Me and a buddy are brewing some britsh ale, he wants to bottle the beer today its been in the fermentor sense last saturday so about 1 week, i told him we should rack it into the carboy for a week but hes conviced we should skip the carboy and go straight to botteling. What should we do?
1 week to soon to bottle?
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What does your hydrometer say? What was your OG and FG and what is your recipes target FG?
The answer is 99% sure that it is probably it is too soon, but you need to have good measurements to make an informed assessment.
The answer is 99% sure that it is probably it is too soon, but you need to have good measurements to make an informed assessment.
Yes. A week is too soon to bottle
Hagen
Well-Known Member
One week is way too soon, you will have a fairly high risk of bottle bombs. Two weeks is the minimum in primary, and if you want to skip the secondary, make it three weeks.
Do you have a hydrometer? The only true way to know if it's ready to bottle is if the specific gravity readings are near the target gravity stated by the recipe/kit, and it's been stable at least three days.
If you haven't done so, read John Palmer's How to Brew, How to Brew - By John Palmer it's a free read, and will teach you much about brewing.
Do you have a hydrometer? The only true way to know if it's ready to bottle is if the specific gravity readings are near the target gravity stated by the recipe/kit, and it's been stable at least three days.
If you haven't done so, read John Palmer's How to Brew, How to Brew - By John Palmer it's a free read, and will teach you much about brewing.
One week is not too soon if it has finished fermenting (secondary in the bottle.) You need a hydrometer to know.
Take a read of this article of mine...it will give you a bit of an idea of what to do to make certain decisions, such as when to bottle or rack...
http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Think_evaluation_before_action/
http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Think_evaluation_before_action/
Hagen
Well-Known Member
Even if the ferment is complete, the yeast's job doesn't stop there. Yeast can throw off esters which can make for some funky off-flavors and aromas.
After the ferment is done, the yeast will re-absorb much of those esters and leave a much cleaner tasting and smelling brew. The only way they can do that is if you leave the beer sitting on the yeast cake for at least a few days after fermentation is complete.
ifishsum
Well-Known Member
It's definitely too soon any way you slice it. Risk of bottle bombs aside, it's certainly not going to taste it's best if you bottle it now, even if it has finished fermenting. And if it blows up the bottles, you won't even get a chance to taste how crappy it was.
You should be 95% safe to bottle at 2 weeks if you don't have a hydrometer. If you and your buddy can hold out, 3 will be better for the taste. If you absolutely must do something with it today put it into secondary (carboy) but plan on keeping it there for 2 weeks. Start another brew while you're waiting.
All of my brews so far have been ready to rack into secondary after 10 days, but I still check with a hydrometer just to be sure. I wouldn't even consider bottling that early though.
You should be 95% safe to bottle at 2 weeks if you don't have a hydrometer. If you and your buddy can hold out, 3 will be better for the taste. If you absolutely must do something with it today put it into secondary (carboy) but plan on keeping it there for 2 weeks. Start another brew while you're waiting.
All of my brews so far have been ready to rack into secondary after 10 days, but I still check with a hydrometer just to be sure. I wouldn't even consider bottling that early though.
+1 on evertything everyone else has said. I believe others can agree, that one of the best things that I've learned so far in this hobby is that patience definately pays off. Its always exciting bottling your first batch, but if you can put that excitement aside for a few weeks longer, you will thank your self.
Most esters come in the first three days.
Kauai_Kahuna
Well-Known Member
I'm learning patience myself so I won't jump up and down and yell NO.
While you could bottle right now, its not a good idea. Lets say on a normal fermentation, 4-5 days active fermentation, then 7-9 days for the yeast to clean up after themselves and just start to clear.
If I'm in a hurry and I want to re-pitch on very active yeast cakes, I will rack to secondary after 5 days and suck up some of the yeast to help clean it up in secondary, but you know what? Its always better if I wait.
Up to you.
While you could bottle right now, its not a good idea. Lets say on a normal fermentation, 4-5 days active fermentation, then 7-9 days for the yeast to clean up after themselves and just start to clear.
If I'm in a hurry and I want to re-pitch on very active yeast cakes, I will rack to secondary after 5 days and suck up some of the yeast to help clean it up in secondary, but you know what? Its always better if I wait.
Up to you.
Hagen
Well-Known Member
You are correct. But, if you rack as soon as the ferment is done, those esters stay in your beer.
The harder and faster the ferment, the more esters are produced. This can leave your beer anywhere from a little off, to competely undrinkable. Leaving the beer on the yeast for at least a week after fermentation is done lets those esters get re-absorbed by the yeast, and minimizes the chance of ester related off-flavors and aromas.
With all the time, effort and money put into equipment and ingredients, why wouldn't you want to give your beer the time to be the best it can be?
Many of us wait an additional 2-3 weeks after fermentation is complete to allow the yeast to clean up the byproducts of their fermentation.
I know from experience that leaving my beers in primary for a month has improved them in terms of clarity and flavor, and has resulted in some great comments by judges on my beers. I go by what palmer taks about here.
How to Brew
The fermentation of malt sugars into beer is a complicated biochemical process. It is more than just the conversion of sugar to alcohol, which can be regarded as the primary activity. Total fermentation is better defined as three phases, the Adaptation or Lagtime phase, the Primary or Attenuative phase and a Secondary or Conditioning phase. The yeast do not end Phase 2 before beginning Phase 3, the processes occur in parallel, but the conditioning processes occur more slowly. As the majority of simple sugars are consumed, more and more of the yeast will transition to eating the larger, more complex sugars and early yeast by-products. This is why beer (and wine) improves with age to a degree, as long as they are on the yeast. Beer that has been filtered or pasteurized will not benefit from aging.
...8.2.2 Primary or Attenuative Phase
The primary or attenuative phase is marked by a time of vigorous fermentation when the gravity of the beer drops by 2/3-3/4 of the original gravity (OG). The majority of the attenuation occurs during the primary phase, and can last anywhere from 2-6 days for ales, or 4-10 days for lagers, depending on conditions.
Many canned kits will advise bottling the beer after one week or after the krausen has subsided. This is not a good idea because the beer has not yet gone through the Conditioning phase. At this time the beer would taste a bit rough around the edges (e.g. yeasty flavors, buttery tones, green apple flavors) but these off-flavors will disappear after a few weeks of conditioning.
The reactions that take place during the conditioning phase are primarily a function of the yeast. The vigorous primary stage is over, the majority of the wort sugars have been converted to alcohol, and a lot of the yeast cells are going dormant - but some are still active.
The Secondary Phase allows for the slow reduction of the remaining fermentables. The yeast have eaten most all of the easily fermentable sugars and now start to turn their attention elsewhere. The yeast start to work on the heavier sugars like maltotriose. Also, the yeast clean up some of the byproducts they produced during the fast-paced primary phase.
Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.
So if bottling so soon is NOT a good idea for canned kits, is it any better an idea of better quality ingredients?
There's much more here....How to Brew - By John Palmer - Secondary or Conditioning Phase
I'll never agree. I've bottled some batches in one week and they were great. Certainly not a RIS, IPA or barly wine but something under 1.045. We don't even know what the beer is the OP is asking about.
illnastyimpreza
Well-Known Member
I seperate my beer into 2 categories:
A: Fast and CHEAP
B: Slow and Delicious.
If I am about to run out of beer, I throw a batch (with corn sugar
)together real quick and ferment as fast as possible.( I would like to try pouring my wort onto an old yeast bed to see if it ferments faster ! ) then throw in the keg, and crank up the PSI ! have a batch ready to drink start to finish in under a week. Is it the best beer I've ever had ? not really. Is it still GOOD BEER ? Definatly 
DutchK9
Well-Known Member
Are you saying that by waiting the batches you made in a week couldn't have been better?
If the OP wants fast beer for his first brew, then he probably could bottle in a week to ten days and be okay. But if he wants clearer beer that is better tasting overall, then he should wait like everyone else is saying. They also say you can drink it after two weeks, but those that wait a month or more find that the beer is greatly improved by waiting. Not trying to start a post argument with you, but I don't agree that bottling that fast will make the beer the best it is going to be.
illnastyimpreza
Well-Known Member
this is exactly the reason I try to brew lots Of beer....so I will never be in a rush to bottle or keg a batch !
Not all beers improve with age. It seems to me that small, quick and cheap beers are not the emphasis on the forum. Most members seem to have both more money and more time than me.
illnastyimpreza
Well-Known Member
haha I hear you there. sometimes I just like the fact that I can save TONS of money making a batch of my own "better" beer in 45 minutes. I don't care if it wins contests cuz the whole batch is usualy gone in a couple days when I have people over anyway
Monsterc
Well-Known Member
Maybe that's why Bud uses beach wood to increase the surface area of the yeast. I wonder if I turning my corni keg horizontal while conditioning lager might help. Maybe a type of baffle inside the secondary would multiply the surface area of the yeast while conditioning and accelerate the process of cleaning up the byproducts.
universe
Well-Known Member
Does all this info apply to the can kits as well even if the kit says bottle in a week?
ABSOLUTELY!
Kits want to get you going...which isn't a bad thing...But You can do better.
Uh..yeah I splained it here...go back and read the quote palmer in this post...I even highlighted what Palmer saidn about canned kits....
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/919292-post14.html
and contrary to what conroe may believe, I haven't found a beer in my experience YET that didn't improve with time...We're not making koolaid here...yeast do amazing things if we give them the chance...even the single can of hopped lme, given some more time on the yeast, can become something sublime....But if you believe they don't and slug them back like a cheap generic light lager at a kegger....then you never get to know.....and appreciate it.
ohiobrewtus
Well-Known Member
So we tell the new guys that 7 is way too early and they're making mistakes, but we do this - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f38/project-10der-mild-10-milds-10-days-month-10-a-77758/?
Bottling after 10 days is acceptable for a British beer for those participating in this thread. Granted it's a special circumstance, but that doesn't change the fact that it *can* be done.
To the OP - if you *want* to bottle after 7 days, go right ahead. It's your beer. Bottling after 7 days isn't going to ruin your beer. Aging it longer will result in a better tasting beer, but no one in this thread is drinking it - you are.
I personally would let it age longer because I have beer coming out of my wazoo and I'm never in that big of a hurry for anything. If I were brewing one of my first batches and I saw the above thread while agonizing in anticipation of tasting one of my first beers I may bottle after 7-10 days and just live with the results.
Bottling after 10 days is acceptable for a British beer for those participating in this thread. Granted it's a special circumstance, but that doesn't change the fact that it *can* be done.
To the OP - if you *want* to bottle after 7 days, go right ahead. It's your beer. Bottling after 7 days isn't going to ruin your beer. Aging it longer will result in a better tasting beer, but no one in this thread is drinking it - you are.
I personally would let it age longer because I have beer coming out of my wazoo and I'm never in that big of a hurry for anything. If I were brewing one of my first batches and I saw the above thread while agonizing in anticipation of tasting one of my first beers I may bottle after 7-10 days and just live with the results.
universe
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. I tried the 1/2 bottle and it tasted pretty bad/green. Hopefully it'll be better in a few weeks. Next time I'll leave it longer. Being my first I just followed directions.
Kauai_Kahuna
Well-Known Member
Unless you send us some for quality control - HINT!
Is a week too early, no. Would it be a lot better if you waited 3 days - 3 weeks. yes.
Up to you.
