Fermenting tips

Note: I don't have a secondary fermenter and I am not planning to do any secondary fermentation with this batch.

I have a batch of beer in a primary fermenter and while it's passing gas, I'm trying to do research on when to bottle. The instructions on my "Brewer's Best American Amber" said the bubbling should stop in 3-7 days, take the gravity reading, if it's low enough bottle it, otherwise put the lid back on and check in a couple more days.

From what I have been reading, 2 weeks seems to be a minimum for a lot of homebrewers. Is this for flavor or clarity, or both?

I am an engineer, so I don't like being wrong and I don't like making mistakes. I've come to accept that this first brew will probably be sub-par because there is going to be a learning curve. But I still want to end up with something drinkable.

1. If I check the gravity reading Thursday and it hasn't changed Sunday (which is the 7th day) is there any benefit in waiting to bottle it?

2. Once the beer has reached its final gravity, what is the general rule of thumb as far as the maximum amount of time I can wait to bottle?

3. I was watching a youtube video tutorial where the homebrewer recommended taking a sample of the beer after the yeast is added and to use this sample to test the gravity in the beer at the beginning and end of the fermentation process so that you don't need to keep opening the fermenter and increasing the probability of the brew getting contaminated. I thought this sounded like a good idea for the next brew. How do you guys normally keep an eye on the gravity?

4. The recommended temperature for fermenting was 68-72F, so I have had the heat set at 68F in the house as it has been unseasonably cold this week. In the summertime I will probably not have my AC set low enough to keep the fermenter at 72F. Do you guys usually adjust your surroundings to suit your brew, or just shove it in a closet and let it ferment at whatever temperature your house happens to be?

That is all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for your input!

1. I would let it ride a little longer just to help clarify it since your skipping the primary.

2. Once it hits FG for 3 consecutive readings feel free to bottle, you can do it right away, let it sit for awhile or do the secondary thing. I always let mine go an extra week or so if I don't use a secondary.

3. I personally use a wine thief, sanitize it and plunge it in for all my readings. As long as you make sure its super clean you won't have any problems.

4. Yep most guys try to control the temp within a few degrees of their targets during fermentation. Many yeasts have their own ranges so always look it up. Plus some desire certain flavors to come out more such as banana in a hefe so they tend to stick to the higher end. But in any event just in mind the internal temp of a fermenting batch is a few degrees higher then the ambient room temp, and even in some regards to the outside sticky thermometers on the carboys / buckets. So I always make sure my sticky thermometer reads 2-3 degrees lower then the max temp I am staying below.

Some ways to cool it down include a fan + wet bath towel wrap around the carboy. Sticking the carboy in a rubber made tub and adding frozen water bottles / water. Or using something like a fridge or deep freezer with temp controller. I would make sure you don't go to high or you will get a lot of off flavors in your finished brew.
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Letting it sit longer lets the yeast clean up their byproducts, so it gives you a better tasting beer. It also gives more time for suspended yeast and other particles to fall out giving you a clearer beer. A month is a good time for the average beer between brewing and bottling, but everyone has their own preference. If you're in a hurry, make it shorter. If you can handle waiting, make it longer and you'll likely be rewarded.

Fermenting a small sample outside the fermenter doesn't really work as well in practice as you might think it would in theory. A small sample is going to ferment differently than the larger bulk batch.

1 & 2) You will find that many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and bottle. Just search for the 10,000 threads under "long Primary" or "no secondary" and you will see all the resaons why we do it, and the explanations behind...There's at least one thread a day on the topic, so it's really not hard to find the discussion pretty much hashed to death.

I leave mine for a straight month then bottle.

Even Palmer recommends not rushing the beer out of primary.

From How to Brew;
Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur....

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Basically don't be too much in a hurry to move your beer....you wil find that your beer will benefit from increased time in primary....many of us believe, even better than using a secondary...


3) the "satellite" that the (stupid and useless) video you are referring to, doesn't really tell you when a beer is done, or where it is at any given point, just really how the beer will finish.

It takes much longer for 5 gallons of beer to ferment then it does 12 ounces...Most people who believe in that nonsense, are just using it as a rationalization for not taking proper hydrometer readings (becasue they think they will ruin their beer by touching it) but a well sanitized theif or turkey baster will not harm your beer.

4) If you do a search for temp contol or swamp coolers you will see some off the ingenious ways we've come up with...mine's not too ingenuis, it's just a rubbermade bin that can hold 2 5 gallon buckets, or any other combination...plus t-shirts to work as water wicks.

It can work in several combinations of fermenters.





I figured out with the 3 gallon square sided betterbottles I could get between 6 and 8 of those bad boys in there.





I've gotten down to about 57 in the heat of summer with that setup.

Thanks for the quick responses.

I still have a lot of research to do, lol. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. Before long, my wife will hate all of you

knappster said:

I still have a lot of research to do, lol. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. Before long, my wife will hate all of you

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My girlfriend already hates everyone here and she's never met them. You get used to it.

The question I get every time I come up with something new for the homebrew set up is, "Where is it's home going to be when you're not brewing?" She's going to freak when she sees the King Kooker twin propane burner rig and the 60 qt aluminum stock pots that are showing up next week. Oops. :rockin:

Nice... I think this is the first time I would have liked to have a basement.

Revvy, does it matter if it is a uniform temperature during fermentation? Obviously in a tub, the bottom is going to be cooler than the top. I imagine that is sufficient as long as the ambient temperature is moderate, but if it was in a garage that reaches 90 degrees, I have a feeling something else would be needed. I'll research the temp control / swamp coolers to see what people are using.

knappster said:

Revvy, does it matter if it is a uniform temperature during fermentation? Obviously in a tub, the bottom is going to be cooler than the top. I imagine that is sufficient as long as the ambient temperature is moderate, but if it was in a garage that reaches 90 degrees, I have a feeling something else would be needed. I'll research the temp control / swamp coolers to see what people are using.

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Hmmm, the good Rev must be out rapturing someone at the moment...

I wouldn't worry too much about the temperature not being uniform along the entire surface of the fermenter - it's going to be fairly negligable, and short of building your own glycol cooled vessels, kind of difficult to control. I focus more on keeping a consistant temperature and attempt to avoid wild swings. In a garage that can get to the 90s you're going to have a battle on your hands for that. Maybe an old fridge off of craigslist and an aftermarket thermostat?

I'm doing fermenting in the house at the moment, I was just thinking to keep a happy home, the garage would be a lot more acceptable. I was thinking that the water would be very cold with ice in it and that would keep the part submerged much cooler than the amount that is out of the water. But now that I have thought a little bit more, if the ice is contained in a bottle like his pictures show, then the water will not get as cold as I had originally thought.

But this leads to my next question. What is the accepted method of testing the temperature of the brew when you are cooling it? I am using an ale pail with the lcd stick-on thermometer on the outside of it. If that thermometer is underwater then you will be reading the temperature of the water, rather than the beer. Are people actually sticking a thermometer into the beer to get temp readings?

CiscoKid said:

Hmmm, the good Rev must be out rapturing someone at the moment...

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Oh, I don't think he's the kind of guy to go out and kick someone in the nu...

wait, you said RAPturing...

nevermind.

knappster said:

What is the accepted method of testing the temperature of the brew when you are cooling it? I am using an ale pail with the lcd stick-on thermometer on the outside of it. If that thermometer is underwater then you will be reading the temperature of the water, rather than the beer. Are people actually sticking a thermometer into the beer to get temp readings?

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You certainly can. Sanitize a probe and run it in the vessel and resist the urge to monkey with it. I just settle for a stick on LCD strip and assume that it is +3 to +5 degrees F inside while fermenting, fermentation being an exothermic process and all. I also keep a digital thermometer sitting on top of one of the vessels just to show me what the ambient air temperature is. That said, I haven't given this issue too much thought as my basement is pretty steady at 64-66 degrees.

After doing some more research, I am really intrigued by this Son of Fermentation chiller. I recently had to add a couple of cooling fans to a home theater cabinet using a cheap digital thermostat, so I might have just been preparing for this, lol. It may be similar in price to a used fridge or freezer, but it's going to be a lot smaller and more mobile, which is a huge plus.

If I could use it in a closet or my garage, which is a tight 2-car garage, then it would make this hobby a lot more accepted.

edit: Has anybody tried doing the SOFC with fiberglass insulation instead of extruded polystyrene? Obviously you would need to attach it to something like plywood for support. I just thought it might be easier than trying to find / transport a 2"x4'x8' piece of XPS.