Smells like beer, taste like beer..

But is it ok?

So I just check my beer after 1 week in primary and it smells like beer and taste like beer. It was a little sweet (I guess because it still needs to go a bit longer?) When I looked at it in my ale pale, it looked ok. Nothing really gross looking. Looked like some minimal foam. My hydrometer reading was at about 1.03 (sorry, i forgot to take my OG - I was caught up in the moment)

I think I will let it go another week than bottle.

If it was to be infected...would it smell bad? Because it sure smelt like heaven when I took the lid off!

?? Why are you sweating it? It sounds great to me. RDWHAHB

Let it go at LEAST 3 weeks in the primary, 4 being the best, IMHO.

I just bottled my first batches last week, so I'm new. But your final gravity will be at 1.010 or lower for an extract. I'm leaving mine in the primary fermenter for 2 to 3 weeks, then bottling. I've worried about a lot of things that I didn't need too, being new, such as secondarys, carbonation, bottling technique, etc., but everything is turning out fine. I just sampled three beers after 1 wk in the bottle and they are fine, already carbonated. They should be much better after several more weeks.

Your beer is fine, it's really hard to ruin your beer. You have new brewer's nerves, that's all.

Read this thread to see how no matter how mch we "f" up, our beer manages to surprise us. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

Thanks guys. All of this excitement has gotten to me.

So do the majority agree with 3 weeks in primary?

tim87tr said:

I just bottled my first batches last week, so I'm new. But your final gravity will be at 1.010 or lower for an extract.

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Final gravity is usually about 1/4 of OG, and it depends on how many fermentables and non-fermentables you use. You can have beers with gravity reading in the 1.020's and 1.030's if they are high gravity beers like russian imperial stouts...

+1 RDWHAHB. i'm guessing this is your first brew. if you cant taste an infection or smell an infection its probably not infected and i wouldn't worry about it. nothing lethal can grow in beer. just walk away for 2 more weeks then bottle.

Sounds like your right on track my friend.

Good work and just let it go another week or two and you'll be good to go!

An extract beer will generally quit a little bit higher than an AG beer, but it depends on how the mash was conducted in the AG.

I would not even think about touching it until 3 weeks were up. It's hard, I know, but that extra time will be very good to your beer. Check it again in another week and see where it ends up.

If it tastes like beer now, it will probably taste pretty good when it's done. RDWHAHB!

Thanks guys. I guess I just needed some extra re-assurance. I can't have a homebrew yet, being this is my first but I will pop open something else I have in stock.

I am going to let this one go for another 2 weeks and bottle it.

wow 3 weeks.... do you guys keep all your beers in your primary for that long? I am currently brewing my first batch (irish stout) and it says only one week in the primary and another week in my secondary and then its bottle time....

802VermontHomebrew said:

wow 3 weeks.... do you guys keep all your beers in your primary for that long? I am currently brewing my first batch (irish stout) and it says only one week in the primary and another week in my secondary and then its bottle time....

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No... I usually only leave it in the primary for 10-14 days if I'm racking to a secondary, but if not, then maybe leaving it longer in the primary will be a good idea if I want diacetyl flavors to clear out...