When to bottle Imperial IPA?

Hey all, I just had a question about an IIPA I'm brewing right now. It's my very first brew so I really want it to turn out but naturally am also somewhat impatient. The boil took place on the Sept. 13, and fermentation started 12 hours in. I used Fermentis US-05 dry yeast. Fermentation seemed to be all but done on the third or fourth day, so it's pretty safe to say it's been sitting for 9 or 10 days post-fermentation at this point. I've read that you don't really want to age IPA's because the hop flavors obviously have a limited life. Would I be totally jumping the gun to bottle this up in the next day or two? Thanks.

Did you take gravity readings over a few days to ensure youre at your target FG and it is not dropping still?

Are you dry hopping?

If you aren't dry hopping and your gravity is stable then bottle away!

kingmatt said:

Did you take gravity readings over a few days to ensure youre at your target FG and it is not dropping still?

Are you dry hopping?

If you aren't dry hopping and your gravity is stable then bottle away!

Click to expand...

Nope, no dry hopping. I've heard that this recipe is great just the way it is. I took sort of a late FG reading after about 12 days or so and was right in the target range

Edit: I should mention that that was the only post-fermentation reading I took. I've been a little paranoid about opening the bucket too many times. Also, the beer is not exactly clear on the surface. I'm not sure whether this is normal or not, but there is some sort of krausen looking type stuff floating up top.

Give it two weeks in the primary. If you want it to be clearer, rack it to secondary and give it another two weeks and it'll be fine. I have done a few Pliny The Elder clones and have waited a month before bottling, then another two weeks before chilling and drinking. Turned out great!

The difference of a few weeks won't have a huge impact on the hop character of your beer, at least in my experience it hasn't.