First beer

I'm about 3/4 of the way through brewing my first batch of beer.... 15 minutes left in my boil.... Can't wait to learn a bit and see how this turned out in a couple weeks.

Good luck. I just started my second batch (steeping now). I didn't even wait for the first to finish. I had funand just have a feeling these are going to be good!

kurzschluss1 said:

Good luck. I just started my second batch (steeping now). I didn't even wait for the first to finish. I had funand just have a feeling these are going to be good!

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I bottled batch #1 today and then moved batch #2 to secondary to free my primary in case I want to cook next week.

Hope the enthusiasm continues.

Waiting is the hardest part.

Unless you are going to add something like fruit LEAVE it in the primary for 2-3 weeks Don't keep opening and taking samples. Just wait, let the yeast clean up and settle to the bottom. I know it's hard, but you'll have a better beer. Then 3 weeks in bottles. Yea, if you made a 5 gallon batch go try one bottle a week to see the difference in the conditioning.

C-Rider said:

Unless you are going to add something like fruit LEAVE it in the primary for 2-3 weeks Don't keep opening and taking samples. Just wait, let the yeast clean up and settle to the bottom. I know it's hard, but you'll have a better beer. Then 3 weeks in bottles. Yea, if you made a 5 gallon batch go try one bottle a week to see the difference in the conditioning.

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I plan to leave it in the primary for one week, then transfer to secondary and dry no, and leave it there for 2 weeks.

unionrdr said:

Don't rack out of primary after only one week. It'll likely need more time. And always make sure it'sat FG before racking. It can stall out if racked too soon. No need to play mad scientist with the fermenting beer. Just leave it be,the yeast have their own schedule.

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+1 Leave it in the primary for 3 weeks, make sure the gravity is where you expect it to be, bottle and wait 3 weeks to enjoy. I usually start sampling after a week in the bottle, but waiting really improves the product. Taking gravity readings is really important, it's the only way to know the beer is done to avoid bottle bombs. If you don't have an hydrometer you should get one. Have fun and enjoy your brew, this can be a great hobby. Or obsession.

So should it be at my final gravity reading before I transfer to secondary?

jimmarshall said:

So should it be at my final gravity reading before I transfer to secondary?

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Pretty much +1 to everything that people are saying.

2-3 wks in primary, if @ FG then rack to secondary (or leave it in primary if you are not adding anything)

:fro:

jimmarshall said:

So should it be at my final gravity reading before I transfer to secondary?

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Absolutely. And unless you're dry hopping, bulk aging, or racking onto fruit/oak/coco nibs etc I wouldn't bother with a secondary. Like mentioned above, the yeast will do their thing and they really clean up after themselves at 3 weeks. Racking too early can cause some off flavors since the yeast didn't have the proper time. Just because the fermentation has finished doesn't mean that the yeast are done working.

As they said above no need for secondary. Let the yeast do their job. If I had found this site before I started brewing I would have bought more primary buckets instead of that glass carboy that has just sat in its box for 9 months now.

I will be dry hopping my IPA. Should I put a hydrometer to it in a week and see how its doing? I don't see any point in keeping it in the primary for 3 weeks if its done after.one.

jimmarshall said:

I will be dry hopping my IPA. Should I put a hydrometer to it in a week and see how its doing? I don't see any point in keeping it in the primary for 3 weeks if its done after.one.

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Think of it this way. Yeast has 4 basic phases as it ferments: pitch, lag, exponential, and stationary. Yeast produce acetolactate early in the fermentation. That is the precursor compound for diacetyl (buttery off flavors). The yeast need plenty of time to reabsorb those compounds AFTER the fermentation has finished. That can only happen with plenty of yeast and time. If you separate the beer from the yeast too early, there's no way to fix that. Like I said earlier, just because the main fermentation is finished, doesn't mean the yeast are done working.

With that being said, the shortest I'd leave a beer in the fermenter is two weeks. Three weeks is better IMO but to each his own.

Klickmania said:

Think of it this way. Yeast has 4 basic phases as it ferments: pitch, lag, exponential, and stationary. Yeast produce acetolactate early in the fermentation. That is the precursor compound for diacetyl (buttery off flavors). The yeast need plenty of time to reabsorb those compounds AFTER the fermentation has finished. That can only happen with plenty of yeast and time. If you separate the beer from the yeast too early, there's no way to fix that. Like I said earlier, just because the main fermentation is finished, doesn't mean the yeast are done working.

With that being said, the shortest I'd leave a beer in the fermenter is two weeks. Three weeks is better IMO but to each his own.

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So the suggestion is 3 weeks in the primary, another two? Dry hopping in the secondary, and then bottle?

unionrdr said:

Let the beer hit FG,then give it another 3-7 days to settle out clear or slightly misty. Then dry hop. You'll get more flavor than if it's cloudy with yeast. You don't want the hop oils coating the yeast & sinking to the bottom.

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Ok, thank you!

Yes, I normally do three weeks in primary then dry hop/carbonate in the keg with gelatin for a week. If bottling, I rack to secondary with hops for a week then bottle as usual. Will come out a lot better then just a week primary.