A bunch of extremely n00b questions. Is this beer ready to bottle?

[jtmwhyte]

I'm proud to say that I am nearing the end of my first, and last, canned kit. It is a Morgan's Canadian IPA. Problem is that I was so excited I forgot to check the gravity when I sealed it up (but there's more to that story).

I used the proper amounts of sugar (at least given by the crappy instructions). I left the beer in the Primary for 9 days at 18 degrees (Celsius) and then racked to secondary. It has been there a total of 12 days now. There was a bit of foam coming up so I hooked up a blow off hose for about 5 days and then put a sanitized airlock back in. There is still the odd bubble, but no more that 1-3 per minute. there are still little bubbles coming to the top and a tiny bit of foam.

I think I am also misusing the hydrometer. I take a sample with a sanitized thief and drop the hydro in spinning. The only problem is that the hydro is not settling anywhere. It goes almost directly to around 1.020 and then keeps going up to 1.030ish... then starts sinking again! That is if it doesn't stick to the sides of the thief.

Sorry for the book, but I need to find out if I'm making bottle bombs if I go ahead and bottle tomorrow.

 

[JonM]

It's possessed!!!

So there has to be a point where it stops moving around, right?

 

[birvine]

It will settle to a point where you can check the sg. Once it remains steady for a number of days, you;re ready to bottle.

B

 

[jtmwhyte]

It's possessed!!!

So there has to be a point where it stops moving around, right?

It bottoms up between 1.029 and 1.030 and then starts sinking again. Also, should I be using a test jar of sorts or is testing in the thief fine?

 

[birvine]

and then starts sinking again.

But it doesn't sink to the bottom does it?

B

 

[Cambone]

It bottoms up between 1.029 and 1.030 and then starts sinking again. Also, should I be using a test jar of sorts or is testing in the thief fine?

You need to take a reading at steady state, the hydrometer should not be bobbing.

I'm going to say no, the thief is not fine, if it's like any thief I've seen. You need a cylinder that will sit flat on a surface. The plastic tube the hydrometer comes in is often perfect.

 

[aidan]

It bottoms up between 1.029 and 1.030 and then starts sinking again. Also, should I be using a test jar of sorts or is testing in the thief fine?

So you're just trying to hold the thief steady while you read it? If so, that's probably it's bouncing all over the place. Did your hydrometer come in a clear plastic tube with a cap at both ends? If it did, use that, otherwise you'll need to get a measuring cylinder that can stand upright on a flat surface.

 

[jtmwhyte]

Thanks for the tips, everyone

 

[JimTheHick]

I'd be hesitant to bottle after just 12 days and with bubbles still coming out of the airlock, even if they are somewhat infrequent.

 

[squirrelly]

Sorry reading all this just reminds me how fun, exciting, and confusing it was to be a new brewer. Welcome to the club, and don't get discouraged; you'll get the hang of this in no time.

 

[unionrdr]

I get something like that with some brews. What's happening is there's a lot of dissolved co2 in the beer. That'll make it float up till enough bubbles gather on the bottom of the hydrometer. They then slide off,& it sinks back down. I find that one doesn't have a lot of time to read the scale before co2 bubbles gather on the hydrometer,messing with it.
So I let it sit for a few minutes & go do something else while the co2 flashes off. Then try it again.