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beerfanx

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I'm brand new at this. Wife bought me a Home Brew kit for Christmas. It's a Double IPA. My question is, how long do I allow it to ferment before I move it over into the bottling portion. I've read a couple different things. The instructions say 1 week them into bottles for 2. I also read that fermenting for 2 weeks and then bottles for 2. Trying to get this right.

T
 
Hey dude, congrats on the new kit. Personally, I would ferment for 2 weeks and bottle for 2 weeks. Reasons for this is to ensure fermentation is complete and that the beer ages just enough.
 
Hi, welcome to HBT and to homebrewing!

First, there is no downside to letting it go longer than the instructions say. For fermentation, the key is that the fermentation be completed, done, before you bottle. For most beers, that will be 10 days, but for others it might take a little longer. There is a safety issue here - if you bottle before the yeast are done with primary fermentation, you could get exploding bottles. So, you really want to make sure your fermentation is completed before you bottle.

If your kit came with a hydrometer, you can use that to check on whether fermentation is complete (after ten days, take a reading, wait another three days and take a reading, if the readings are the same, the fermentation is done).

If you don't have a hydrometer, or aren't sure how to use it, you can just wait two or more weeks and your fermentation will be done.

After you bottle, leave the bottles in a warmish (room temperature) place and wait three weeks before opening one. If it is carbonated - you're good to go! If it isn't, let the bottles sit another week or two and open another. Repeat as necessary ;)

Let us know how it goes!
 
Welcome to the forum, and the obsession that is homebrewing!

As far as fermentation and bottling times are concerned, you just want to make 100% sure that the beer is completely done fermenting before you bottle it. Usually two weeks is sufficient for a full fermentation, but sometimes it can go a little longer than that. Your best bet is to get a hydrometer (if your starter kit did not come with one) so you can monitor the specific gravity of the beer. If your beer has been fermenting for some time, you can use the hydrometer to monitor the drop in specific gravity. If you take gravity readings for three days in a row and the gravity is steady, you can be reasonably sure the beer is done fermenting and you can move to bottling.
 
Did you get a hydrometer with your kit?

The first thing you'll want to do is take a hydrometer reading for your OG (original gravity), this is done once the wort is cooled but before you pitch yeast.

You're lucky though, because this is an extract kit, if you add all ingredients and follow the directions to a "T," they should list the OG in the kit and you will most likely hit that (or very close).

Then, about 10 days into ferment, take a Specific Gravity (SG) reading with your hydrometer and see what it says. Say it ends up fermenting down to 1.018... check it in another couple of days, if it's still at 1.018, this is your Final Gravity (FG) and it's ready to bottle.

I would suggest at least two weeks to carb up in the bottle, then you can decide how many you want to age or just drink them when you get a chance since it is a DIPA, which to me, are better when fresher.

Oh also, welcome to the forum... ask your questions and you'll get answers quickly... as you can see. :mug:
 
Fermentation - Look up the data for the yeast you will be using on the manufacturers web site. Fermentation temperature is critical for a quality beer.

My beers are typically finished (confirmed by hydrometer readings), clear, and ready to bottle after three weeks in the primary.

edit- Double IPA may take longer for the dry hopping.
 
Great suggestions above. Often times you'll notice the instructions for kits are only good for the boiling process such as hop schedules and water volumes. The most important part is to be patient with fermentation and follow the suggestions above. You'll get more and better information on this site than any instruction from a kit. Congrats on your first kit!
 
BrewerBrad82 said:
Welcome to the forum, and the obsession that is homebrewing!
Click to expand...

This is so true. I got a kit for christmas last year, and that was the only kit I brewed... what a sulphuric mess that was. I just brewed my 12th all grain BIAB brew (and that's with a 2 month break during the summer), and I'm thoroughly obsessed and planing to enter my first competition in April. After one year, I actually have my system dialed in, and I finally feel like I know what I'm doing now.

As for your question, leave it for another week at least. Give it two more weeks and you can be sure that is safe to bottle. As has been said before, if you bottle before the beer has fully fermented, you will get potential bottle bombs, and that will make for a unhappy situation, if not a very harmful and scarring situation.

Patience is paramount when brewing, and you need to use the tools (hydrometer) available to you to determine when to bottle. Bubbling airlocks mean nought, and actual measurement of the beer is needed to know when to bottle. If you don't have a hydrometer, get one, and then let the beer sit for another two weeks. If you do have a hydrometer and you took an OG measurement, then take another measurement in a week and note it down. Wait three more days and take another measurement. If the reading is the same with both readings, then it is safe to bottle. Now look up "batch priming", get yourself a bottling bucket with a spigot, and get to bottling.
 
I don't know where the manufacturers get their figures from. Obviously, yeast are living a living organism and behave differently in different water, ambient temperatures, pitching temperatures and the like, but in my experience I just don't see how beer could ever be claimed to be 'done fermenting' after just one week. I generally see the "ferment for 5-7 days, bottle then drink after 2 weeks" recommendation banded around on kits, and I think it's irresponsible, quite frankly.

The advice I've had is that, with ales, you should bank on 3/3 (3 weeks in primary, then bottle and condition for a further 3 weeks). Even if you're lucky and you can get a fermentation done in two weeks. For me, I'll ferment until a) bubbling stops, b) the beer clears, or at least shows signs of clearing on its own and c) I get successive identical gravity readings. Forget the time. It takes as long as it takes.
 
Wrinkletusk said:
This is so true. I got a kit for christmas last year, and that was the only kit I brewed... what a sulphuric mess that was. I just brewed my 12th all grain BIAB brew (and that's with a 2 month break during the summer), and I'm thoroughly obsessed and planing to enter my first competition in April. After one year, I actually have my system dialed in, and I finally feel like I know what I'm doing now.

As for your question, leave it for another week at least. Give it two more weeks and you can be sure that is safe to bottle. As has been said before, if you bottle before the beer has fully fermented, you will get potential bottle bombs, and that will make for a unhappy situation, if not a very harmful and scarring situation.

Patience is paramount when brewing, and you need to use the tools (hydrometer) available to you to determine when to bottle. Bubbling airlocks mean nought, and actual measurement of the beer is needed to know when to bottle. If you don't have a hydrometer, get one, and then let the beer sit for another two weeks. If you do have a hydrometer and you took an OG measurement, then take another measurement in a week and note it down. Wait three more days and take another measurement. If the reading is the same with both readings, then it is safe to bottle. Now look up "batch priming", get yourself a bottling bucket with a spigot, and get to bottling.
Click to expand...

"Liked" because of the "naught". Although, the rest of your post is dead-on. Well said, sir!
 

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