Getting ready to bottle my first batch. Brewing a Coopers family secret amber ale extract. Been in the fermenter since 4th, planning to possibly bottle next weekend or the weekend after.
Which leads to the questions. I've read that it doesn't hurt the beer to sit in the fermenter after it's done fermenting. How long can it be stored there before possible trouble? I'd need to clean up the garage, wash my bottle sanitizer machine thoroughly, sanitize the bottles and do the actual bottling, and I fear I might not have the time nor the energy to do all within one weekend.
Another dumb thing that bothers me is taking the gravity reading. If I was to fill the test tube using the spigot, some beer inevitably gets left into the mechanism and being exposed to air. If I'm taking gravity readings for say three times during one week, then decide to postpone the bottling for an another week would I need to somehow clean the inside of the spigot upon bottling?
Another one, I've read that I should be getting steady readings for several days in a row to verify fermenting has stopped, but can anyone tell me what kind of a FG should I be getting from the said kit?
Third one, my starter kit came with a bag of carbonation drops that look a lot like a bag of sweets. I assume I can use those just as well instead of priming, specially since I don't have a bottling bucket.
Thanks in advance!
Which leads to the questions. I've read that it doesn't hurt the beer to sit in the fermenter after it's done fermenting. How long can it be stored there before possible trouble? I'd need to clean up the garage, wash my bottle sanitizer machine thoroughly, sanitize the bottles and do the actual bottling, and I fear I might not have the time nor the energy to do all within one weekend.
Another dumb thing that bothers me is taking the gravity reading. If I was to fill the test tube using the spigot, some beer inevitably gets left into the mechanism and being exposed to air. If I'm taking gravity readings for say three times during one week, then decide to postpone the bottling for an another week would I need to somehow clean the inside of the spigot upon bottling?
Another one, I've read that I should be getting steady readings for several days in a row to verify fermenting has stopped, but can anyone tell me what kind of a FG should I be getting from the said kit?
Third one, my starter kit came with a bag of carbonation drops that look a lot like a bag of sweets. I assume I can use those just as well instead of priming, specially since I don't have a bottling bucket.
Thanks in advance!