Moving to secondary/gravity readings

[bbell21]

This is my first official batch of the brewers best American cream ale. The directions say after 5-7 days of fermentation to rack to secondary BEFORE fermentation is complete...is this correct? I don't have co2 or any means of helping it in the secondary if I wait out the 2 weeks in the primary. Also it says to take hydrometer tests every couple days until I. Get the same reading 3 days in a row....is it safe to pop open the primary's lid to draw a sample? Wouldn't that allow oxygen into it? Need some help here guys, thanks.

 

[Gear101]

No you don't have to transfer it into a secondary, I normally don't. Really to be safe the only times that a gravity reading needs to be taken in right before yeast is added and before bottling.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Letting it sit a little longer on the yeast cake is not going to be a problem. If you are really excited about bottling the beer then the most often you would want to take readings is daily. I brew every 14 days, so I normally just take one reading at 12 days, and another at 14. If they are the same (which most of the time they are) then I bottle.

For more information on how often to take final gravity readings see this:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/when-has-my-beer-finished-fermenting.html

And for predicting completion based on three readings:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-calculate-fermentation-time.html