should I bottle, or not

Hi. I just transferred my batch of beer from the primary to two secondaries. Reason for that is half of it, I put cherries, the other half nothing. Now, my question is, should I bottle the half that has nothing, or leave it in the secondary to settle and clear up some more.

 

Either way,let them settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bottle. They'll settle out crystal clear in a couple days.

 

So in a couple of days, I should bottle. What about the one with the cherries? How long do I leave that in the secondary before bottling?

 

depends on what you want out of the cherries and what kind of beer you are doing. Bigger beers need to sit longer; some for months, others, a few weeks.

 

Leave it on the cherries a week or so. til the flavor is where you want it. When the other is clear or close to it,you can bottle it. I just like them as clear as possible with that particular batch before bottling.

 

I would bottle at the same time. Then you can really see a difference in two "same" brews without always wondering if one aged betetr with an extra week or two.

I know it sounds anal but why not. Brewing is all about learning and you have a perfect chance here for a side by side comparison.

 

Good point. Side by side would be interesting.

 

Very good point. The only difference is one has cherries and one doesn't. Be interesting to see how the cherries affect the beer. Side by side is a great idea.

 

One more question. Do I need the airlocks, or is it ok to let oxygen get in to aid in fermenting the fruit?

 

Use airlocks! o2 at this point is a very bad idea.

 

Ok. I do have them in. Just wanted to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks!