Help a brand new brewer!

[surfbum2518]

Hello everybody! Just started my first brew on Saturday finished at about 1pm. Its a red ale...just a brewers best kit. So heres my question..I know that 4-6 (or until bubbling slows down) days is the average to sit in the primary fermenter but heres my predicament. I was kind of planning on waiting the full 6 days and bottling on friday but I have to go out of town thursday night for a wedding and wont be back til late Sunday night. Should I bottle thursday afternoon if bubbling has mostly slowed down or wait til monday afternoon? Like I said this is my first brew I'm completely new to everything and I really appreciate your help!!

 

[madbird1977]

My experience is the longer you can wait the better.

 

[lumpher]

i don't consider it done in the primary at less than 3 weeks. bottle it early, and you'll come back to glass shards and beer all over the place. definitely let it sit till you come back. i just kegged a beer tonight that was 6 weeks primary, and i kegged another last night at 5 weeks primary.

 

[FastAndy]

Wait. Extra time on the yeast is good. You don't want rush boggling unless you want bottle bombs. Take gravity readings, its the only way to actually tell if fermentation is done.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[danorocks17]

i primary a minimum of two weeks. your patience will be rewarded. I usually let a beer sit for about a month before bottling. that's just my preference though.

 

[Zen_Brew]

There is no fixed period of time before you bottle. You bottle when the yeast are done and have had some cleanup time. Wait till Monday.

 

[harryt43]

You might want to read up a little more. John Palmer's free book how to brew is online. 1 week is enough time for most fermentation to take place, but the general consensus seems to be 3+ weeks for the yeast to clean up after themselves if only using a primary.

 

[Krane]

That is way too fast to bottle the beer. I usually leave it in the primary between 3-4 weeks. If I do less, I make sure I have two identical gravity readings 3 days apart. Hydrometer is the only tool to know when it is time to bottle. Bottling early you run the risk of having bottle bombs.

 

[Stauffbier]

Does your recipe say to bottle in 6 days? Most brew isn't bottled until after about 3 weeks on average. Some beers even longer than that. Ales have a general rule of thumb called the 1, 2, 3 rule... 1 week in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle to carb up. I leave mine in primary and secondary even longer than that. Some I even leave in the primary for 4 weeks then go straight to bottling. Lagers and other styles can take even longer. Do you have a secondary fermenting vessel?

 

[danmdevries]

Honestly I would give it at LEAST 14 days before bottling.

Do you own a hydrometer?

My first BB kit I followed their directions for times. I wasn't a huge fan of the final product. After doing about a dozen extract kits I felt I had my process down and was making beers I enjoyed so I bought the same BB kit I started with. Turned out much much better.

The issue I had when I first started was I wanted to try what I just made. I quickly brewed another batch and rushed that as well. I had some surplus when I brewed the third so it was "forgotten" until my supply ran low, then bottled. That was the first good batch I made. Subsequent batches have only gotten better since then as I've gotten my process under control. It's hard when you're just starting and you don't have a "pipeline" If you don't have the resources to keep brewing on a regular basis, pick up a 6 pack of something you like and drink that. Let your yeast/brew do it's thing. Trying to rush your beer out is going to either give you incentive to correct your process or turn you off on brewing. Preferably the former but in the meantime why let a batch turn out mediocre?

IMO, let it sit until the weekend AFTER you get back.

 

[EROK]

Two weeks minimum !!! Then check the gravity. Rushing things won't make better beer.

 

[surfbum2518]

Wow, thanks everyone for the very quick response! This is all kind of coming as a shock to me. I've read quite a bit on this forum and other things and assumed that time in the primary and such depends on the beer and recipe. The recipe in the kit said around 6 days before bottling!!! I will heed everyones overwhelming decision and wait til I get back. I do have a hydrometer although am not super comfortable with it quite yet....I did take an OG reading! are all beers 3 weeks + in the primary (if your not using a 2cndary) before bottling? Thanks again everyone...I'm glad I have some help out there!

 

[Stauffbier]

3 weeks in primary certainly won't hurt anything. It gives the yeast a chance to clean up after itself..

 

[Revlus]

My first BB kit I followed their directions for times. I wasn't a huge fan of the final product. After doing about a dozen extract kits I felt I had my process down and was making beers I enjoyed so I bought the same BB kit I started with. Turned out much much better.

.

This is EXACTLY what I want to do with my first kit. I pitched the yeast when the wort was too hot. Thankfully I read the threads here (afterwards) and let the bottles sit, and those bubblegum and whatever else flavors went away and the beer was drinkable... but knowing what I know even after just two more brews and reading hundreds of posts, etc., I want to try that first one again.

 

[SocalNat]

Wait til monday and then take a gravity reading. If you are at your target FG then bottle. Don't depend on bubbles they don't measure anything.

 

[RM-MN]

The recipe in the kit said around 6 days before bottling!!!

Somebody needs to kick Brewers Best instruction writer straight in the a$$ for writing that. It is an invitation to make bad beer and possibly bottle bombs or at least gushers. If you ferment at room temperature or above you get off flavors too. My beers now get fermented between 62 and 65 degrees and many are still bubbling on day 5. There is now way that they would be ready to bottle on day 6.:rockin:

 

[RM-MN]

By the way, I started with Brewers Best kits and I followed their instructions. After the beer had been in the bottles a couple of months I could pour a glass of foam with an inch or less of beer in the bottom and the bottle still 3/4 full. I had fusel alcohol tastes and wild aromas too.

 

[Sixpak]

+1 to what everyone else is saying here. Everything I brew sits minimum three weeks in primary. Most times it's sitting for four. This will be when I take my second hydrometer reading (the 1st was to get the OG). Been bottling at four weeks but haven't brewed anything that required secondary yet.

 

[HopSong]

The recipe I have for my IPA by BB says something to the effect that when the fermentation SLOWS (~5-7 days) consider transferring it to the secondary for two weeks.

So, that is about 3 weeks. Since you don't really need a secondary, simply leave it in the primary for at least 3 weeks.. I know it's tough.. but you will be rewarded. This is why it's nice to have a "pipeline" so you have something to drink while waiting for the brew to complete. You should also leave the beer in the bottle to "condition" for another three weeks or so before serving. Nothing wrong with sampling a beer at 2 weeks.. but, waiting for 3-4 weeks in a bottle should reward you... again.. longer than 4 weeks should continue to improve the brew.