Brewers Best primary question

[morrissey1]

Im on my first brew and Im learning daily thanks to this forum. Im reading that most people are fermenting for at least ten to fourteen days regardless of FG readings or airlock activity. My kit recipe explained that I was ready to bottle when airlock activity ceased in 3 to 7 days. My airlock was rapid for three days and then stopped. I waited 2 more days and then I bottled. My question is who is right? Ive checked their website and most of their ales have these very generic directions...What gives?

FYI..My brew is the Holiday ale

 

[Brewmando]

I suggest you leave your brew in primary 2-4 weeks before bottling. It cleans up the brew nicely and you will be rewarded!

 

[irunxcjm]

I'm not sure one is "right." The instructions on most kits are written so that you can drink your beer in the quickest amount of time possible. People leave their beer in the primary for longer so that the yeast can clean up after themselves. After fermentation is complete, the yeast will eat up some of the by products of fermentation that can lead to off flavors. Most will tell you that you should at least leave it in the primary for one week, if not longer. I usually do 2 weeks in the primary and 2 in a secondary, if I use one. If not, then I usually do 3-4 weeks in the primary then bottle.

 

[Nurmey]

As irunxcjm stated, the instructions are for folks that want alcohol fast instead of good beer. The instructions are also for selling lots of kits without freaking new brewers out with the time it takes to make home brew.

Following the instructions will give you alcohol fast but that's it. You will end up with a pile of sediment in your bottles, cloudy and a rather harsh tasting beer.

The advantages of NOT following the instructions are many; including a mellow, clean tasting, clear beer with no more sediment than you would get in a commercial bottle conditioned beer.

 

[morrissey1]

Now I know...thanks

 

[Pelikan]

Yup...3 weeks minimum primary time, regardless of what your meter or airlock is telling you (6 weeks max). If you really need to bring the meter into things, take a starting gravity, then a finishing gravity at bottling (before priming sugar is added).

 

[Jaha35]

I did a Brewer's Best kit on Friday and man I had some massive airlock activity on Saturday and Sunday. Now it is stone dead. Barely a bubble every 5 minutes. It's in a bucket so I can't see whats going on but I am not going to open it until at least 14 days has gone by to take a gravity reading.

I used the Munton's yeast with mine and I have read that some packets are not very good. I want to make sure it's not stuck but I don't want to open it up too soon.

 

[Nurmey]

I did a Brewer's Best kit on Friday and man I had some massive airlock activity on Saturday and Sunday. Now it is stone dead. Barely a bubble every 5 minutes. It's in a bucket so I can't see whats going on but I am not going to open it until at least 14 days has gone by to take a gravity reading.

I used the Munton's yeast with mine and I have read that some packets are not very good. I want to make sure it's not stuck but I don't want to open it up too soon.

It's probably done with the main fermentation and it won't hurt to take a reading at 7 - 10 days. If it's stuck at the infamous 1.020, give your bucket a swirl and wait a few more day.

Before I switched from using Munton's I bottled a lot of batches at 1.020 and they came out just fine. If it was any other yeast I would not bottle at that gravity but it seems to work with the Munton's.

 

[JLW1974]

I concur with some of the posts here. Keep in Primary for at least 2 weeks and depending on the beer, put in a secondary fermentor for another 1-2 weeks. Let age in cold storage for at least a couple of weeks before drinking.

To assist with clarity I would flash cold (at 33-38F) the secondary for 2-3 days and then keg/bottle. By doing this, the flashing will settle more of the undersirables and allow you to keg/bottle a much clearer beer.

 

[Pelikan]

Swirling will not help the brew at this point. One's best bet is to leave that sucker sit for 3-5 weeks. If it hasn't fermented out in that time, it never will, and there's nothing one can do to correct the issue. Taking SG readings at 7 days or 10 days is superfluous, when the brew can benefit from a full 3-5 weeks in the primary (unless one's goal is just to rush it out of the primary ASAP, which is not recommended practice when good brew is the desired result).

 

[Jaha35]

I do not have a problem with leaving the brew in the Primary for 3-5 weeks, in fact I intended to go at least 3 with my Altbier, probably 4. I just want to make sure that fermentation went at least far enough to bottle after conditioning. I don't think I want to wait a month and then open it up and find that fermentation was stuck due to weak yeast or whatever. I know it is risky to take a reading but I sanitize like mad. I'm new to this so maybe it's just my confidence. Maybe if I had a half dozen brews under my belt I wouldn't be so concerned about so little airlock activity after only 2 days in the bucket.

 

[Pelikan]

I do not have a problem with leaving the brew in the Primary for 3-5 weeks, in fact I intended to go at least 3 with my Altbier, probably 4. I just want to make sure that fermentation went at least far enough to bottle after conditioning. I don't think I want to wait a month and then open it up and find that fermentation was stuck due to weak yeast or whatever. I know it is risky to take a reading but I sanitize like mad. I'm new to this so maybe it's just my confidence. Maybe if I had a half dozen brews under my belt I wouldn't be so concerned about so little airlock activity after only 2 days in the bucket.

But understand that even if your brew does get stuck, etc, there's really nothing that can be done about it. In other words, if you do your part and use a yeast starter, oxygenate the wort (preferably with pure O2), use nutrient, a good recipe, etc etc etc, then the best bet is to take a starting gravity reading (if one feels the need), and a finishing gravity reading 3-6 weeks later at bottling (again, if one feels the need). As I've mentioned, the beer will benefit from that additional conditioning time in the primary. If it hasn't fermented out in 3-6 weeks, it never will, and nothing the brewer can do will change that. Bear in mind, though, that if you follow proper technique religiously, there's really no reason a stuck ferment (or other mishap) would occur, short of an act of God.

 

[Pivzavod]

Swirling will not help the brew at this point. One's best bet is to leave that sucker sit for 3-5 weeks. If it hasn't fermented out in that time, it never will, and there's nothing one can do to correct the issue. Taking SG readings at 7 days or 10 days is superfluous, when the brew can benefit from a full 3-5 weeks in the primary (unless one's goal is just to rush it out of the primary ASAP, which is not recommended practice when good brew is the desired result).

guess again - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/second-coming-krausen-93030/

 

[Pelikan]

Brownian motion is more than enough to keep the yeast going. The activity you saw could be the result of one of two things: The yeast picked-up coinciding with your swirl (ie: coincidence), or the act of swirling itself caused the foaming, and had absolutely nothing to do with yeast activity.

Yeast fall out of suspension for a reason. Swirling the brew will not solve that problem.

Either way, your thread highlights the merits of keeping the brew in the primary for an extended time. I recommend 3-5 weeks...if it hasn't fermented out in that time, it never will, and nothing you can do will change that (this is almost becoming my catch phrase )

 

[GAbrewer]

It's probably done with the main fermentation and it won't hurt to take a reading at 7 - 10 days. If it's stuck at the infamous 1.020, give your bucket a swirl and wait a few more day.

Before I switched from using Munton's I bottled a lot of batches at 1.020 and they came out just fine. If it was any other yeast I would not bottle at that gravity but it seems to work with the Munton's.

Heh, My first kit (BB Robust Porter) used Munton's yeast. Three guesses what the final gravity reading was, and the first two don't count. After 2-3 days fermentation stopped, and at the time I thought the fermentation was stuck. I actually tried repitching with a packet of Nottingham Ale Yeast (Danstar), but got nada on additional activity. It seemed my wort just didn't have anything left to ferment. Since it was my first batch I didn't have any homebrew to RDWHAHB with, so I just bottled it up and waited.

Speaking of waiting, I wasn't too good with that on my first batch either. I bottled after a week in the primary, mainly because Papazian's book said leaving it in the bucket for more than a week was a bad idea. And I didn't have a carboy or anything else to use as a secondary. So I just primed and bottled it. Not feeling especially patient or relaxed, I had to try a bottle after about a week. It was a little less carbonated than I would have liked, but it was still surprisingly good considering all the mistakes I made and that it was my first try at making beer. After about a week more it was better, and I started throwing a few at a time in the fridge. I do have a primary and a secondary now, so it's at least spending a little more time fermenting and I can have two batches going at once. Perhaps when I have a little more beer on hand I'll have to give waiting a little longer between steps a try.