first beer fermenting!

[mleode]

So it's been one week in the fermentor. The anticipation is killing me.
I took a gravity reading today, it read 1.02. OG was at ~1.06 . Things seem to be on track thus far. After one more week I'm hoping it's ready to bottle.
I was cleaning bottles today. I've got about half of what I need. Anyone have suggestions for bottle collecting or is it as simple as drinking more yourself lol. And also once bottling is finished what are some lengths that people have left them to condition for? Is conditioning time generally the same or does it vary on the beer?

 

[Intimnasc]

I preferr to rack my beers toi a secondary for a couple of weeks before bottling but congratulations and cheers.

 

[cluckk]

What is it? Stout? Belgian? Scottish Ale? Each has different needs. For example, some need time to clear and others don't.

 

[dbsmith]

Generally speaking, higher ABV beers usually need more conditioning time. Lagers also need extra conditioning time to reach their prime. Your OG was a bit higher than your typical strength ale, so it will benefit from some extra conditioning time. Out of curiosity, was your OG 1.060, or did you just not get that last digit? That last digit precision can be pretty important.

 

[truekey]

I'm still new, on my fourth batch, but here's some tips.


Oxyclean free takes the labels right off bottles. Use half a cup per gallon or so, I use hot water. Rinse thoroughly!! Then jut sanitize and reuse.

You can let your beer go three weeks in the primary and at least two weeks in bottles. Be careful about your priming sugar amounts, I just made some bottle bombs recently. If you're doing 5 gallons you might want to rack to a secondary but 1 gallon batches its not necessary...

 

[Komodo]

I'm still new, on my fourth batch, but here's some tips.

Oxyclean free takes the labels right off bottles. Use half a cup per gallon or so, I use hot water. Rinse thoroughly!! Then jut sanitize and reuse.

You can let your beer go three weeks in the primary and at least two weeks in bottles. Be careful about your priming sugar amounts, I just made some bottle bombs recently. If you're doing 5 gallons you might want to rack to a secondary but 1 gallon batches its not necessary...

Everything said here is right on. I leave mine in the primary at least three, sometimes four weeks. Even after the gravity is down, the yeast is cleaning it up. After bottling, you can try it after 2 weeks, but three or more it will just get better and better. You owe it to yourself to try it at two, three, four,etc so you can see the progression.

Don't take the comment about priming sugar amounts, and mixing it really well in the bottling bucket. You want the right amount, and evenly distributed.

Congrats!

 

[mleode]

What is it? Stout? Belgian? Scottish Ale? Each has different needs. For example, some need time to clear and others don't.

It's an Irish amber ale

 

[mleode]

Generally speaking, higher ABV beers usually need more conditioning time. Lagers also need extra conditioning time to reach their prime. Your OG was a bit higher than your typical strength ale, so it will benefit from some extra conditioning time. Out of curiosity, was your OG 1.060, or did you just not get that last digit? That last digit precision can be pretty important.

I did have a tough time reading the last digit actually from foam that wouldn't subside, but it was extremely close to 1.060.

Thanks for all the input guys!
I'll definitely try that bottling tip.