American Wheat ready to bottle?

[idahobrew]

Hi all, well my first batch is getting close to bottle (or not) a True Brew American Wheat. 2 weeks today in the primary. My question is I'm still getting some activity in the airlock every 10 minutes or so. I think the kit said to bottle after one week (wasn't going to do that). I've read here wheat beers are ready to bottle sooner than some others. The yeast is still working so I was going to just leave it in the primary for another week or so or longer if needed. Don't want to rush it, would rather have a good first batch than an ok first first beer. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[flushdrew42]

you will probably hear this from more than just me, but get a hydrometer.

chances are, your beer is ready to bottle, but you won't know for certain, without a gravity reading, or waiting, maybe even another week.

i'd say most likely, it's ready. but, if you had a stuck fermentation, and it's still above 1.020 you could get bottle bombs. the bottling process will stir up the yeast and get them fermenting again, and in a contained environment (bottles) a little is a good thing (carbonation) a lot is bad... broken bottles, sticky mess everywhere.

I'm sure your beer is going to be great! keep us posted!

 

[tdogg]

It's probably done, but its tough to be sure without a hydrometer. what temp is it fermenting at?

 

[idahobrew]

Thanks guys, fermenting at about 68 degrees. I've got a hydrometer. So what's the best way to test with it. Sorry I'm really green at this. Would rather here advice here than what the instructions say. Final gravity should be 1.012-1.014 according to instructions.

 

[unionrdr]

Take an FG sample,wait two days,& check it again. If the numbers match,it's done fermenting. Give it a couple more days to settle out more,then bottle it.

 

[idahobrew]

So I guess I'll just leave it another week to be on the safe side. If I wanted to take a FG reading do I just sterilize a turkey baster and pull some of the beer out and then if it's not to the specified final gravity clean and sanitize the airlock and replace? The batch is in a 5 gallon glass carboy.

 

[flushdrew42]

pretty much exactly that. just sanitize with star-san, or one step, or even 1tbsp bleach in a gallon of water, draw out enough to test.


patience never hurts, clearer beer, completed fermentation, all of those things.
the hydrometer readings help, for instance. my APA that i had planned to leave in primary for 2 weeks, was completely done at 7 days. stable gravity (1.009) for 3 days. so i racked it to secondary at 9 days. My very first porter didn't come down to FG for what felt like forever. (in truth, 16 days)

happy brewing!

 

[idahobrew]

Well thanks flushdrew42
and all, after further research I'll be leaving my brew alone at least one more week. I'll give the yeast a chance to clean things up a bit more. May even go 4 weeks in the primary. Anyone else ever done this with an American wheat? It seems time and patience are my friend in craft brewing.

 

[mpenn35]

My first beer was a wheat beer and I let it go in primary for four weeks before bottling. It turned out nicely and cleared very well. The longer you can let it sit, the better it will be. After four weeks, I bottled it and tried a bottle every week to 10 days, and it's been a little better each time.