Must you bottle exactly at the end of fermentation?

[htims05]

I have my first extract brew going right now - it calls for 14 days of fermentation. Must I bottle on exactly the 14th day? I ask because of poor planing on my part, I'll be out of town on that day.

 

[bleme]

As long as you keep a good seal so no air can get in, it will be fine in there for a month or more. It might even get better...

My usual yeast is US-05 and my typical schedule is:
3 weeks at 63F
2 days at 72F
2 days at 32F

Although lately I have been playing with kveik yeast, which can be completely done in 1 week, which I am really appreciating!

 

[htims05]

Does ambient temperature play a huge role - the kit instructions said nothing about temps. Of course I don't have a way to keep something that large at 32F or even 63F as I'm in the south US. I have it in my basement...so it's dark, but even so it's still 75F down there.

 

[jjw5015]

Does ambient temperature play a huge role - the kit instructions said nothing about temps. Of course I don't have a way to keep something that large at 32F or even 63F as I'm in the south US. I have it in my basement...so it's dark, but even so it's still 75F down there.

If it was that warm during the peak of fermentation, we can assume the actual temp of the fermenting wort was probably 85+. Not ideal. You should look into swamp coolers until you're able to have a dedicated fermentation chamber.

 

[bleme]

It really depends on the yeast. I ferment in a dorm fridge that my wife picked up at a yard sale for cheap. Before I had that, I would keep my fermentor in a big rope tub of water with a black t-shirt draped over it. If I needed it cooler than that got it, I'd blow a fan on it and if I needed even cooler I'd toss in 2-liter bottles of frozen water. As the water wicks up the t-shirt it evaporates and cools the fermentor. With California's dry air, that typically made a 15F difference.

On the other hand, kveik and saison yeast can be happy from 70F to 100F.

 

[htims05]

It really depends on the yeast. I ferment in a dorm fridge that my wife picked up at a yard sale for cheap.

One of those 6 gallon plastic jugs (northern brewer) fits in a dorm fridge?

 

[Jag75]

When it comes to bottling , making sure the fermentation is complete is a must. 14 days its should be done , however always check with a hydrometer to make sure. I'm a 3 week in the fermenter kind of guy. It will be fine until you get back .

As of temps , yeah it's a huge part right behind cleaning and sanitizing imo. You will get off flavors . What kit did you brew?
+1 on the swamp cooler method until you get something set up.

 

[bleme]

One of those 6 gallon plastic jugs (northern brewer) fits in a dorm fridge?

It would fit easily in mine. If you take the empty jug with you to the appliance store, they should be happy to let you try it in each of them. Even if you don't buy new, it will give you a good idea what to look for. Plug the fridge into an Inkbird controller and you can set it to any temperature you want.

 

[bracconiere]

as long as there's no oxygen, it won't turn to vinegar.....so you'll have an alcoholic drink!

edit: and at 75f, it'll probably be done in 4-5 days, could bottle before your trip....

 

[htims05]

Well this is going to chap my hide if the "beginner's brew kit" from northern brewer has no mention of fermenting temperature and mine goes to sh*t.

The directions say this exactly "Move the fermenter to a warm, dark, quiet spot until fermentation begins."

Block party amber ale is the recipe kit I'm using.

 

[bleme]

My guess is that it won't be sh*t, it just won't be as good as it could have been. I'll bet it is still good, will surprise your friends and you are learning a lot!

A rope tub full of water in this case would have tripled the thermal mass and kept the inner temperature from spiking as much. It would be a great experience to brew the same beer again and taste the difference for yourself.

 

[htims05]

After talking with everyone here I'm more and more concerned, A) the room temp is too high, B) I just went and looked at it, hardly any bubbling through the air lock now - a few hours ago it was like a low boil

 

[Jag75]

Hmm says it comes with muntons ale yeast and temp range of 57-77. Then the instructions say to add yeast when wort is 78 lol. How could a company instruct a brewer to add yeast at 78 knowing that fermentation drives the temp up! These kits are often done by starting brewers who wouldn't know . This is why you hear people saying the first thing to do with these kits are to toss the instructions.

 

[Lefou]

Don't you just love those brewing directions?
The base kit includes Muntons dry yeast. I would've set it aside and purchased WLP001 instead - if it was available.
Ambient temps can't always be relied on but I tend to keep it low to mid 60's at most for non-temperature controlled brewing.

 

[htims05]

Hmm says it comes with muntons ale yeast and temp range of 57-77. Then the instructions say to add yeast when wort is 78 lol. How could a company instruct a brewer to add yeast at 78 knowing that fermentation drives the temp up! These kits are often done by starting brewers who wouldn't know . This is why you hear people saying the first thing to do with these kits are to toss the instructions.

I did pitch yeast at 64F...I did read enough before hand to get as low as possible.

 

[bleme]

Charlie Papazian, the Godfather of homebrewing, coined the phrase "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew" (RDWHAHB). I personally love the research that goes into making my beer better, but you can't let the uncontrollable stuff stress you out.

 

[htims05]

so now the question I have is - do I let it sit for the full 14+ days or bottle whenever the airlock quits bubbling alltogether

 

[TallDan]

so now the question I have is - do I let it sit for the full 14+ days or bottle whenever the airlock quits bubbling alltogether

The airlock bubbles are not a reliable measure of fermentation progress. You need to take a gravity reading with a hydrometer, if you get the same reading a few days apart, it is done fermenting.

 

[bleme]

If I felt like gambling, I'd bottle on day 13 but more than likely I'd wait until day 21. The airlock is fun to watch, but it doesn't tell the whole story and can be fooled.

 

[Lefou]

I'm one of those laissez-faire people. It's French for "lazy".
Anything 1.050 or below for SG I will still wait three weeks before bottling - but that's me. Typically my routine waits until we have our first frost in NJ before I decide to do non-temperature controlled brewing in the house. Some people think 58F-60F in the house during fall and winter seems cold, but it's relative. It seems to work for me and my fermentations have been fairly reliable using glass carboys so far.

 

[TallDan]

I'm one of those laissez-faire people. It's French for "lazy".
Anything 1.050 or below for SG I will still wait three weeks before bottling - but that's me. Typically my routine waits until we have our first frost in NJ before I decide to do non-temperature controlled brewing in the house. Some people think 58F-60F in the house during fall and winter seems cold, but it's relative. It seems to work for me and my fermentations have been fairly reliable using glass carboys so far.

Same here. My last batch has been in the fermenter for a month now. Need to either cold crash it or just transfer to a keg.

 

[davidabcd]

Bottle it when you get back. Check that the gravity is stable then for two days in a row. I don't do that but it is the safest way.
For being new to brewing, 75F is fine. The beer will be fine. As far as the airlock, fermenting higher will cause it to finish in as little as 3-5 days so you're fine.

 

[camonick]

so now the question I have is - do I let it sit for the full 14+ days or bottle whenever the airlock quits bubbling alltogether

If you don’t already have these 2 tools, get them soon and it’ll be the best $10-$15 you can spend.

 

[htims05]

If you don’t already have these 2 tools, get them soon and it’ll be the best $10-$15 you can spend.
View attachment 647295 View attachment 647296

Have them. That’s how I measured a sg of 1.110 (before topping up with water....doh)

 

[camonick]

A rope tub full of water in this case...

I’m glad you provided a link for that, because I had no idea what a “rope tub” was.

 

[Kickass]

I’m going to go against the current here, under one condition: gravity has stabilized within the expected FG range of the yeast strain. Which, as warm as you fermented, I’d lay money down at Vegas that she’s done.

I rarely ferment a beer beyond 10 days. I can’t tell a noticeable difference. I have a 1.051 amber ale that was brewed 9 days ago and I’m kicking myself for not cold crashing it tonight.

 

[Jag75]

Yes once your beer is done it's safe to bottle. If you bottle without checking you are probably safe after 10 days . It just takes 5 minutes to check the gravity. That 5 minutes could save you from bottle bombs.

 

[Bobby_M]

When the beer is safe to bottle happens at least several days BEFORE it is sediment free. No harm in waiting a week longer.

 

[dwhite60]

I live in central NC. When I got started I made a LOT of pretty good beer at room temp meaning about 74F. Now, I do have some temp control and I make better beer.

I won a blue ribbon in a local competition for a pale ale I made using Wyeast 1056 and pretty much a 74F room temp. Judges said it was very clean.

You're starting out. You're not going to have everything you want to make the best beer possible but, you will make good beer. If you are stuck fermenting really warm look into Saisons. Great beers at room temp. Also, like someone else said, a change of yeast to a WLP-001 or a Fermentis US-05 will work better at higher temps.

Relax. Your beer will be fine! That first batch is always scary though.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[tellyho]

Your beer will be totally fine whenever you bottle it. I'm going to say that you won't notice any temperature related off flavors and you will go on to brew many beers and flout conventions like fermentation temperature and time length repeatedly.