Time before bottling

So I started my first brew roughly 3 1/2 weeks ago. I left it in the primary fermenter for about 10 days and moved it over to the secondary and have left it in there for two weeks today. Ever since I put it in the secondary, my brew has had no head at all, but have been told that is because I used dry yeast and all the fermentation had already taken place during primary, which is perfectly normal. If that is the case, how much longer should I wait before I decide to bottle my beer? Also, another concern is that my fermenter is in a cool dark closet, I am not sure about the exact temperature in the closet, but probably somewhere around 70.

Thoughts? Thanks a lot, I look forward to drinking my raspberry wheat!

Sounds like you're on the right track. I personally don't use a "secondary" because I don't have to have a perfectly clear beer. And essentially a secondary is nothing more than a clarifying tank. Keeping your beer in a cool and dark environment is the best thing you can do. You could probably bottle when you think your beer has cleared up to your liking. Or if you think it's ruined you can send it to me for proper disposal.

Ondovcs1 said:

So I started my first brew roughly 3 1/2 weeks ago. I left it in the primary fermenter for about 10 days and moved it over to the secondary and have left it in there for two weeks today. Ever since I put it in the secondary, my brew has had no head at all, but have been told that is because I used dry yeast and all the fermentation had already taken place during primary, which is perfectly normal. If that is the case, how much longer should I wait before I decide to bottle my beer? Also, another concern is that my fermenter is in a cool dark closet, I am not sure about the exact temperature in the closet, but probably somewhere around 70.

Thoughts? Thanks a lot, I look forward to drinking my raspberry wheat!

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It sounds fine. Primary is where fermentation takes place, and usually the secondary is a clearing tank, called the "bright tank" in breweries. You can leave it in the bright tank as long as you want, since the sole purpose is the clear and condition.

If you're adding raspberries or other fruit, that's done in the secondary, too, but it doesn't sound like you've done that in this case.

I would say that you are good to go. I leave mine in the primary for about 10 days, cold crash then keg it when making my wheat with no fruit. With fruit however I leave it in the primary for 7 to 10 days, rack onto the fruit in secondary then bottle/keg after another week or so total about 21 days.

YooperBrew said:

It sounds fine. Primary is where fermentation takes place, and usually the secondary is a clearing tank, called the "bright tank" in breweries. You can leave it in the bright tank as long as you want, since the sole purpose is the clear and condition.

If you're adding raspberries or other fruit, that's done in the secondary, too, but it doesn't sound like you've done that in this case.

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Uh oh, I bought a kit from midwest supplies and I was under the impression that I put the raspberry extract in with the sugar before bottling. Am I wrong? If so, am I cool just leaving it out and just going for a straight wheat?

Ondovcs1 said:

Uh oh, I bought a kit from midwest supplies and I was under the impression that I put the raspberry extract in with the sugar before bottling. Am I wrong? If so, am I cool just leaving it out and just going for a straight wheat?

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I don't know for sure, but you might just get a few bottle bombs if you went forward with adding the extract with the sugar. Both will continue to ferment in the bottles assuming the extract is a fermentable sugar. If you do go forward with this, put the bottles in the darkest coldest part of your house and make sure they are in a plastic container with something over the top.

If the extract is an unsweetened fruit extract then you can probably add it with the priming sugar. However, you might want to start by adding half first and then tasting it to see if it has enough fruit flavor. I added an entire bottle of fruit extract to one of my stouts, per instructions, and it's really a little too much fruit flavor.

Ondovcs1 said:

Uh oh, I bought a kit from midwest supplies and I was under the impression that I put the raspberry extract in with the sugar before bottling. Am I wrong? If so, am I cool just leaving it out and just going for a straight wheat?

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Oh, no, that's fine! Sometimes people use real raspberries, and not the fruit flavored extract. That's what I meant about adding raspberries in secondary. You can add the extract at bottling, just as directed!

Shooter said:

If the extract is an unsweetened fruit extract then you can probably add it with the priming sugar. However, you might want to start by adding half first and then tasting it to see if it has enough fruit flavor. I added an entire bottle of fruit extract to one of my stouts, per instructions, and it's really a little too much fruit flavor.

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Yeah, I'd add less at first and see if it's good. This might be a case of "Less is more" for you. You can always add a little bit more, but you can't take it out once it's in there!

YooperBrew said:

Yeah, I'd add less at first and see if it's good. This might be a case of "Less is more" for you. You can always add a little bit more, but you can't take it out once it's in there!

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Is it okay to drink the brew before actually bottling to see how it tastes? Also, do I just give it a gentle stir in the bottling bucket with the sugar as well? And lastly, should I just take a few hydrometer readings to see where it levels off? Because I am new to this and I hear that is how you know when the beer is truly done.

Thanks! Sorry for so many questions....

Ondovcs1 said:

Is it okay to drink the brew before actually bottling to see how it tastes?

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This is the best way to see how a beer progresses as it ages, alot of people do it.

Ondovcs1 said:

do I just give it a gentle stir in the bottling bucket with the sugar as well?

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You can put the sugar in the bucket first, racking on top of it will be enough to get it mixed well. I forgot to do this with the batch I just bottle so I had to stir. Either will work but stirring has the risk of introducing oxygen.

Ondovcs1 said:

should I just take a few hydrometer readings to see where it levels off? Because I am new to this and I hear that is how you know when the beer is truly done.

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Yeah, you probably should have taken the hydrometer readings before moving to secondary. Don't remove from primary until the gravity holds steady for a few days, then you know that fermentation is complete and that the beer can be moved to secondary for clearing.

Ondovcs1 said:

Is it okay to drink the brew before actually bottling to see how it tastes?

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Hell yes it is

Part of the fun is tasting your creation at all the various stages during the brewing process :rockin:

Hey Ondovcs1! Welcome to the forums from a fellow Spartan!

Adding extract at bottling is a perfectly acceptable practice. Fruit Extract (TYPICALLY) does not have many fermentable sugars. If the MW kit suggest adding the extract and priming sugar at bottling time, I would think you're not going to create bottle bombs. I would strongly recommend you check out The Jamil Show. Jamil Zainscheff is one of the most premier homebrewers and has a great internet radio show. He has an episode on Fruit Beers that is going to tell you everything you need to know and more. You can find it at The Jamil Show - Fruit Beers. I actually just listened to this episode today. You can also download the podcast off of iTunes if you're interested.

Are you trying to create a Harper's Raspberry Wheat clone or something?

Let me know how the beer turns out, and what you think of the podcast if you listen to it, and GO GREEN!