Questions regarding how long to let my wort sit.

[elikova]

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that I bottle my wort. I ran into a few things tho. First thing is that the airlock got clogged with gunk. I cleaned it out and gave my bottle a swirl to get some of the gunk around the top of the bottle. When i replaced the airlock, I forgot to put water in it. I added it the next dat. Also, prior to replacing it it was no longer bubbling as it had, for the first few days. All the sediment went to the bottom when I gave it a swirl, and after a few days I haven't seen much more activity. Recipe only says to wait 7 days to bottle does it seem like I should go ahead and trust that? here is the recipe for it.

also any suggestions on bottling?

Recipe
1 Can Muntons unhopped light extract
2lbs dried light malt extract
2oz cascade u.s. hop pellets
bry-97 ale yeast 11g

 

[Yooper]

First, you made beer! Once you add yeast, it's no longer wort, it's beer. So you'll be bottling beer, not unfermented wort.

The beer appears to be done (please don't swirl or agitate it because you will risk oxidizing the beer), but if you have a hydrometer, take a reading to make sure.

If it's done, and starting to clear, it's fine to bottle. I'd probably let it clear a little more, but I'm concerned that with the agitation/swirling and that much headspace that I'd want to get it into bottles to protect it.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

You can bottle after a week. I've done it before. Waiting 2 weeks is better. Then 2 weeks for bottle conditioning. Either way you will be fine.

 

[elikova]

First, you made beer! Once you add yeast, it's no longer wort, it's beer. So you'll be bottling beer, not unfermented wort.

The beer appears to be done (please don't swirl or agitate it because you will risk oxidizing the beer), but if you have a hydrometer, take a reading to make sure.

If it's done, and starting to clear, it's fine to bottle. I'd probably let it clear a little more, but I'm concerned that with the agitation/swirling and that much headspace that I'd want to get it into bottles to protect it.

Can you explain what i should look for when taking a reading? and how do i know if i oxidized it?

 

[elikova]

First, you made beer! Once you add yeast, it's no longer wort, it's beer. So you'll be bottling beer, not unfermented wort.

The beer appears to be done (please don't swirl or agitate it because you will risk oxidizing the beer), but if you have a hydrometer, take a reading to make sure.

If it's done, and starting to clear, it's fine to bottle. I'd probably let it clear a little more, but I'm concerned that with the agitation/swirling and that much headspace that I'd want to get it into bottles to protect it.

Do you think I should bottle today? and if i do it one day earlier will that be ok?

 

[ncbrewer]

There's a safety issue with bottling beer - if it isn't finished fermenting, it will finish in the bottle. That can result in gushers or bottle bombs. If you want to be on the safe side, take a gravity sample three days before your planned bottling day. Then take another on bottling day to see if the gravity has gone down. In all probability, the gravity readings will be the same, and you can go ahead and bottle. But if it has dropped at all, it's still fermenting, and you should wait a few days or a week and check again. I never plan on bottling until at least two weeks in the fermenter.

 

[RM-MN]

Do you think I should bottle today? and if i do it one day earlier will that be ok?

No you shouldn't bottle today and not even tomorrow unless you like to get a lot of sediment in every bottle. At one week your beer will have a lot of material suspended as the sediment is barely more dense than the beer and takes a long time to settle to the bottom, plus I can guarantee that the beer will taste better if you wait a bit longer. I have bottled on day 7. I learned. Now I never bottle before day 10 and then only if I am out of beer and in a hurry to get some. More often I will wait 2 to 3 weeks to bottle as I then get very little sediment in my bottles.