Is it ready to bottle

[Adnic69]

Gent

I have had my first brew in a fermenter now for 5 days now and the activity is now down to a bubble around 1min 50 sec. I was going to do a hydrometer test and hopefully bottle tonight. Is that going to be ok?
Its a muntons pilsner kit if that helps.

 

[kornkob]

You are best off NOT bottling yet.

The rule of thumb is 1 2 3
1 week for primary fermentation
2 weeks for secondary fermentation
3 weeks of bottle conditioning

If your beer is 5 days old it isn't really done yet.

 

[Fatabbot]

Honestly, I would probably wait. The general rule is 1 week primary, 2 week secondary before bottling. 5 days is pretty quick, and it seems like you're still getting some activity. Another general rule is to take gravity readings daily until the gravity doesn't change for 3 consecutive days. Once that happens, you're ready to bottle.

 

[cweston]

Don't do it!

A beer is almost never ready to bottle after 5 days, and if there is any airlock activity at all, it isn't ready to bottle.

Bottling prematurely can actually be dangerous--if your beer is still fermenting when it goes into the (sealed) bottles, it can build so much pressure that you get bottle bombs.

If you have a hydrometer, try taking a reading daily, and don't bottle until the reading is the same for three days.

Or, if you don't have a hydrometer, I'd wait until it's been fermenting 9-10 days minimum and there is no airlock activity at all for a few days.

Ideally, 2-3 weeks is a better fermentation time. (1 week primary, 1-2 weeks secondary)

 

[the_bird]

Remember, your patience will be rewarded. If you can wait the full six weeks, you'll have a far superior brew on your hands. Patience is the hardest part of this hobby, the best thing to do is start working on your NEXT brew, that will keep your mind off the one you have conditioning. That, and take the opportunity to try some new stuff.

If you bottle now, you're going to want to start drinking them in another week, and you'll end up drinking beer that is very green and nowhere near as good as it will get. Patience, grasshopper.

 

[edost]

Just to add my 2 cents in. If you don't put it in the secondary, leave it in the primary for 2 weeks & then bottle

 

[Adnic69]

Bugger, I was getting excited.
I will do a hydrometer reading tonight.

 

[Engelramm]

Bugger, I was getting excited.
I will do a hydrometer reading tonight.

I was in this situation last week. I was ready to bottle, but they weren't. I took a hydrometer reading and the level was not quite down to what the recipe called for, so that made me feel better. I made myself wait and check the reading on days 8, 9, and 10. On day 10 it was down within the recipe range. I waited 2 more days because I didn't have time to bottle on day 10 anyway. No bottle bombs yet.

 

[user 4295]

I wouldn't even bother taking a hydrometer sample tonight. It is premature and you only run the increased risk of contaminating your batch. Even if the primary phase of fermentation has completed, which it may have, the conditioning phase has just begun. During the conditioning phase, the yeast clean up after themselves by mellowing some of the compounds produced during primary fermentation. These compounds, if allowed to remain, can lead to all sorts of off flavors. During the conditioning phase the yeast will slowly continue to convert any remaining fermentable sugars and then settle out, taking with them some of the proteins that are responsible for creating hazy beer.

Just be patient. If you intend to secondary, give it the full 7-10 days in the primary, take a hydrometer reading and rack it to the secondary for a minimum of 2 weeks, then bottle. If you are not going to secondary, then leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks total and then bottle it. This extra time allowed for conditioning will make all the difference in the world in the quality of your beers.

John