How soon should I bottle?
- Thread starter JPS357
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
If its "done" you can bottle anytime. (There are no rules, just general guidelines and practices that may cause some interesting 2nd order effects if not mitigated.)
I personally would not consider it "done" until the gravity readings do not change for 7 - 10 days.
Even with that, if greater than 1.000 SG when bottled and not stabilized or pasteurize or filtered and or crystal clear you risk bottle priming if held for a very long time. (For some bottle priming / carbonation is desired.)
If it runs long? Assume you mean from completion of fermentation to bottling? I would rack it form the lees, reduce the headspace as much as possible and keep an airlock on it. You can keep it that way for months. If long term bulk storage is desired then after it is crystal clear (Read a newspaper through it) and you are sure it has degassed all of the CO2 in suspension (Without help takes 2 - 3 months) you can seal it with a cap or bung. I prefer a bung as if it does for some reason build a little pressure it will push it out vs. breaking the glass jug or carboy.
I personally would not consider it "done" until the gravity readings do not change for 7 - 10 days.
Even with that, if greater than 1.000 SG when bottled and not stabilized or pasteurize or filtered and or crystal clear you risk bottle priming if held for a very long time. (For some bottle priming / carbonation is desired.)
If it runs long? Assume you mean from completion of fermentation to bottling? I would rack it form the lees, reduce the headspace as much as possible and keep an airlock on it. You can keep it that way for months. If long term bulk storage is desired then after it is crystal clear (Read a newspaper through it) and you are sure it has degassed all of the CO2 in suspension (Without help takes 2 - 3 months) you can seal it with a cap or bung. I prefer a bung as if it does for some reason build a little pressure it will push it out vs. breaking the glass jug or carboy.
This was way more information that I bargained for. But GREAT information! Thank you so much!
Similar threads
