Length in Primary when bottling

[JDAK]

I am checking gravity daily during my fermentation. Most of my beers seem to stabilize at final gravity by day 3. It seems that the trend is to let the beer "clean up" for a few more days before packaging. Can anyone see an issue with bottling once final gravity is reached and stable for say 2 days? Usually bottle condition for 3-4 weeks before drinking.

 

[VikeMan]

"Cleanup" aside, the earlier you bottle, the more suspended stuff in the beer. When it finally settles, it will be in your bottles (until you pour) instead of left behind in the fermenter.

I can't think a a good reason to package any beer after 3-4 days, unless you're trying to do some sort of short grain to glass demonstration.

 

[Yooper]

I agree. While fermentation may be finished, that is when the beer starts to clear and the sediment drops out. I like a nice clear beer, and I would want to minimize the crap in the bottles so I’d wait until the beer drops clear, and then package it. Usually that’s by day 10, but could be shorter with a highly flocculant yeast strain or longer with a less flocculant strain. Putting it someplace cold will make it happen faster.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

My beers tend to hit FG at about four days post-pitch, I leave them for an additional four days minimum for cleanup. I believe cleanup is done after about 48 hours of reaching FG, but the extra couple of days is just a little extra insurance. The quickest I've gone from brew to bottle is eight days. My average is more like 10-12 days.