Any risk with bottling while having covid?

[Yams]

I started my first ever brew last Wednesday, and it's been in the fermenter. I haven't taken my final gravity reading yet, but the instructions say that it should be ready to bottle today (01/11/22) if everything went correctly. Well I just got tested for covid today, and it came back positive. All that I have is slight body aches and a slight sore throat.
This may be a long shot, but if I wore a mask and was very careful about cleaning and sanitizing everything (which I was going to do anyways), is there any risk on contaminating my beer? I'm not so worried about myself as I am with infecting anyone that may drink it

 

[Biggz1313]

Erring on the side of caution wont hurt anything here. if you learn anything over time when brewing it's that beer usually gets better with time (to a reasonable extent) might as well wait another week.

 

[Dland]

Perhaps "enjoy" the previous and exhaustive discussion:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/bottling-with-covid.697620/

 

[camonick]

Let it ride for another week or 2. One week since brew day is a little ambitious for a bottling schedule, especially since this is your first try. Waiting won’t hurt anything. Don’t even worry about checking your gravity for another week or so. Keep your fermenter closed as much as you can.
My 2¢

ETA: This advice applies regardless of being sick with Covid or not.

 

[Beerstein]

There is no risk to transferring covid via the brew as it is virus based. If covid was a bacteria....well then that'd be different

Your biggest risk is drinking a good beer when your taste/smell is wacked up.

Feel better soon dude.

 

[hotbeer]

Wear a mask while you bottle. If nothing else, it'll make others you offer this beer too feel a little better about it.

But one thing I seem to have found with my brewing is that it's far less harmful to wait a week or two or three longer to bottle, than to bottle a day too early.

In fact, the beers that stayed in the fermenter the longest are some of the beers I enjoyed the most.

 

[ncbrewer]

Let it ride for another week or 2. One week since brew day is a little ambitious for a bottling schedule, especially since this is your first try. Waiting won’t hurt anything. Don’t even worry about checking your gravity for another week or so. Keep your fermenter closed as much as you can.
My 2¢

ETA: This advice applies regardless of being sick with Covid or not.

+1000
Be sure fermentation is finished before you bottle. Take a gravity sample, and another in three days. If it has gone down, wait. If you bottle before fermentation is finished, it will finish in the bottle. You can get gushers and bottle bombs. Not a joke.

 

[Yams]

I greatly appreciate the answers, and this has made me feel much better about trying to mess with bottling right now haha.

I suppose I should do more research, but what's happening in the fermenter? I was under the impression that the longer it sits in there, the stronger it'll be. Is that wrong? If I wait it out and let it sit for another week in there, then that's doubling the fermentation time.

 

[bracconiere]

I was under the impression that the longer it sits in there, the stronger it'll be.

no it's not going to get stronger....but the yeast may start to autolyses, and add flavors....

 

[Bobby_M]

no it's not going to get stronger....but the yeast may start to autolyses, and add flavors....

I've only experienced autolysis on one batch in 17 years and it was due to a repitch of unhealthy slurry.

 

[bracconiere]

I've only experienced autolysis on one batch in 17 years and it was due to a repitch of unhealthy slurry.

nor have i had a problem letting the beer sit in the fermenter for weeks, just saying that's the 'concern' people have......

i'm not even sure how bad yeast guts taste! some people LIKE marmalite!

 

[Bobby_M]

I suppose I should do more research, but what's happening in the fermenter? I was under the impression that the longer it sits in there, the stronger it'll be. Is that wrong? If I wait it out and let it sit for another week in there, then that's doubling the fermentation time.

It's not doubling fermentation time. Fermentation takes as long as it takes and you have no practical control. The time you wait between fermentation finishing and when you bottle is more about maturation, yeast byproduct cleanup and sedimentation to reduce the amount of crud in each bottle. There is no way any kit instructions should recommend bottling after one week. It's either dishonest (to sell more kits faster) or at least ignorant. Wait at least 2 weeks from brewing day, 3 if you can stand it.

 

[bracconiere]

It's either dishonest (to sell more kits faster) or at least ignorant. Wait at least 2 weeks from brewing day, 3 if you can stand it.

I was under the impression that the longer it sits in there, the stronger it'll be

it will only get as strong as the original gravity lets it....when the yeast run out of sugar to consume, they will no longer be producing ethanol...

they will get bored with living, and retire to the bottom of the fermenter, preferably, which is called flocculation....it's a rating on yeast strains.

the reason to wait more time is even if the yeast are fishing for scraps and it might go down an extra point or two, could over carb a bottle....

edit: and some yeast can consume bigger sugars....which are just simple sugars linked together...but yeast are just single celled, and to stupid to eat them with out an enzyme to explain them to them....

 

[DBhomebrew]

I suppose I should do more research, but what's happening in the fermenter? I was under the impression that the longer it sits in there, the stronger it'll be. Is that wrong? If I wait it out and let it sit for another week in there, then that's doubling the fermentation time.

I like to think of yeast as a work crew of laborers. Maybe this one's putting in a new kitchen.

The cabinets are in, the floor's laid, etc. Call the kitchen renovation complete. Do you send the workers home and call in the homeowner?

Maybe you should let the workers clean up. Put away their tools, take out the trash. That's better.

Maybe you let them sweep and mop. Level the stove. Peel the stupid stickers off the fridge shelves. Maybe they'll even polish the woodwork.

Homeowner's experience is going to drastically improved.

Yeast will eat whatever sugars their going to eat in the first week or so. That's where the alcohol is created. After that, they'll help get rid of other compounds. Time will let some sulphur, etc. off gas. The flavor and heat of ethanol will smooth. The yeast itself will continue to flocculate and drop to the bottom. With time, you'll package clearer better tasting beer.

 

[bracconiere]

I like to think of yeast as a work crew of laborers. Maybe this one's putting in a new kitchen.

The cabinets are in, the floor's laid, etc. Call the kitchen renovation complete. Do you send the workers home and call in the homeowner?

Maybe you should let the workers clean up. Put away their tools, take out the trash. That's better.

Maybe you let them sweep and mop. Level the stove. Peel the stupid stickers off the fridge shelves. Maybe they'll even polish the woodwork.

Homeowner's experience is going to drastically improved.

Yeast will eat whatever sugars their going to eat in the first week or so. That's where the alcohol is created. After that, they'll help get rid of other compounds. Time will let some sulphur, etc. off gas. The flavor and heat of ethanol will smooth. The yeast itself will continue to flocculate and drop to the bottom. With time, you'll package clearer better tasting beer.

yeah that's a good fun way of putting it.....i want to stress "alcohol by volume" will not increase...(although it'd be cool if it did! it'd make it SO much cheaper to brew!)


and no @Yams if you have to wait a couple weeks to get over covid before bottling, your beer will neither become barley wine, nor probably get any yeast autolysis....

 

[Nate R]

I started my first ever brew last Wednesday, and it's been in the fermenter. I haven't taken my final gravity reading yet, but the instructions say that it should be ready to bottle today (01/11/22) if everything went correctly. Well I just got tested for covid today, and it came back positive. All that I have is slight body aches and a slight sore throat.
This may be a long shot, but if I wore a mask and was very careful about cleaning and sanitizing everything (which I was going to do anyways), is there any risk on contaminating my beer? I'm not so worried about myself as I am with infecting anyone that may drink it

A little here... but...
you got a GREAT starting point for a great name for this beer!! Label, too!
Share photos please!

 

[Yams]

Thank you all so much! Very informative and very thorough! It looks like I'll be waiting another week. I'll try to remember to post pics of how it turns out in a few weeks!

 

[Yams]

Introducing my Quarantine Belgian Saison. I think I goofed when I put the priming sugar in the bucket and didn't mix it, so the carbonation might be a little off. Also this is only week 2 of bottle conditioning, and maybe it needs to go longer? Anyways, the flavor is definitely there, and very encouraging for a first time brew!

 

[hotbeer]

Glad to see you made it back from quarantine.

I keep my bottles at the upper end of the optimal temps for the yeast during the first two weeks. So for me that requires a heating pad, a large enough cooler and temp controller during this time of year. After the first two weeks it's just whatever temp I decide might be good for conditioning.

If there are any that seem uncarbonated when you open them, you might check the SG. If it's about what your FG was then calculate the priming sugar to add and cap it. Haven't had to do that myself, but might be worth a try.