First Brew! Questions..

[rrittenhouse]

Well, I took the plunge and I brewed my first batch of beer on Saturday night!

It was an Extract Brewers best German Oktoberfest kit. Everything seemed to go well aside from the floating thermometer and iffy temperature control.

I boiled 2.5 gallons like it said, steeped the grains at temp, used DME and LME, brought back to a boil and followed the hop schedule. I actually hit the OG of 1.055 (possible range was 54-56).

The only major difference with this entire kit is that I used nottingham yeast instead of the lager yeast because i'm not set up for it. I rehydrated it and pitched - I checked it 4 hours later and I had a couple releases every 4-5 seconds or so. It's since then been releasing 1-2 burps every 2-3 seconds. The temp sticker states that it is 63F and holding.

Now my question is: how long should I be waiting to bottle? I read that its when the gravity doesn't change for 3 days but I just want to see how long that might be with notty (im reading 3-5 days) but I am confused on when to bottle it.

Thanks! I'm sorry if I left anything out - I woke up late and haven't had my morning coffee =/

 

[boo boo]

Leave it in primary for at least 2 weeks and then check your gravity for 3 days in a row to see if there is any change. Then it should be safe to bottle.
Brewing at colder temps will allow for a longer fermentation time than as if you would have if you brewed warmer.
The extra time in primary will only help make your beer better.

 

[Kraghed]

To be safe give it about 7-10 days before bottling. Better yet check your recipe and see if it gave a ballpark FG. I would think that this should finish around 1.010-1.014ish. Give it 2-3 more days and check the gravity, then again in 2-3 more. If it is constant you should be good to go.

 

[Brewin06111]

I did that same exact kit recently.. I left it in the primary for 3 weeks before bottling. In my situation it took 4 weeks of bottle conditioning for it to hit it's stride (There was the dreaded "TWANG" that faded almost completely..)

 

[dmob29]

Congrats on your first beer!!!

+1 to all of the above. No need to rush. The longer you age, the better it will taste. If you do want to drink it earlier get a kegging setup. That way you won't have to worry about making bombs!!

 

[rrittenhouse]

Thanks everyone! I didn't see an FG on there but I was hoping it was at least a 2-3 week brew. Im trying to cut back in other areas so I can brew at least one or two more times before this year is gone.

I'm glad I can leave it down there at a nice cool temp to let it do its thing for longer. I'm in no hurry - I just visit it about 10x a day to "check up" on it LOL. I need to get a camera down there that has night vision so I can monitor the airlock from upstairs. (i have bad ankles and making 10 trips up and down crappy basement isn't smart!)

Like I said I am in no rush I just want the beer to turn out well.

Thanks for the input!