to bottle or not to bottle...

Hey guys, if there is yeast still floating on top of my wort after fermenting for almost a week should I leave alone or is it ok to bottle? I broke my hydrometer so I can't take a reading. I'll need to pick another one up but I won't be able to for a while.

I would rack it to a secondary fermenter and let it sit for another week or 10 days. Then bottle. You'll get rid of some of the sediment, and be sure about whether or not the fermentation is done.

What's the average attenuation of the yeast you're using?

TB

Tiber_Brew said:

I would rack it to a secondary fermenter and let it sit for another week or 10 days. Then bottle. You'll get rid of some of the sediment, and be sure about whether or not the fermentation is done.

What's the average attenuation of the yeast you're using?

TB

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Awesome, thanks for the advice. I took a picture of what I had and showed it to the expert at the local homebrew shop. She said it was definately not done and to give it several more days until the wort finally cleared and the hydrometer read from 1.01 and 1.02.

mrduna01 said:

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I took a picture of what I had and showed it to the expert at the local homebrew shop. She said it was definately not done and to give it several more days until the wort finally cleared and the hydrometer read from 1.01 and 1.02.

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I would say it's hard to tell from a picture and it will depend on the beer, the yeast, and the conditions.

There's no harm in racking to secondary at this point. Your beer will be fine!

Keep us posted with tasting notes if you want.

TB

Tiber_Brew said:

I would say it's hard to tell from a picture and it will depend on the beer, the yeast, and the conditions.

There's no harm in racking to secondary at this point. Your beer will be fine!

Keep us posted with tasting notes if you want.

TB

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Ah, ok cool. The lady at the Homebrew shop said that racking it into the second container would disturb the fermentation needlessly to leave it alone. I will give it some time and see what happens.

She is right about that if you rack it too early, but I think after a week has gone by you'll be fine. You could wait another 3 or 4 days, then rack. Or you could bottle from the primary once 10 or so days have past.

What is the average attenuation of the yeast you used?
What was your OG?

TB

My original gravity was 1.50 but I am unsure about the yeast.

I would leave it alone til the krausen falls. And then leave it in primary for another 2-3 weeks after that to insure that it is done fermenting, and the yeast has cleaned up after itself. There is really NO reason to rack to secondary these days unless you are adding fruit or choosing to dry hop in secondary. And if you secondary then wait at least till it's been 14 days before you even consider that.

Bottling a beer after only 7 days is way too soon. AND especially with a krausen still on may lead to bottle bombs.

And you will find that waiting improves your beer. This isn't a race.

Best advice, don't do ANYTHING to your beer UNTIL you replace your hydrometer.

Revvy said:

I would leave it alone til the krausen falls. And then leave it in primary for another 2-3 weeks after that to insure that it is done fermenting, and the yeast has cleaned up after itself. There is really NO reason to rack to secondary these days unless you are adding fruit or choosing to dry hop in secondary.

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While that's generally good advice, I find merits in racking to secondary with most beers. A hop-heavy beer, or one with particularly large amounts of cold break might benefit from racking the beer off the trub. That's one of the main advantages of conical fermenters, is that you can remove the trub very easily. Racking to secondary too early can have ill effects on yeast behavior, particularly "cleaning up after themselves" with diacetyl, sulfur, etc. But secondary fermenters offer an opportunity to clear up your beer, as well as (as Revvy mentioned) dry hopping or fruit additions.

Revvy's advice is perfectly fine, but I would never discourage someone from racking to a secondary fermenter if done properly and at the appropriate time.

TB