Thinking of bottling a little early?....

Bad idea? I brewed a batch of American Pale Ale on the 7th. Activity maxed out in a few days. I checked my gravity on the 13th and it was 1.012 (OG was 1.054). I am currently doing primary only and want to stick with 21 days in fermenter.

Here is the dilemma: I have a buddy that might be visiting early in april and I want to show off "#1".

IF the gravity is still 1.012 when I check it, how disappointed will I be if I bottled early? I know that it will be clearer and better if I wait and I know patience is my worst enemy, but if it is just a matter of it being a little cloudy, but still tasty, I think I will be willing to trade a little bit of clarity for the chance to share a homebrew with a good friend on a rare visit.

Thanks

If the gravity is steady over a period of days, then it is safe to bottle. After you bottle, you'll need to plan on three weeks or so for the beer to be ready.

It would be really great to share the beer with your friend. But it would probably be disappointing to share it with him if its not ready - flat, green, etc. Obviously, there's not answer, but it could be disappointing to share with him some beer that isn't ready, hence doesn't taste good, and have him think that's what homebrewed beer tastes like, specifically your homebrewed beer.

Put a couple of bottles in the fridge a couple of days before he visits, try one yourself the day before he visits and see what you think. It will probably be fine, but it would be good to check first!

Yeah, I would definitely try it before grabbing a couple glasses and saying 'here ya go, this stuff is great'.

if your gravity is steady, fermentaion is done, go ahead and bottle.

If you add priming sugar and bottle before then you will get some nice bottle boms.

I just don't know if the purpose of staying in primary for another week is for clarity alone, or for clarity and taste. If I am only going to sacrifice a little clarity by bottling early, I am okay with it. I won't bottle early if I am going to be sacrificing taste. If that makes sense.

well i would say that if the gravity is stable then its safe to bottle. i agree that you should leave the beer in the bottle for 3 weeks before drinking. you could always send your buddy some "water samples" when the beer is done. just be sure to bubble wrap the bottles so they don't clank together during shipping and don't be afraid to fill the air space in the box with something.

I made the mistake of trying to rush with my first batch. I bottled after two weeks in primary and after three weeks in bottles, it was carbonated OK but still tasted very green. The green taste didn't go away for about another two weeks. For my subsequent batches, I've just left them in primary for four weeks and then bottled, and each has been fine after three weeks in bottles.

I'm sure there are some recipes that can taste OK sooner, and maybe your pale ale would be OK, so you can always give it a shot. Check it before your buddy arrives and if it's not ready yet, don't give him any. From my experience though, it will still be OK to drink at some point if you bottle early. You may have to wait a little longer.

Thanks for all of the input. First step is I need to even see if the FG is stable. I am pretty sure it is. When I take my sample for that, I can take opinions above and make a decision.

My first home brew was an Irish stout... I bottled after only 2 weeks in the primary and tasted one after only 1 week in bottle and it was already pretty carbonated, little head, but tasted pretty damn good already. You will probably be fine with 2 weeks in the primary and 2 weeks in the bottle. I'd say give it a try.

Thanks. I think I might go ahead with bottling in a day or two depending on hydrometer readings.

I just took a sample for hydrometer reading/taste. The hydrometer reading is between 1.011 and 1.012. It was 1.012 on the 13th. The beer is a little cloudy, but I am sure that is to be expected at this point. The only thing I am unsure of is the taste. I compared it with a flat cup of sierra nevada. It was close, but it had a taste that I can't really describe. Kind of fruity in a way. I had my wife taste it (BMC drinker) and the first thing she mentioned was a slight orange taste. It doesn't really taste bad, just fruity I guess. Is that the 'green' taste that everyone talks about?

Would it be better to wait? More than likely, yes.

My first batch was a brown ale extract that stopped at the dreaded 1020 gravity. It had been in primary for 2 weeks. I decreased the priming sugar from 5oz to 3.5oz and bottled. The difference between week 2 to week 3 after bottling was very noticable. Even after 2 weeks it was a good tasting beer. As it has aged it has gotten better and better. I've had a number of people try it and all have liked it very much. I'd say just go for it. Drink some with him and then send some home with him to age. Then you can discuss with him the changes you both notice as it ages. Kind of a second opinion for you....heck who knows, it might inspire him to try brewing.

What temp did you ferment at? That taste might be esters from a warm fermentation.

carnevoodoo said:

What temp did you ferment at? That taste might be esters from a warm fermentation.

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the ambient temp in the room it was in stayed between 65-70. I would say during the peak of the fermentation, it was at 68. I don't have a fermometer yet, so I am not sure how much higher the actual wort/beer was. I know it ferments a little warmer.

152Sumo said:

I just don't know if the purpose of staying in primary for another week is for clarity alone, or for clarity and taste. If I am only going to sacrifice a little clarity by bottling early, I am okay with it. I won't bottle early if I am going to be sacrificing taste. If that makes sense.

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Taste may be sacrificed, to some extent. Yeast produce more than just alcohol and CO2 during fermentation. During the conditioning phase, the yeast actually consume these other by-products.

A big advantage of a longer primary is that there is a lot more yeast to eat up these by-products, which can have off-flavors, resulting in a "cleaner" tasting beer.

Then again, people had been doing--and continue to do--short primaries and create good tasting brews.

Edit: If I were you, I'd bottle 2-3 weeks before my friend arrives, hope it gets fully carbonated, and--as someone else mentioned--try a beer the day before to make sure it's something you want to put your name on yet. Here's another idea: Let your friend drink it as-is, then give him/her a bottle to take home with instructions to try it in like a month and see how the flavor changes.

Green beer always tastes a bit sweet to me, so if you use citrusy hops in it that combined with the sweetness could be the fruity taste you noticed.

152Sumo said:

I just took a sample for hydrometer reading/taste. The hydrometer reading is between 1.011 and 1.012. It was 1.012 on the 13th. The beer is a little cloudy, but I am sure that is to be expected at this point. The only thing I am unsure of is the taste. I compared it with a flat cup of sierra nevada. It was close, but it had a taste that I can't really describe. Kind of fruity in a way. I had my wife taste it (BMC drinker) and the first thing she mentioned was a slight orange taste. It doesn't really taste bad, just fruity I guess. Is that the 'green' taste that everyone talks about?

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I've noticed a taste I would similarly describe in my young beers.

Also I would mention to your freind all the comments that have been said here, sorrt of a disclaimer. Something like "man I really wanted this beer to be ready for when you were here so it might be a bit green (explaintion if required), but take these bottles home and try one evry month and let me know what you think."
that way he will be more forgiving if the beer is not the greatest, I have served a lot of beers to the inlaws that were green (have to stop drinking it so fast) and they don't seem too bothered by the slight taste.

Awesome! I am going to go ahead and bottle Friday night. I like the disclaimer idea. Thanks a lot for all of the input. I will share how the beer turns out on another thread.