Instructions vs Experience

[atlphenom]

So I just started my second batch of beer (hopefully my first successful batch) and have been doing a lot of reading on this site. I noticed that while the instructions that came with my IPA kit say I only need to let the beer sit in the fermenter for 3-4 days before bottling and letting it age 3 weeks in the bottles, a lot of people on this site recommend waiting up to 3 weeks before bottling and then still letting it age in the bottles as well. My question is, should I follow the directions that come with the kit, since they should know their own product, or would I be better off letting it age in the fermenter longer as some people here tend to suggest?

 

[Edcculus]

Don't follow the instructions. Waiting only 3 days to bottle is a recipe for disaster. If you are really in a rush, you can get away with bottling after a week, but its not really recommended. The only reason kits say to bottle so quickly is so they don't scare off potential new brewers. Wait 3-4 weeks then bottle. You will be rewarded by your patience with a clearer, better tasting beer.

 

[mattd2]

Do you have a hydrometer? If you do use that to test the final gravity (2 samples over 2 days with no change) and then bottle. If you don't buy one.

 

[eddie]

So I just started my second batch of beer (hopefully my first successful batch) and have been doing a lot of reading on this site. I noticed that while the instructions that came with my IPA kit say I only need to let the beer sit in the fermenter for 3-4 days before bottling and letting it age 3 weeks in the bottles, a lot of people on this site recommend waiting up to 3 weeks before bottling and then still letting it age in the bottles as well. My question is, should I follow the directions that come with the kit, since they should know their own product, or would I be better off letting it age in the fermenter longer as some people here tend to suggest?

The instructions that come with most kits are very poor and are, in my opinion, why so many new brewers find their kit beers to be less than stellar. There's a lot that goes into making a decent beer that they just don't put in the instructions and a lot of stuff they put in the instructions is just plain wrong (like bottling after just three days in the fermentor.) What kit do you have and what is in it?

 

[atlphenom]

It was a True Brew partial grains kit, came with 2 cans of unhopped malt extract, grains, 2 packets of hop pellets, oak chips, ale yeast, priming sugar and bottling caps. Most of the directions for making the wort seemed pretty good, but it was just the part where it says to wait only 3-4 days after fermentation ends for the beer to settle before bottling where I didn't think they were quite right. I wasn't sure that was enough time for aging.

Also, mattd2, I do have a hydrometer, but I thought that I would need to age after the FG was reached to add some extra flavors from the oak chips and such.

 

[eddie]

It was a True Brew partial grains kit, came with 2 cans of unhopped malt extract, grains, 2 packets of hop pellets, oak chips, ale yeast, priming sugar and bottling caps. Most of the directions for making the wort seemed pretty good, but it was just the part where it says to wait only 3-4 days after fermentation ends for the beer to settle before bottling where I didn't think they were quite right. I wasn't sure that was enough time for aging.

Also, mattd2, I do have a hydrometer, but I thought that I would need to age after the FG was reached to add some extra flavors from the oak chips and such.

Your suspicions were correct in that 3-4 days is really not enough time to properly ferment the beer. It's enough time for the krausen to drop and the airlock to stop bubbling but that is in no way an indication the yeast are done doing their thing. While yeast are converting the sugars, they put out a lot more than just alcohol and CO2. By letting the beer rest longer on the yeast in the primary, you allow the yeast an opportunity to clean up after themselves as they will actually begin to consume some some of these byproducts resulting in a much better tasting beer and this takes about three weeks to complete. You are also correct in your assumption that the oak is added to the beer after fermentation. This is generally done in a clearing vessel (some may call it a secondary) and can take a month or more depending on how much flavor you want to get from the oak.

Are your oak chips toasted? If not, you can toast them yourself in your oven. To do so, take the chips and soak them in bourbon, whiskey or apple juice over night in a glass or plastic bowl. I don't use metal because I feel it imparts a slight metallic taste to the chips. After they've sat over night, wing them out and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet and turn on your oven broiler with the rack in the top position. Put the chips in the oven and keep a close eye on them as they will toast quickly. You'll see and smell them starting to toast. When they start turning color, take them out and turn them with a spatula then put them back in. Again, keep a close eye on them and when you are comfortable with them, remove them from the oven and put them in your beer. This whole process takes less than ten minutes in my oven (I've never timed it other than eyes and nose so I don't know exactly how long.)

 

[mattd2]

Also, mattd2, I do have a hydrometer, but I thought that I would need to age after the FG was reached to add some extra flavors from the oak chips and such.

Sorry but I read your OP as letting the wort ferment for 3-4 days which would be a bad idea, not that you were asking how long after primary fermentation had completed you should let it sit and how long you should give for oak chips to do their thing (I have never used them so I probably wouldn't of answered at all).
Yeah I would follow eddie's advice, the more patiences you have should result in better beer.

 

[pcollins]

If it says to wait "3-4 AFTER fermentation ends" to bottle the beer, there is nothing wrong with that. Previous posters are correct that you should take readings for a couple of days and if there is no change then go ahead and bottle. Fermentation has ended when there is no change in the gravity so 3-4 after that would be no problem.

That said, of course there is no harm in keeping it longer in the primary or transferring to secondary for a period of time before bottling.

 

[atlphenom]

Just out of curiosity... I have been reading "The Brewmaster's Bible" by Stephen Snyder, and in his book he reccomends bottling ales after about a week in a fermenter "as long as fermentation is over," and goes as far as to say that after 10-14 days in the primary the ale should be transferred to a secondary due to reaction with yeast sediment. Does anyone else know anything about this, is there any truth to this comment?

 

[Malticulous]

Just out of curiosity... I have been reading "The Brewmaster's Bible" by Stephen Snyder, and in his book he reccomends bottling ales after about a week in a fermenter "as long as fermentation is over," and goes as far as to say that after 10-14 days in the primary the ale should be transferred to a secondary due to reaction with yeast sediment. Does anyone else know anything about this, is there any truth to this comment?

Yeast autolysis is not a big problem for home brewers. It's not like were brewing seven barrels or more where the pressure levels are much higher on the yeast. There is a lot of bogus information around.

 

[SumnerH]

Yeah, autolysis was thought to be a big problem back in the early 1990s, so a lot of people grew up with books warning about it. But even by the late 1990s, people were realizing that a few weeks isn't long enough for that to be a real concern, and in recent years most people don't recommend a secondary unless you're going to add fruit or oak chips or similar, or if you're doing a beer that needs to be aged for many months.

I certainly wouldn't worry about contact with yeast sediment until you're talking about at least a 2-3 month timeframe (even that's probably not long enough for it to matter).

Most HBTers will recommend 3 weeks or so in primary and then bottle.

Jamil Z (decorated competition winner) and John Palmer (author of How to Brew) discussed this in a recent podcast. Both of them started out brewing thinking that moving to secondary was needed, but have decided through years of experience that leaving it in primary (sitting on the yeast sediment) until bottling time is not just fine but actually produces better results in 90% of cases.

 

[demonrichie]

yea i gotta agree wit every1 else autolysis seems to be non issue in short term. as far as most kit included instructions go, collect information here, start a bonfire and use the instructions to start it thats about how useful they are(except for yeast particular temps)

 

[DeusInnomen]

What they said. I just bottled my first beer ever on Saturday, and I used the instructions only until I got to the part where I added the wort to my fermenter, and from there I went with advice from friends, this site and Palmer's "How to Brew". From thereon out, the instructions have been used only for taking notes on the progress, such as my hydro readings.

 

[boo boo]

So I just started my second batch of beer (hopefully my first successful batch) and have been doing a lot of reading on this site. I noticed that while the instructions that came with my IPA kit say I only need to let the beer sit in the fermenter for 3-4 days before bottling and letting it age 3 weeks in the bottles, a lot of people on this site recommend waiting up to 3 weeks before bottling and then still letting it age in the bottles as well. My question is, should I follow the directions that come with the kit, since they should know their own product, or would I be better off letting it age in the fermenter longer as some people here tend to suggest?

Here's a great book to read http://www.howtobrew.com/ to get you along the road to great homebrew.