When do I know a batch is ready to be bottled?

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JoeSTL

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This is my first batch. It is NB's Caribou Slobber extract kit. It spent 2 weeks in the primary, then it's been 1 week in the secondary. Immediately after I transferred it from the primary to the secondary, I took a reading of 1.020. It's been in the secondary for a week and it's still at 1.020. Should I bottle now? The kit instructions say it should be in the secondary for at least 2 weeks. Should I just wait the extra week? Can something 'bad' happen if I wait another few days before bottling?
 
You can bottle now. Kits recommend secondary but it's not needed for ales (maybe if dry hopping but primary works well for that). Next time go straight to bottles unless you are lagering.
 
Thanks. I've read many posts about not needing a secondary. I'll have to keep it in the primary longer for my next batch.
 
Nothing bad will happen if you leave the beer in the secondary. You should confirm fermentation is complete before taking the beer off the yeast though. 1.020 is a high finishing gravity. The SG could be reading this high if you used a refractometer. Refractometers aren't accurate in the presence of alcohol. The SG could also be reading this high if you used the Windsor yeast. This is a low attenuating yeast that drops out early.

I would give this beer extra time before bottling. The SG may drop another couple of points. You definitely don't want the fermentation to finish in the bottles if it is not complete now.

I've brewed the Caribou Slobber many times. Always had used WY 1332. A few months ago I used Windsor for the first time. The beer finished at 1.018. The SG sample was overly sweet. I took the beer down to 1.013 by pitching an active 500 ml starter of WY 1056.

(I bottled 5 gallons last week and pitched a new one this afternoon using WY 1332.)
 
1.020 is no suprise. Caribou Slobber finishes a little high, and extract brews tend to finish a little high. Do a search on extract and 1.020 FG.
 
as flars said, check gravity during primary. once it is the same on two readings over 2-3 days, its done. furthermore, bulk secondary is not necessary--the beer may be bottled after fermentation is done (see first stmt about gravity!).
 
Listen to Flars....he's been very helpful during my ongoing learning curve. I've brewed 27 batches of Caribou Slobber extract since last June and have slobber pretty well dialed in. I add 3/8 cup of honey per gallon (I brew 2 gallon batches) at flame out which lifts the ABV to about 6%.

Slobber is a fast, vigorous fermenting beer....so I keep the temp at 65 F for the first 3 days then gradually raise the temp to 70 F for the remaining 11 days. OG 1.062 FG 1.016.

As per Flars, I switched from fizz drops to sugar cubes with excellent results. The sugar cubes speed up conditioning and your beer's head retention is much better. Did I mention that I just love this brown ale? :)

Btw, I don't use a secondary...ferment for 2 weeks and bottle condition for 3 weeks and you'll end up with great beer.
 
This is my first batch. It is NB's Caribou Slobber extract kit. It spent 2 weeks in the primary, then it's been 1 week in the secondary. Immediately after I transferred it from the primary to the secondary, I took a reading of 1.020. It's been in the secondary for a week and it's still at 1.020. Should I bottle now? The kit instructions say it should be in the secondary for at least 2 weeks. Should I just wait the extra week? Can something 'bad' happen if I wait another few days before bottling?

Your beer has been at a stable gravity for a week. It was probably at that gravity for a few days before you moved it to secondary so you could have bottled it even sooner.

As long as you don't have infection in the secondary another week in the secondary won't hurt the beer at all nor would another 2 weeks to 2 months but all it would accomplish is dropping out a little more yeast and starting the maturation of the beer. Your choice whether to bottle now or wait. Neither answer is wrong.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I bottled over the weekend. Bottling is so tedious, I beginning to understand why so many people keg. Not in the budget now though, maybe next year.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I bottled over the weekend. Bottling is so tedious, I beginning to understand why so many people keg. Not in the budget now though, maybe next year.

Think about going all grain via BIAB and making smaller batches. That will mean fewer bottles to fill each time and if you can find the time to brew you can get more varieties of beer to drink. I think I am down to only about 8 varieties now but I have had as many as 17 at once. Try to afford that many kegs and faucets and a kegerator big enough to keep them all cool. I can easily fit several varieties in bottles into my refrigerator and have my choice of what I want to drink today.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I bottled over the weekend. Bottling is so tedious, I beginning to understand why so many people keg. Not in the budget now though, maybe next year.

At first bottling seems tedious, but once you do it a few times, and get a system down it's not that bad. I really don't mind it at all. So much so that I bought some kegging equipment off of CL this past weekend, and I'm not sure I'm even going to use it.
 
At first bottling seems tedious, but once you do it a few times, and get a system down it's not that bad. I really don't mind it at all. .

You're probably right. I'm sure after a few batches it won't be a big deal. At the time, I made a couple spills, knocked over a bottle, and made a mess.

I think I need to make a rack or something that would hold the bottles in place, so I can fill and cap them without potentially knocking them over. Probably just need a couple of 2x4's and a hole saw. I may have to do this...
 
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