Can I rack from secondary early if...?

[Ran]

Ok so as mentioned in my first post the other day, I'm currently brewing my first batch of beer (extract kit) After 5 days my beer was done fermenting says my gravity readings. I was told by the brew supply store guy to rack it to a secondary after it was done fermenting which I did yesterday. He said leave it in there for a week. I know 2 stage it isn't really needed for simple brews and don't plan on using the secondary fermenter again. I was wondering if I can bottle before the week is up in the secondary? The reason is I want to drink the beer by Christmas and share with friends and family but I know the importance of bottle conditioning and want to get at least 2 weeks in bottles before I drink them. What do you guys think?

 

[C-Rider]

Ok so as mentioned in my first post the other day, I'm currently brewing my first batch of beer (extract kit) After 5 days my beer was done fermenting says my gravity readings. I was told by the brew supply store guy to rack it to a secondary after it was done fermenting which I did yesterday. He said leave it in there for a week. I know 2 stage it isn't really needed for simple brews and don't plan on using the secondary fermenter again. I was wondering if I can bottle before the week is up in the secondary? The reason is I want to drink the beer by Christmas and share with friends and family but I know the importance of bottle conditioning and want to get at least 2 weeks in bottles before I drink them. What do you guys think?

Should be OK. Since secondary is not needed for simple ales. Only problem you might have is it not being totally clear w/that short a time in the primary. But that should not effect or is affect taste. LOL

 

[eadavis80]

If you're 100% sure that the gravity is stable then I'd say go ahead. Next time, just plan ahead a little better. My rule of thumb is at least 21 days between brew day and bottling whether all 21 are in primary or a combination of primary/secondary. Having the yeasties clean up and giving the beer some more conditioning time while it's in a large volume (5 gallons vs. 12 ounces) allows the flavors to come together/mellow out more.

 

[RM-MN]

Ok so as mentioned in my first post the other day, I'm currently brewing my first batch of beer (extract kit) After 5 days my beer was done fermenting says my gravity readings. I was told by the brew supply store guy to rack it to a secondary after it was done fermenting which I did yesterday. He said leave it in there for a week. I know 2 stage it isn't really needed for simple brews and don't plan on using the secondary fermenter again. I was wondering if I can bottle before the week is up in the secondary? The reason is I want to drink the beer by Christmas and share with friends and family but I know the importance of bottle conditioning and want to get at least 2 weeks in bottles before I drink them. What do you guys think?

Oooh, change your thoughts. That secondary would be perfect for a cider or mead. Just don't use it for your ale (with certain exceptions).

On a related note, I just made a pale ale, left it in the fermenter for 9 days, dry hopped for 2 more, then bottled on a Friday. Left it in the bottle over the weekend and refrigerated a bottle on Monday morning (early morning) and sampled it at noon. Mmmm. I may have to do this again. To be honest, the beer does have its flaws. It's cloudy and produces nearly no head but I've drunk enough clear beers and have made beers with really solid heads too. I made this beer for me to drink, not to show to other people or enter into competition so I'm looking for taste, not the aesthetics.

 

[Ran]

Oh ok, thanks guys. I'm pretty sure that gravity is stable. Took tests 2 or 3 days in a row without change. It fermented quite fast. I will plan better next time for sure.
And yea I meant for my beers I won't be using the secondary again unless I'm doing a more advanced brew where I'm adding fruit or something like that. Cool stuff good to know!