How long to wait?

[Ron_Blackhurst]

I have a red ale that has been in my primary since friday. I noticed on Monday it had either stalled or finished, to my surprise Krause dropped and I hit my estimated fg. I'm taking another reading tomorrow to confirm that. How long would be an appropriate amount of time to let it finish up and clear?

 

[blizzard]

Give it at least 2 weeks total before bottling, preferably 3.

 

[TxBigHops]

I'm a n00b too, but I've asked this and a thousand other questions here. The general consensus I received was minimum of 2-3 weeks in primary, depending on the beer. My first was also a red ale, fairly high gravity. My OG was 1.072 and I bottled it last week after 25 days. My second beer is a smaller beer, OG of 1.045 and I'm going to bottle it on Saturday after 14 days in primary.

 

[Ron_Blackhurst]

So even if my fg remains constant over a week it's still not worth it to bottle

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[blizzard]

So even if my fg remains constant over a week it's still not worth it to bottle

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Correct. The yeast will clean up some of their byproducts and the beer will mature and be noticeably better if you let it sit a little longer.

 

[Phoenix7801]

Im getting the idea from alot of experienced brewers here that by letting it go a minimum 2 weeks, you allow the yeasts to clean up any bit of stuff that may have escaped their notice.

 

[doornumber3]

I don't even start to think about checking the gravity until 3 weeks. Build up your pipeline and its easy to be patient.

 

[Spartangreen]

I don't even start to think about checking the gravity until 3 weeks. Build up your pipeline and its easy to be patient.

+1 on the minimum of 3 weeks. Higher gravity I go 4+ weeks.

 

[ElJefeBrews]

Smell your beer. If it smells like green apples, it's not ready

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[kh54s10]

There are 2 schools of thought. Once you have reached final gravity you can bottle. Or leave it for 3 weeks or more and the yeast will further clean up off flavors etc. and allow time for sediment to settle.

I have done both and the ones I leave alone have been more clear. My palate cannot detect small differences in the taste.

 

[richl025]

I'm another novice brewer, and as much as it's killing me to wait, I am forcing myself to give it at least 3 weeks in my bucket before bottling

 

[kombat]

I don't even bother taking a final gravity reading to see if it's finished. I leave all my beers in primary for 3 weeks, then 1 day cold-crash, then 3 days of gelatin, then into the keg where they sit on 12 psi of CO2 for 2 weeks. While racking to the keg, I take a gravity sample just to see what my ABV is, as well as evaluate colour, clarity, aroma, and flavour for my notes.

Once you get a pipeline going, it's a lot easier to be patient and just leave the beers alone.