How crucial is the day you bottle?

[sterling33]

I'm doing my first home brew and am not going to be around on day 7 of fermenting to bottle. It's supposed to be an ale and I'll be able to bottle around day 9 or 10. Will this affect my results much?

Thanks

 

[lumpher]

not much, but it will be better. most people don't bottle till day 21 or so, depending on the style of beer

 

[NineMilBill]

Yea I let mine sit until about Day 21-30...but honestly, as long as you've passed the gravity test, you're good to go.

 

[evan5159]

dont think in terms of days but in terms of gravity. i generally rack into a secondary after7 days, where is sets for another 14 days. so to answer your question, not being there afterseven days wont make a differece

 

[bob1006]

Wait, let it settle. Everyone does it differently but most let it stay in primary for atleast 14 days. Gravity will tell you when its ready.

 

[HighCountryBrewer]

I leave all my beer in the primary for 21 days and then go straight to bottling. I doubt whether fermentation is finished after only 7 days. For me, the bare minimum would be 14 days and ALWAYS check with a hydrometer for 2 to 3 days to be sure that fermantation is finished

 

[homebrewdad]

Another voice in the chorus - if your gravity is stable, you CAN bottle after seven days, but if you wait until 2 weeks (3 would be even better), the yeast will have time to clean up after themselves, and your beer will taste much better.

 

[DrakeSuperbus]

The least amount of time I've had a beer sit in primary is a month. I hate bottling, so I always end up putting it off a week or two (or six).

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I always to 4 weeks primary 4 weeks bottle conditioning. Works out to brew/bottle day the last weekend of each month. I take OF and FG so I can calc ABV.

 

[Jayhem]

Beer kit directions always give you the MINIMUM amount of time to ferment before you bottle so you will go out and buy more of their kits! It really needs more than 7 days in the fermenter. I used to take hydrometer readings every few days and then bottle but now I just wait 3 weeks, take 1 hydrometer reading, if it's at or below target I bottle...my beer are all turning out great now!

 

[yancydc]

Best advice you'll get from this forum is to wait, so listen to all the folks above. 3 weeks is a good baseline, in my opinion, but more surely won't hurt.

 

[tektonjp]

Very crucial. I always bottle on Wednesdays.

 

[Akavango]

The longer you will keep it in the primary, the better. 7 days sounds a little early.

 

[sterling33]

Thanks for all the wisdom, def makes me feel better about not being there to bottle on the day according to the kit. I'm going to wait till week 3-4 and keep checking the gravity. Sounds like you guys might have saved me from making a premature mistake, hope this first batch turns out good!

 

[urbanmyth]

For what it's worth, I forgot about a holiday ale I brewed using a Brewer's Best kit for about two and a half months. After only a week and a half in bottles, it was awesome tasting. Lacked a little mouth feel and carbonation, but very tasty. Age can *usually* only help.

 

[unionrdr]

I always wait till the 2 week mark to take an FG reading. That'll tell me how close it is to a stable FG. Also how misty/cludy the sample is will tell how close to finished it is. When it reaches a stable FG measure 2 days apart,I let it sit in primary for another 3-7 days to settle out clear,or slightly misty. It'll also clean up after itself in that same time frame.
This method also has the added effect of getting some little bit of conditioning done before bottling. So in 3-5 weeks time,it's just that much better.

 

[tonyolympia]

Very crucial. I always bottle on Wednesdays.

That's so Odin will look favorably on your bottle conditioning, correct?

 

[tektonjp]

Damn Skippy!
Ninkasi gets the brewing side, Oden the bottling, Dionysus the tasting.

 

[Grinder12000]

The thing is that yeast will clean up their poop so if you bottle right away you will lose out on tenor clean up time. Yea, fermenting is finished but there is a lot more happening in there.

Waiting will make for a better, more stable beer.21 days is the norm.