Can we bottle yet, can we, can we bottle yet?

[El Pistolero]

Ok, I know patience is a virtue and all that, but my first batch has been in the secondary for a week now, and I'd really like to show it off to my smart-aleck brother-in-law two weeks from tomorrow. Assuming that the SG when I check it is below 1.010, would the beer be better off spending those two weeks bottle conditioning, or should I give it another week in the secondary and hope it's not too green after a week in the bottles? Or should I wait another 3 or 4 days to split the difference?

My OG was 1.045, the SG was 1.016 when I racked to the secondary a week ago, and at the moment I'm getting a bubble in the airlock every 4.5 minutes or so.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i'd let it sit another few days. i usually let my standard ales sit 10 days in the secondary, or until i see no activity and the beer is clear. if you want to impress the smart-aleck BIL, let the beer mature and give it 3 weeks in the bottle. you'll be glad you did. it sux waiting for beers. the #1 reason i went to kegging. plus, i think the carbonation is better and easier to duplicate.

what type of brew is it?

good luck with the in-laws!

 

[El Pistolero]

what type of brew is it?

It's supposed to be an Amber Ale...I told the guy at Defalco's that I like Fat Tire, and I like Scotch Ales. He gave me a pale ale kit (I think) with two extra lbs. of LME and told me to cut the bittering hops by 1/3.

if you want to impress the smart-aleck BIL, let the beer mature and give it 3 weeks in the bottle. you'll be glad you did.

Yeah, I guess I could just take him a few bottle (the green ones ) and have him let it sit for a couple of weeks before he drinks it...we're meeting up in KC for a family thing. I hate family things, but a chance to get KC BBQ is too good to pass up

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

it's all worth it for the BBQ!

DeFalcos has a recipe clone for Fat Tire (Flat Tire). it's an extract/grain recipe on their web page. check and see if it was the same one????? they are PDG and have always done good on my recipe requests. my favorite shop by far.

 

[El Pistolero]

DeFalcos has a recipe clone for Fat Tire (Flat Tire). it's an extract/grain recipe on their web page. check and see if it was the same one????? they are PDG and have always done good on my recipe requests. my favorite shop by far.

Yeah I mentioned their "Flat Tyre" recipe, but I also told him I was a newbie, so he diplomatically steered me away from trying partial grain on my first batch. Here's the recipe he gave me:

1 Can (4 lbs) Mountmellick Malt Extract (Export Ale - Hopped Malt Extract)
2 lbs unhopped malt extract
1 pkg Burton Water Salts
1/2 oz. Fuggle Hop Pellets (30 min)
1/2 oz. Fuggle Hop Pellets (after boil)
1 pkg (11 g) Windsor Brewing Yeast
1 pkg Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
3/4 cup corn sugar (priming)

 

[bikebryan]

Ok, I know patience is a virtue and all that, but my first batch has been in the secondary for a week now, and I'd really like to show it off to my smart-aleck brother-in-law two weeks from tomorrow. Assuming that the SG when I check it is below 1.010, would the beer be better off spending those two weeks bottle conditioning, or should I give it another week in the secondary and hope it's not too green after a week in the bottles? Or should I wait another 3 or 4 days to split the difference?

My OG was 1.045, the SG was 1.016 when I racked to the secondary a week ago, and at the moment I'm getting a bubble in the airlock every 4.5 minutes or so.

This is where a hydrometer comes in very handy. Use it to take readings for a few days. It the SG is holding steady, you can safely prime and bottle. If the SG is still dropping, then it isn't done fermenting and you could be in for bottle grenades.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

Yeah I mentioned their "Flat Tyre" recipe, but I also told him I was a newbie, so he diplomatically steered me away from trying partial grain on my first batch. Here's the recipe he gave me:

1 pkg (11 g) Windsor Brewing Yeast

you can do the extract w/ grains. it's a breeze. just takes a little more time.
if i can make one suggestion, i'd use the liquide White Labs or Wyeast next time you brew. world of difference in your beers. it's a little more expensive ($6-$7), but worth the price of admission!

BikeBryan is right about taking Specific Gravity readings to determine if it's ready to bottle, but i don't. i'd rather not take another chance of contamination and wasting beer to take readings in. (PLUS, I'M LAZY!!!!)

let us know how it goes.

 

[El Pistolero]

you can do the extract w/ grains. it's a breeze. just takes a little more time.
if i can make one suggestion, i'd use the liquide White Labs or Wyeast next time you brew. world of difference in your beers. it's a little more expensive ($6-$7), but worth the price of admission!

BikeBryan is right about taking Specific Gravity readings to determine if it's ready to bottle, but i don't. i'd rather not take another chance of contamination and wasting beer to take readings in. (PLUS, I'M LAZY!!!!)

let us know how it goes.

Yeah, I'd already decided to go for partial grain on my next batch. Everything seemed like rocket science when all I'd done was read about it, so KISS seemed like the best course of action. Now that I've been through it once everything seems so much easier.

I'm kind of like you on the SG readings...don't want to part with that third of a beer, and too lazy to do the cleaning/sanitizing any more often than is absolutely necessary. Plus I'm scared to death of hydrometers...they'd break every time I touched em back in the college chem lab days.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i meant to tell you earlier about the Bay Area Mashtronauts "Lunar Rendezbrew" coming up on Sunday, July 25th. It's at the Seabrook Community Center on Hwy 146 from noon to 6 pm. all the Houston area clubs will be there for a competition, drinking, and eating. it's open to the public, and i think it's $15 for all the beer and food you can consume???? each club brings beer, sets up a booth, and the first club to float their beer, gets a medal.

you ought to check it out. about 8 of our club guys will be there w/ beer in tow (look for 'em, Golden Triangle Homebrew Club). i've never made it, and can't this time, but they say it's a helluva time w/ good beer. you can learn a lot at these shin-dig's too. good tips on brewing, recipes, plus you'll meet some good people.

 

[El Pistolero]

i meant to tell you earlier about the Bay Area Mashtronauts "Lunar Rendezbrew" coming up on Sunday, July 25th. It's at the Seabrook Community Center on Hwy 146 from noon to 6 pm. all the Houston area clubs will be there for a competition, drinking, and eating. it's open to the public, and i think it's $15 for all the beer and food you can consume???? each club brings beer, sets up a booth, and the first club to float their beer, gets a medal.

you ought to check it out. about 8 of our club guys will be there w/ beer in tow (look for 'em, Golden Triangle Homebrew Club). i've never made it, and can't this time, but they say it's a helluva time w/ good beer. you can learn a lot at these shin-dig's too. good tips on brewing, recipes, plus you'll meet some good people.

Thanks for the heads up...I worked with a couple of home brewers at NASA (18 years ago), maybe I'll run into some old buds.

each club brings beer, sets up a booth, and the first club to float their beer, gets a medal.

What does "float their beer" mean?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

ah.......the first one to float the "keg". they may not always bring a keg, so the first club that has more people come back for seconds, thirds, etc.... and empties their supply of homebrew first, gets the trophy and deemed "favorite" for the year.