How long should I leave beer in the primary?

[HoppyPilsner]

I just brewed a batch of True Brew Belgian Ale, my second brew ever. It smelled great when I bottled it but I am worried that I only left it in the fermentation bucket for about 8 days before bottling it - no secondary. The OG was only 1.032 but was supposed to have been more like 1.062, I skimmed the sample off the top which I guess could have skewed the sample?? The final gravity was 1.018. Is this going to explode?

 

[Joshaw50]

I just brewed a batch of True Brew Belgian Ale, my second brew ever. It smelled great when I bottled it but I am worried that I only left it in the fermentation bucket for about 8 days before bottling it - no secondary. The OG was only 1.032 but was supposed to have been more like 1.062, I skimmed the sample off the top which I guess could have skewed the sample?? The final gravity was 1.018. Is this going to explode?

Seems like there is a lot of sugar remaining in the brew being that it's still at 1.018 when you bottle. 8 days is not long enough, especially for a Belgian Ale. Not necessary to use a secondary but i'd say you definitely bottled it young..... And the OG for a Belgian Ale was really low.

 

[DregAddict]

It sounds to me like you bottled it early. What yeast did you use. Usually belgian yeasts are pretty efficient, so your final gravity was likely still dropping. As to whether or not they will explode, I don't know. 5 oz of priming sugar would raise a 5 gallon batch only about 3 gravity points, and thats plenty to carbonate the beer. I would guess that your final gravity was supposed to be closer to 1.010, so you were already 8 gravity points too high. And I'm sure you added corn sugar as well when you bottled as well, so you're going to get quite a bit more action from the yeast than you expected.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

I am guessing you boiled like 2 - 3 gallons and then topped off primary to achieve your 5 gallons total right? If so, I am guessing you will be ok. I am guessing your OG was so low because you took a sample and the top off water was not mixed well. That's my thought. As far as bottling time? Take a sample 3 says in a row, and if they are all the same, then bottle. That's they only way to know if fermentation is done. If you bottle to soon, you obviously run the risk of bottle bombs or gushers. Next time you brew, I would attempt to take the samples. Going by time is never a good idea. No two brews brew the same. Just my two cents.

 

[jroot]

Assuming you took your gravity reading using a hydrometer at or near its calibration temperature (usually 60F) then the fact that you missed your OG by 30 pts. indicates that you added too much water either before or after the boil which will definitely thin the final product from what you expect. Eight days could very well have finished the fermentation but you should have left it in the primary at least 2-3 weeks to give the yeast time to clean up the beer. I am more to believe you misread your OG so your FG of 1.018 would be adequate attenuation for the fermentation. That being said, I think you may not have a problem with over-carbonation leading to popping the caps from the bottles provided the priming sugar was in the correct amount. Place them in a dark cool place and just wait it out for a month to tell and you might be surprised. At the very least it will be a light session brew.

 

[HoppyPilsner]

The consensus is that I bottled it early, which is part of being new and impatient I guess. Like I said, it smelled great so in a couple of months I'll uncap (or de-fuse) one and see how it's coming along. What are the problems caused by bottling early?

 

[COLObrewer]

. . . . I skimmed the sample off the top which I guess could have skewed the sample??

Yes, it probably wasn't mixed completely, this happens alot.

. . . . The final gravity was 1.018. Is this going to explode?

If not it will be very well carbonated What was the expected FG of the kit? What yeast did you use?

 

[unionrdr]

I think this is a classic example of not getting the top off water very thoroughly mixed in. The sample was taken from the thinner watery wort at the top. So it may very likely be only alittle bit high. But not as high as is being theorized. That's my educated 10c worth. (inflation,you know,it ain't 2c anymore),lolz.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

To answer your initial question of how long to leave a beer in primary... until it is done. Every beer is gonna be different. Even the same brew split into two different fermentors setting side by side will not be exactly the same. ALWAYS use the hydrometer to check the gravity and when it is the same for 2-3 days in a row then bottle it if you want to. However your beer will benefit from being left alone a while longer after it has reached it's final gravity.

 

[HoppyPilsner]

Thanks everyone. I tried one a month ago and it tasted terrible. I'm going to taste another one tonight, maybe.