Long brew time - Testing needed?

[DieKatzchen]

I have a batch of English Bitter (First brew!). After brewing it I realized I didn't have a test jar or wine thief for my hydrometer. Then I was out of town longer than I thought and added like two or three weeks to my brew time. Do I still need to figure out a way to test for doneness or can I safely assume it's done and bottle it?

 

[andy6026]

If you're brewing in a bucket you can sanitize the hydrometer and drop it in to get a reading. You can also use the plastic sleeve the hydrometrer likely came in as a test tube. If its been fermenting for 3 weeks though and you're confident that there were no temp drops low enough to make the yeast go dormant for an extended period of time then I'd assume it's safe to bottle.


edit: typing with one hand as I eat so I mangled a few things... fixed now.

 

[Foosier]

I always just sanitize my hydrometer and drop it in the bucket. Just remember to spin it to keep the bubbles off of it.

I'd also agree if after you measure the FG it looks like it is done and it has been 3 weeks you probably should be good. ESB's usually finish pretty quick. The yeast aren't known for taking too long.

 

[DieKatzchen]

It's in a carboy, so can't test that way. And the tube it came in is one of those two-part tubes that aren't deep enough. I'm pretty sure the basement has been a consistent temperature the whole time. And it hasn't been three weeks, it's been in secondary for about 5 weeks.

 

[Braufessor]

It is either done, or not going to get done at this point. Transfer to bottling bucket - taste it, take reading then (for piece of mind) and bottle. After 5-6 weeks, the yeast have done their job if they were treated even marginally well. If there is something wrong with it at this point (say the gravity did not drop at all)....... there ain't no fixing it anyway.

 

[kombat]

If there are no visible signs of infection, then it's almost certainly done. I never even check my brews, I just leave them for 3 weeks, then keg them. I check the final gravity once, after it's already been kegged, not to check for doneness, but rather just for calculating the ABV.

But that said, get yourself a stainless steel turkey baster and a hydrometer test tube. You'll need them eventually anyway, so why wait?