Gravity steady,should i bottle?

[moonbeer]

Heh all,
delighted to be part of this great forum and straight in with my first noob question.
I have a Muntons Wheat beer fermenting for 14 days now and the last 3 gravity readings have been steady at 1.016 each taken 2 days apart.I didnt have my hydrometer on brew day so i dont have an OG reading.From what i recall the instructions mentioned an FG of 1.008 but i cant be sure.
I would appreciate any advise as to wheather i should leave it alone for another week or should i just bottle it up,my hydrometer instruction say not to bottle below 1.006 to avoid bottle bombs so i am a bit wary.
Cheers in advance

 

[beerman0001]

Heh all,
delighted to be part of this great forum and straight in with my first noob question.
I have a Muntons Wheat beer fermenting for 14 days now and the last 3 gravity readings have been steady at 1.016 each taken 2 days apart.I didn't have my hydrometer on brew day so i don't have an OG reading.From what i recall the instructions mentioned an FG of 1.008 but i cant be sure.
I would appreciate any advise as to weather i should leave it alone for another week or should i just bottle it up,my hydrometer instruction say not to bottle below 1.006 to avoid bottle bombs so i am a bit wary.
Cheers in advance

The not bottle below 1.006 must be a miss print that has nothing to do with bottle bombs. Most here will say let it go for three weeks but if you had a good yeast pitch and controlled you fermentation temps you can go ahead and bottle now and leave it alone for three weeks.

 

[Shizog4]

Yea as long as temps were controlled bottle but if the got up a few times maybe let the yeasties clean up a few days

 

[kh54s10]

I vote for leave it alone for another week. The yeast will continue to work clearing the beer and cleaning up the flavors.

Get another fermenter and start another batch ASAP, or you will run out of the first batch before the next is ready.

 

[Camride]

I vote for leave it alone for another week. The yeast will continue to work clearing the beer and cleaning up the flavors.

Get another fermenter and start another batch ASAP, or you will run out of the first batch before the next is ready.

Agreed. 2 weeks is ok if you're in a hurry for some reason, but 3-4 weeks will result in a cleaner beer.

 

[beerman0001]

Agreed. 2 weeks is OK if you're in a hurry for some reason, but 3-4 weeks will result in a cleaner beer.

You can bottle a week early or a week late it will still take the same amount of time to taste great.

 

[husker]

I bottled my first few batches after 2 weeks and they turned out great. If your gravity reading is stable I think you will be fine bottling. However, if you could wait another week the yeast cells will clean up after them self and you will be really proud of the clear, tasty beer you made!

 

[moonbeer]

Thanks guys for all the replies i think i will leave it for another week so and let it do its thing

 

[unionrdr]

Uuuh...you guys did see that this is a wheat beer,right? They shouldn't take a month to finish,nor should they be clear. But that reading is a little high. Give it one more week after swirling up the yeast a little.

 

[Zalf]

Uuuh...you guys did see that this is a wheat beer,right? They shouldn't take a month to finish,nor should they be clear. But that reading is a little high. Give it one more week after swirling up the yeast a little.

Yeah a pure extract wheat is most likely finished and good to go. However, as stated waiting a week well only make the beer better, not worse.

If you can wait then wait, if you are too thirsty to wait then bottle with a easy mind.

 

[moonbeer]

Thanks unionrdr ill give the fermenter a swirl and leave for another week.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,I felt something was up,since it didn't finish in the 2 weeks or so that's typical for wheats. Just treat it like a stall,& swirl up the yeast. Mine took 2 days to visibly start finishing up that last couple of points.

 

[moonbeer]

Will swirling the fermenter not mix in the krausen thats stuck to the sides.

 

[unionrdr]

Not if you do it gently. That gunk is pretty thick & sticky.

 

[Grinder12000]

Skip the swirling, it can only do harm with oxidation. Probebly not but there is no reason.

Plus, another week is not a bad idea for the reasons stated above.

 

[unionrdr]

Skip the swirling, it can only do harm with oxidation. Probebly not but there is no reason.

Plus, another week is not a bad idea for the reasons stated above.

A gentle swirl will not cause oxidation. Shaking likely will,which isn't the same as swirling. Besides the fact it has mostly co2 riding on top of it. But it does work,as I've found with my Burton ale.