I think i've bottled too soon.

I brewed my second batch of beer two weeks ago. It is a Ruthless Rye Ipa clone I found on beer smith. (http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/64276/sierra-nevada-ruthless-ipa-clone-byo) I brewed 2 Sundays ago. I nailed the estimated OG 1.061. I transfer into a secondary fermenter on the following Friday(5days). I had seen little activity in the secondary (no bubbles). I bottled on the next Wednesday(10days) assuming i was done fermenting. After bottling i realized i hadn't checked my gravity so i opened a bottle and checked. The gravity was 1.022.(with priming sugar) That seems really high. The recipe calls for a FG of 1.012. I popped a bottle last night to see how carbonation levels are and its still pretty flat, no bottle bombs yet. I am wondering what i should do. I have tried to find similar posts but haven't had any luck. Should i pour the bottles back into a fermenter and wait a few weeks or just keep an eye on the bottles as they progress. Is there any chance this FG is ok for this type of yeast. (Safale American)

Other notes are:
-the recipe was converted by my local brew shop so i could do a partial mash

-there were 2.5 oz of hop pellets dry hopped in the second fermentation.(5days)



Thanks for your help
Jason

I don't know what you should do as I'm new myself but I'm pretty sure you don't want to pour them back into the fermenter that would most likely oxygenate the whole batch.

Hinklemeyer said:

Should i pour the bottles back into a fermenter and wait a few weeks or just keep an eye on the bottles as they progress.

Thanks for your help
Jason

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No, do not put them back into a fermenter. You will oxygenate &/or infect things. Your biggest concern at this point is bottle bombs; the quality of your brew will probably be fine. Place them in a rubbermaid tub (with the lid on) to condition; if some blow, you will at least contain the mess. Condition at ~70F.

I would check one bottle every couple of days to see if you have reached a good carbonation level. Once they reach a level you like, refrigerate them to slow/stop further fermentation/carbonation and potential bombs. This is how it's done with naturally carbonated root beer bottles.

Well, unfortunately you may have learned a lesson the hard way

Do not pour out the beer as that will only oxidize the beer.

At this point you really don't know and can't really tell if it was done or not.

Place the bottles in a plastic tote with a lid and allow them to carbonate but be protected in case of bottle bombs

Check a bottle in a couple weeks and see what happens. They may be fine, they may over carbonate, they may explode.

If they become over carbonated you can carefully pop the caps to relieve pressure, you will need to do this periodically.

That's all I got, next time verify FG!

Your first mistake was racking to secondary so early. At 5 days the beer likely still had some fermenting to do. In the future you shouldn't rack to secondary until after you reach a stable FG.

Your second mistake is the fact you went by a timed schedule instead of letting the hydrometer tell you what stage you were at. Never go by a schedule on a list of instructions. Always go by gravity readings...

Check a bottle in a few days. If it's carbonated enough to your liking then put them all in the fridge. At that point drink them up quickly.

Sounds about right. I guess i'll just keep them in a tub and wait. That's about what i figured. Lessened learned. Thanks to all.

Still so new to this. I should have checked the hydrometer.

All of the advice about totes is great. In fact, i would suggest the principal of:
1. Sanitize
2. Sanitize.
3. Sanitize
4. Add Carbonation sugar.
5. Bottle
6. Place in Lidded Plastic Tote
7. Carbonate/Condition at Desired temp>= 64 to <=70 degrees
8. Check Carbonation after a few days.
9. If good, chill all bottles.
10 Enjoy.


A long time ago in a land far far away, one guy made decent beer, but carbonation was not always on. Be careful opening a bottle of unknown carbonation!

Stauffbier said:

Your first mistake was racking to secondary so early. At 5 days the beer likely still had some fermenting to do. In the future you shouldn't rack to secondary until after you reach a stable FG.

Your second mistake is the fact you went by a timed schedule instead of letting the hydrometer tell you what stage you were at. Never go by a schedule on a list of instructions. Always go by gravity readings...

Check a bottle in a few days. If it's carbonated enough to your liking then put them all in the fridge. At that point drink them up quickly.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. Don't transfer to secondary, if at all, (but that is a different story), until final gravity is confirmed. Second and even more important is, do not bottle without at least hitting predicted final gravity. It is best to check once then wait 24 hours and check again. If the numbers are not the same wait another 24 hours + and check again. Repeat until you have a stable gravity that is near the predicted level.

You can also let the yeast finish completely. Many feel, including me, that the yeast will continue by cleaning up off flavors and clearing the beer for at least a few days after fermentation is finished.

Another route with your bottles would be to check one every couple of days. If you don't have over carbonation After about 3 weeks at near 70 degrees you are good to go. If you get gushers or a huge release of pressure when uncapping you can open all the bottles and recap. This might take more than once though.

kh54s10 said:

I agree with this. Don't transfer to secondary, if at all, (but that is a different story), until final gravity is confirmed. Second and even more important is, do not bottle without at least hitting predicted final gravity. It is best to check once then wait 24 hours and check again. If the numbers are not the same wait another 24 hours + and check again. Repeat until you have a stable gravity that is near the predicted level.

You can also let the yeast finish completely. Many feel, including me, that the yeast will continue by cleaning up off flavors and clearing the beer for at least a few days after fermentation is finished.

Another route with your bottles would be to check one every couple of days. If you don't have over carbonation After about 3 weeks at near 70 degrees you are good to go. If you get gushers or a huge release of pressure when uncapping you can open all the bottles and recap. This might take more than once though.

Click to expand...

+1. Although you can sometimes get gushers on normally carbonating bottles by opening too soon (before CO2 has been fully absorbed) and/or at too warm of a temp. That's why you give it 3 weeks at room temp then chill a few days in the fridge before opening.

Next time give it 2-3 weeks in the primary, then check grav a couple days apart. If it's the same both times, you're done. Instead of a secondary, you can cold crash 4-5 days to clarify or simply prime/bottle.

Def keep the bottles at 70F or a lil better. low 60's would be too cool & the beer either won't carbonate,or will take a long time. Mine go dormant at low 60's in bottles. The one thing to remember here is that normal yeast temp ranges don't apply to bottled beer. Save for the lower ranges.
And def don't follow the time lines in direction sheets. They're typically short. In 5 days,most often as not,only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG. Then give it 3-7 days after that to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then prime & bottle.

Make sure you calibrate your hydrometer with distilled water. There is a chance you are fine and your hydrometer is off. I brewed two batches before I realized my hydrometer was off. I never had any bottle bombs but the last 10 or so bottles were very carbonated and I had to pour them very slowly.

If you are worried about bombs then wait a weekish or 2 after you bottle and then try one. If it's a cood carbonation level then (if you can) put as many or all of your bottles in the refrigerator. That should stop things from fermenting.