Hi Folks, i just recently brewed my first batch, an irish red ale. Its been 2 weeks that its been fermenting and i took a reading and my FG read 1.02. The FG for the recipe stated that it should be 1.01-1.014. Should I just give it a few more days to keep fermenting or would it be ok for me to go ahead and bottle it now?
FG question
- Thread starter billyburg
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Don't bottle it,it isn't done yet at 1.02x. You'd risk bottle bombs when the priming sugar gets the yeast going again. In effect,over priming. Give the beer time in primary to finish up. 2 weeks isn't long enough for the average ale to finish up for the average brewer. I had ONE finish & clear in 12 days flat. But it was a can & kilo type brew. Anything using more malts in place of sugars is bound to take more time. And brewing under colder temps seems to slow things down in my experiences,not speed them up. Anyone that says otherwise is an idiot or a liar.
Temp control is a very good thing,as are proper pitching rates. But the simple laws of physics cannot be bent.
Pardon my rant,but somone always chimes in saying there's something wrong with my process if I can't get a 1.075 beer done in one week. Twaddlespeak says I. Give it another week to finish,then check it again. If it's done by then,it may even start settling out clearer already.
Temp control is a very good thing,as are proper pitching rates. But the simple laws of physics cannot be bent.
Pardon my rant,but somone always chimes in saying there's something wrong with my process if I can't get a 1.075 beer done in one week. Twaddlespeak says I. Give it another week to finish,then check it again. If it's done by then,it may even start settling out clearer already.
As Pigman says you can bottle if it is stable. As Union says to me it doesn't sound done.
When it is done you should then ask yourself this question. Do I care about the quality of my brew or do I want it ready to drink asap? The brew may not taste bad if you rush it through, but it is matter of fact that it will be at its best with a little time.
When it is done you should then ask yourself this question. Do I care about the quality of my brew or do I want it ready to drink asap? The brew may not taste bad if you rush it through, but it is matter of fact that it will be at its best with a little time.
Thanks everyone for their advice! Its been fermenting for a total of three weeks now and I just took another hydrometer reading and it came to 1.019, a whopping 0.001 improvement in one additional week. To bottle or not to bottle?
T8rAleKing
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I wouldn't bottle yet so check the FG in 3 days and see it it is the same, then check it again 3 days after that. Patience is not just a virtue in brewing, it is a requirement.
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bruin_ale
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Ha, I woulda been one of those people - but right now I've got a DIPA that started at 1.08 and has been going for 13 days - still dropping a few pts a day. 2L starter, oxygenated at the start, mashed at 149, temp started at 65 and ramped to 70 after the first few days. No idea why it's taking so long, especially with WLP001, almost every beer I've ever done has fermented out in 5 days or less.
OP, give it some more time. If you can, warm it up a few degrees and swirl the yeast back into suspension (if needed).
