Mangrove Jacks Bavarian Wheat 1st try

[gtm]

Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie in Homebrewing and i am doing my first try with a bavarian Wheat of Mangrove Jacks. I have done whole the process correct i believe and i want to ask some questions.
I am in 13th day of fermentation. I still have bubbles (1 every 10 minutes).
Are the bubbles a criterion for the completion of the fermentation?
Is this the time to take a SG reading in order to check if i am in the desired one? If i am not mistaken the SG reading should be the same for 48 hours in order to assume i am ready
Is it normal for the fermentation to take so long? The temperature is about 20 degrees constant

Thanks

 

[Velnerj]

Welcome to the forum and to homebrewing!

The first thing I'd say is that bubbles may or may not indicate fermentation. After 13 days what is likely happening is just a change of pressure or temperature causing some gasses to escape.

At 20C your fermentation was likely finished in a week to ten days.... (assuming a full packet and 5 gallon batch size).

And you are correct the best way to be certain fermentation is complete is to take two or three gravity readings a day or two apart.

My tip for next time is to take a gravity reading when it appears (bubbles have ceased and krausen has fallen) fermentation has ceased (usually around 7-10 days for ales) then take another at the two week mark. If the readings are the same your go to go. It almost always works that way for me.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[gtm]

Thanks for the reply. Today after 15 days of fermentation i took a reading of SG and it is in 1006. If after a couple of days is the same, do you thing i can bottle the beer?

 

[gtm]

My initial reading was 1.040

 

[Velnerj]

If after a couple of days is the same, do you thing i can bottle the beer?

Yes

 

[dwhite60]

I just used this yeast in a wheat beer. Smelled awesome fermenting. It's been in the fermenter a week today. Probably bottle it Monday. It's pretty much done.

Cheated on this and only did a one hour mash at 151F instead of the 90 minutes I usually do. Think I paid for it in efficiency as I was about 10 points low on my Pre-boil, and thus post-boil, gravity.

 

[hotbeer]

Don't worry if it takes longer to finish fermenting. I went 4 weeks on my last batch I bottled and it was pretty good. All gone now.

My current batch in the fermenter is in it's 16th day and still lots of champaign bubbles steadily rising through it.

If your bubble count is the airlock, I wouldn't put much faith in that. The number of gallons you are fermenting will change the rate of the bubble count. And a lot of headspace might make it bubble if the ambient temperature is rising even if the beer isn't bubbling at all.

If you have a glass fermenter you can see into the beer with, then those are the only bubbles that count..... IMO.

A real hydrometer reading will tell you the most. But only when it matches the previous reading you took 2 or 3 days prior.

 

[gtm]

Hello again. I took 2 reading with 48 hours space between and were the same. I believe it is ready to bottle. The only thing that makes me sceptical is that there is still "pressure" in the bucket. Do you thing that this could make my bottles explode?

 

[Velnerj]

Hello again. I took 2 reading with 48 hours space between and were the same. I believe it is ready to bottle. The only thing that makes me sceptical is that there is still "pressure" in the bucket. Do you thing that this could make my bottles explode?

You'll be fine. The pressure in the bucket could be due a number of factors but if the gravity readings are consistent and you prime with the proper amount of sugar you shouldn't have to worry about bottle bombs.

 

[hotbeer]

Just curious, what are you fermenting in that holds enough pressure to be noticeable? I'd have believed that typical airlocks, blow off tubes or most anything else will keep the pressure difference too little to tell without measuring somehow.

The only big thing I'd think you'd notice by bottling early is a slightly sweeter beer. But I've not enough actual experience to know. So far no bottle bombs, and I fill to within a 1/4 inch from the top. Just so I have enough to make up for that bit with sediment in the bottom I have to leave behind.

 

[gtm]

Hello again,

My first beer is a fact. Wish me luck for the result. I hope everything goes fine.