Mistakenly skipped secondary fermentation- did I screw up?

[d_rock]

First time brewer here. Recently got a home brew setup and a Sweetwater 420 clone recipe kit. Followed the recipe to the T thru primary fermentation for 5-7 days, then siphon into secondary. Next step says "after about a week boil 2 cups of water mixed with priming sugars. Add priming sugar solution to bottling bucket. Siphon beer into bottling bucket, bottle your beer."

I fermented in the primary for [8] days at the optimal temp (68-70 deg). Somehow I missed the "After about a week" part, and I siphoned to the secondary (the bottling bucket), added the sugar, and then bottled.

How bad did I screw this up? I tasted the brew, it seemed on point. Should I let it condition in the bottle longer, or stick to the recommended 2-3 weeks?

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

Bottle carbonation can be tricky at best. If primary fermentation did not finish, you may still have active yeast floating around. Taste is a good indicator that your beer is ready, but secondaries are meant, especially in kit brewing, to give the yeast time to "flocc out" and settle. A bottling bucket does not count as a secondary fermenter (of course if someone wants to chime in on this please do).

You could have bottle bombs on your hands, or completely flat bottles. It all depends on how well you mixed the priming sugar into your brew. Even then, beer that is laden with sugar is heavier than the rest of the brew and will settle to the bottom of the bucket.

My recommendation is to store your bottles in a cardboard box and then place that cardboard box in a heavy duty trash bag (think the thicker the better). If you have a plastic tote that you can place the cardboard box in to quarantine it, I recommend that. If one of your bottles explodes, you won't have a mess all over your ceiling and floor to clean up. Bottle bombs can and do happen, the best we can do is be prepared for them if we can't prevent them all together.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

This could be bad. Did you reach final gravity before bottling? If not, you're not done fermenting yet and that could lead to bottle bombs. If you did, no worries. Let it sit and enjoy it in a few weeks.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I would suggest putting your bottles into a few large totes/rubbermaid containers with lids.

That way, if the go BOOOOOOOM, the mess won't be so bad.


Get a hydrometer for your next brew. Better yet... get two. You're bound to break one.



Also, read up more on secondaries. Many of us only use them in special circumstances. Usually, just leave it in the primary for the full duration...

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

I would suggest putting your bottles into a few large totes/rubbermaid containers with lids.

That way, if the go BOOOOOOOM, the mess won't be so bad.


Get a hydrometer for your next brew. Better yet... get two. You're bound to break one.



Also, read up more on secondaries. Many of us only use them in special circumstances. Usually, just leave it in the primary for the full duration...

This^^^

 

[d_rock]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Like I said, I'm an official noob at this, so this is a learning experience. I just hope I have some drinkable beer at the end of this! I've got everything boxed up and inside either a cooler or Rubbermaid tub in case of catastrophe.

I guess it was actually closer to 8 days of fermentation, the recipe called for 5-7. I didn't intend to ferment in the bottling bucket, as I (ignorantly) wasn't planning on a secondary fermentation. When I realized my mistake, I had already bottled half of the bucket.

Will definitely be more tedious next go-around with a hydrometer. I figured just following the directions would be good enough, but turns out I'm lousy at following directions!

How will conditioning temperature affect the possibility of these dreaded "bottle bombs" you guys speak of? I could leave them in my garage, where temps now are ranging around 50-60, instead of inside at 70deg- this will slow down the yeast activity, correct?

I appreciate all the input. I've got a lot of reading up to do, I tend to jump head first into things, maybe I jumped a bit early this time...

 

[FloppyKnockers]

If you keep them at 50°-60° and they are bottle bombs, you're only postponing the inevitable. I'd move them to a safe part of the house in room temperature (68°-71°).

 

[hou_me]

Skipping secondary is no big deal. The issue is whether or not fermentation was finished. Sounds like you let primary go for a week and then bottled? Was the airlock bubbling? Action in the airlock is not a reliable indicator of fermentation, but if that sucker was bubbling and you bottled anyway,then that's really really bad. There's a chance that after a week in primary that active fermentation was complete and the yeast were cleaning up after themselves, in which case you'll get a sub par beer, but no explosions. If fermentation wasn't complete then you have a real problem. Follow the above advice and put all the bottles in plastic totes for safety and ease of cleaning. Wait several weeks. If nothing has exploded then you're probably good.


-ben

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

If you get no explosions, do be aware of foamers/gushers. Open them over a sink, just in case! Good luck and welcome to the community!

 

[d_rock]

Skipping secondary is no big deal. The issue is whether or not fermentation was finished. Sounds like you let primary go for a week and then bottled? Was the airlock bubbling? Action in the airlock is not a reliable indicator of fermentation, but if that sucker was bubbling and you bottled anyway,then that's really really bad. There's a chance that after a week in primary that active fermentation was complete and the yeast were cleaning up after themselves, in which case you'll get a sub par beer, but no explosions. If fermentation wasn't complete then you have a real problem. Follow the above advice and put all the bottles in plastic totes for safety and ease of cleaning. Wait several weeks. If nothing has exploded then you're probably good.


-ben

The airlock was not bubbling. Primary went for 8 days, siphoned to the bottle bucket, added sugars, and bottled.

I'll bring the containers inside and keep it in the bathtub in case of a mess... keeping my fingers crossed all along, of course.

 

[NTXBrauer]

Did the krausen already settle to the bottom of your beer before racking and bottling? Active fermentation can happen quicker that one would expect, and should have been close to complete in 8 days (of course depending on conditions). As mentioned above, keep a close eye on your bottles. I would pop the top on a bottle occasionally to monitor carbonation levels. If they begin to gush, then put them in the refrigerator right away to stop the carbonation process. Cheers!

 

[AkTom]

I always bottle a few in plastic soda bottles. For 2 reasons. 1 you can feel the bottle get hard, then you know it is carbing up. 2 you can take them almost any where and have a "soda" and. No one willook at you cross eyed ;-)

 

[d_rock]

Did the krausen already settle to the bottom of your beer before racking and bottling? Active fermentation can happen quicker that one would expect, and should have been close to complete in 8 days (of course depending on conditions). As mentioned above, keep a close eye on your bottles. I would pop the top on a bottle occasionally to monitor carbonation levels. If they begin to gush, then put them in the refrigerator right away to stop the carbonation process. Cheers!

Everything looked to be well settled. There was very little sediment siphoned into the bottle bucket, and most seemed to settle to the bottom and was left behind. Primary was kept at a stable 70-71 degrees. I've got non problem opening a bottle or two early for, ahem, quality control. I'll be sure to report back!

 

[hou_me]

Bottle bombs are no joke putting them in the tub may not be enough. Just check around here for threads about glass shards embedded in walls. I can't imagine too many things worse than dropping a deuce before work and one of them going off in the tub. Keep them in some kind of box until you're sure it's safe.

-ben

 

[d_rock]

To update, I haven't had any bottle bombs, now 8 days after bottling. I've enjoyed a few bottles that I've opened for quality control as they condition. Carb is developing well as days go by. There is a little sediment settled in the bottles, but overall the beer has good clarity. For a first brew "screwup", it sure is a good tasting mistake!

View attachment 1422071533313.jpg

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

BEEEAAUTIFUL! Enjoy in good health my friend.