Fermentation question

[Sagatho]

Hello

i have a noob question about beer, right now im brewing my first batch of beer i have 5gallons of Brown Ale fermenting in a carboy, the first 24 hours of fermentation were amazing high with a lot of foam in the carboy, the next day the activity in the airlock comes to almos 0 bubbles, but i see come small bubbles coming from the bottom of the carbor.

yesterday was the 7 day of fermentation and i can still see come small bubles coming from the bottom and i want to know if i can bottle my beer today o i have to wait to cero activity in the carboy?

dont be so rude with me i dont use the hidrometer

today im going to wash and sanitaze the bottles.

sorry for my bad english

Regards

 

[hanuswalrus]

You really should use a hydrometer. There's no way to know that it's done fermenting without one.

To be safe, I would wait AT LEAST another week before bottling. Maybe even 2 more weeks. It can only do good for your beer. I typically let my mid gravity beers sit in primary for 2-3 weeks before bottling.

You can wash the bottles now, but I would wait until bottling day to sanitize them.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Next time, use the hydrometer. As mentioned above, without it you will not be able to know for sure when your beer is done. Plus it helps determine the ABV. I agree that you should wait another week to be safe.

Airlock activity is not the best way to determine fermentation activity. The airlock should be very active during the first 5 days or so, then will slow considerably after that, but there could still be activity inside the carboy. Do not use the airlock as a guide for when fermtenation is complete.

If the krausen has fallen and you see bubbles in the carboy, it could be C02 coming out of suspension. This is normal toward the end of fermentation.

 

[ricshayne]

not trying to be rude. BUY A HYDROMETER!!. dude they are like 5 bucks and are the only real way to know if your beer is done. bottle bombs are no joke and can seriously injure you or your loved ones. 5 bucks g.

 

[Sagatho]

i have the hidrometer but i fail to get the test bottle, i try to use the hydrometer in the boil ketle but it hit the bottom so there was not a good reading.

i will let le beer sit for a week more, i will just take a sample to test the flavor of my beer because i want to know if my beer is good or infected, i will update a picture in some hour when i arrive home.

thanks to all for the advice.

 

[ChelisHubby]

The recipe should give a Idea of what they expect for a final gravity. but if you don't have a way to check that then wait till it is at least 2 weeks after you pitched the yeast. Now doing things this way is taking chances and you can have bad results once in a while. Bottle bombs are rare but they do happen and if it goes off in your hand it won't be pretty. If you wait till the 3 week mark the chances of bottle bombs are very small in most brews that have less than 6% alc.

 

[C-Rider]

What temperature did you ferment at?

With out a hydrometer I'd wait 3 weeks total just to be safe. You don't want bottle bombs.

 

[fartinmartin]

DIY. Hydrometer !
Take a wooden chop stick add a little blue tack to one end
Put the weighted end in a store bought beer
Make a mark where it floats
Adjust the weight if necessary
Check again in the store beer

Try it in your own brew


Cheapskate. Buy a hydrometer

(Obviously an untried option but I wonder if it would work ?)

 

[Sagatho]

What temperature did you ferment at?

With out a hydrometer I'd wait 3 weeks total just to be safe. You don't want bottle bombs.

i have an Air Conditioner in the room i have 18°-20°C but the first two days my wife shutdown the AC without tell me and it hit 24-27°c for about 48hours more or less i hope i dont get any off flavor.

 

[mrgrimm101]

i have an Air Conditioner in the room i have 18°-20°C but the first two days my wife shutdown the AC without tell me and it hit 24-27°c for about 48hours more or less i hope i dont get any off flavor.

You probably will have some off-flavors. 24-27C is 75-80F, which is high for most ale strains.

 

[m00ps]

So it was that hot for the first 2 days of fermenting? Or after the first 2? If it was after, you may be OK. Most yeast character is imparted the first few days of fermentaiton. That being said, if it was that hot right from the beginning, expect some fusel alcohol flavors (depending on strain, Belguians would be fine)

 

[kh54s10]

DIY. Hydrometer !
Take a wooden chop stick add a little blue tack to one end
Put the weighted end in a store bought beer
Make a mark where it floats
Adjust the weight if necessary
Check again in the store beer

Try it in your own brew


Cheapskate. Buy a hydrometer

(Obviously an untried option but I wonder if it would work ?)

This would tell you if the beer you brewed was the same gravity as the store bought beer (after letting the store bought beer go flat!) Nothing else.

The difference between a store bought beer and a brew that could produce bottle bombs could be a very small difference on this DIY hydrometer.

 

[m00ps]

agreed. the margin of error is too large when a drop of like 0.003 or something could result in shard of glass flying in your eye. Buy a hydrometer

 

[Sagatho]

today in the morning i still see some CO2 bubbles coming from the bottom of the carboy, Cero airlock activity i will wait some days more to see if those bubbles disapear.

how many prime sugar i must use? i will use cane sugar i will boil it and put it in the bottling carboy were im going to mix the priming sugar.

is a 5 gallon carboy.

thanks alot for sharing your information, i will taste the beer before bottling.

regards.

 

[hanuswalrus]

There are a bunch of calculators out there to help you with this. I prefer this one: http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

For a brown ale, I would aim for 2.4-2.5 volumes of CO2. What I do is add 2 cups of water to a pot, mix in the measured amount of sugar and bring to a boil. Mix a little in the beginning so the sugar doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pot.

I like to let it cool a little before I slowly add it to my bottling bucket, but I don't think it's that big of a deal if you add it right in while it's still hot. Rack your beer on top of the priming solution to ensure it gets properly mixed in and begin bottling.

Here's another thread with a lot of helpful tips on bottling: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=94812