weird, I'm sitting here now, tasting my flat beer, thinking, can I just bottle this now without priming? Don't you think that this is how people drank beer in the old days? Is it how they used to drink beer in the old days?

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it may be tasty, but it's much better cold with carbonation. i've definitely drank my share of warm, flat beers, but i wouldn't waste this one.

hardpack said:

OK, I'll take your advice, Revvy. I'll wait one week, then I'm going away for a week, so when I come back it'll be two, and *then* I'll start my bottling. Patience is a virtue, but virtues are no fun...

P

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I know, grasshoppa...Guess what, in a couple brews your pipleine will be so full that you won't be able to keep track, and you will not have to wait for a beer to be ready, because you while one is bottle conditioning, one is fermenting, one is in secondary becasue you dry hopped it, and you are drinking two others.

When you brew or bottle, you will be actually drinking your own homebrew at the same time!

The first cut is always the deepest....

P.S. If you want to read about what happens when you let your beer really sit for awhile, lemme tell you a story...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

hardpack said:

I'm so weird, I'm sitting here now, tasting my flat beer, thinking, can I just bottle this now without priming? Don't you think that this is how people drank beer in the old days? Is it how they used to drink beer in the old days?

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I'm definately down with this. I've had homebrew kits that you drink from a plastic bag that the beer ferments in. I'd say old pub beer was vats of fermenting malt extract etc...No carbonation or chilling.

I'm drinking a stout straight from the barrel now after 4 weeks of primary and a nice yeast starter. It looks clean, has no sediments, tiny batches of bubbles on the glass sides.

Only thing is after two glasses it feels as if I am going to pop. Is that the nature of an unfinished brew.

Don't do it, quite poisonous. One time I knew a guy who knew a guy who drank some beer before it was primed and bottled, and he died.








No really it's fine, drink away.

hardpack said:

So it seems that my first batch has finished fermenting, but I'm going to give it another three days before formally bottling.

I think it's finished fermenting because the SG has read 1.021 three days apart. But, again, I'll give it more time.

Anyways, while testing the SG, I poured some beer into a tube to get the hydrometer readings. And I tasted it. And it's not bad.

Not wanting to waste beer, could I just drink the beer in the tube? Is it safe? Am I weird to think it's not so bad being warm and uncarbonated?

P

Click to expand...

I call this "The Brewer's cut"

joelrapp said:

Don't do it, quite poisonous. One time I knew a guy who knew a guy who drank some beer before it was primed and bottled, and he died.








No really it's fine, drink away.

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Did you see him at 31 Flavors last night?

Yeah, I drink mine all the time. I hate dumping hydro samples.

I'm also like Yooper though. I always take a little taste here and there, even the OG, before I pitch. I've actually gotten to a point where I enjoy that FG sample though. Gives me something to sip on while kegging.