Ksosh
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I'm brewing my first batch, a Scotch Ale 70 from a boxed kit, and I am a little confused on how long it should stay in the primary. I'm not using a secondary (going straight to bottle conditioning).
The instructions that came in the box are pretty vague for when it is done fermenting:
To me, this sounds like the beer should be in the primary for about a week, which was confirmed by my LHBS. He also said that the plastic buckets aren't made for long term fermenting, and if I read that I should do the long term fermenting in the primary, I misunderstood/misread/was mistaken/etc.
I'm not really in a hurry to bottle, but what should I be using as the 'time to bottle' guideline:
-Checking the gravity for the right range, and bottling when it reaches it (what if it hangs for a few days, but isn't in range?)
-Give it a week, and if the bubbles don't reappear (they stopped around Thursday) then bottle it.
-Give it the 2-3 weeks that the various posts here seem to encourage to "let the yeasties clean up after themselves" (am I misunderstanding this?)
-Something else?
The Details:
Currently the beer is in the plaster fermenting bucket (has been since Tuesday). After pitching the yeast, I went to bed, and woke up to the airlock bubbling steadily. That lasted a couple days, and I haven't seen any bubbles since Thursday, though if I push on the bucket lid slightly, the airlock bubbles, so I know there's still a bunch of CO2 in there. I tested the gravity today, and it's at 1.020 (shooting for 1.012-1.015, so still a little (a lot?) high).
Here's the ingredient list and gravity details:
6.6 lbs Amer Malt Extract
2 lbs Caramel 120-L grain
1 oz Chinook hops (boiling)
1/2 oz Aurora hops (10 mins from end of boil)
1 oz Fuggle hops (5 mins from end of boil)
Estimated OG 1.040 - 1.050 (I forgot to test for the OG! Crapola.)
Estimated FG: 1.012 - 1.015
Thanks for the help!
I'm brewing my first batch, a Scotch Ale 70 from a boxed kit, and I am a little confused on how long it should stay in the primary. I'm not using a secondary (going straight to bottle conditioning).
The instructions that came in the box are pretty vague for when it is done fermenting:
The bubbling will slow down and after a couple days eventually stop. When the fermentation is complete, you are ready to bottle...
To me, this sounds like the beer should be in the primary for about a week, which was confirmed by my LHBS. He also said that the plastic buckets aren't made for long term fermenting, and if I read that I should do the long term fermenting in the primary, I misunderstood/misread/was mistaken/etc.
I'm not really in a hurry to bottle, but what should I be using as the 'time to bottle' guideline:
-Checking the gravity for the right range, and bottling when it reaches it (what if it hangs for a few days, but isn't in range?)
-Give it a week, and if the bubbles don't reappear (they stopped around Thursday) then bottle it.
-Give it the 2-3 weeks that the various posts here seem to encourage to "let the yeasties clean up after themselves" (am I misunderstanding this?)
-Something else?
The Details:
Currently the beer is in the plaster fermenting bucket (has been since Tuesday). After pitching the yeast, I went to bed, and woke up to the airlock bubbling steadily. That lasted a couple days, and I haven't seen any bubbles since Thursday, though if I push on the bucket lid slightly, the airlock bubbles, so I know there's still a bunch of CO2 in there. I tested the gravity today, and it's at 1.020 (shooting for 1.012-1.015, so still a little (a lot?) high).
Here's the ingredient list and gravity details:
6.6 lbs Amer Malt Extract
2 lbs Caramel 120-L grain
1 oz Chinook hops (boiling)
1/2 oz Aurora hops (10 mins from end of boil)
1 oz Fuggle hops (5 mins from end of boil)
Estimated OG 1.040 - 1.050 (I forgot to test for the OG! Crapola.)
Estimated FG: 1.012 - 1.015
Thanks for the help!