Need some advice

[s89bunton]

So I just went out to my local brewing supply store to get all the essentials for brewing my own beer. The owner was very helpful and got me everything I need. He basically told me to follow the instructions with the ingredients kit and everything would go as planned. So I followed everything perfectly and all went well. It's been about a day and I got to reading some things online. One thing that I did not do was rapidly cool my wort after the 60 min boil. Nowhere in the instructions did it say to do so. I'm wondering if I ruined my whole batch by not doing this because everything I'm reading says this is essential. Just for the record the recipe I bought ingredients for is an amber ale. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me. I would rather cut my losses and buy more ingredients then wait a week to bottle and realize it's screwed up.
Thanks for the advice in advance

 

[mgsheriff]

How long did it take you to cool the wort down?

 

[ong]

First: wait three weeks to bottle, if at all possible. One week is a very short primary, especially if you're new to this.

Second: most important is probably the temperature you pitched yeast at, not so much how long it took to get to that temperature. If you took three or four hours to get down to around 70 degrees, then pitched yeast, no problem.

 

[s89bunton]

At least a few hours. I kept checking the temp every 30 minutes or so. My instructions just said to let the wort cool to 75 degrees

 

[s89bunton]

The temp was 75 degrees when I pitched the yeast. Also according to the instructions it says to wait one week to bottle. Then let them sit for 2 more weeks before drinking. Not going against what your saying just letting you know exactly what it says.

 

[Braufessor]

1 week is not enough before bottling. I would let it go 2-3 weeks for sure. most of the time instructions are sort of written to minimum time frames. A bit longer on the yeast will guarantee fermentation is complete and will also help the yeast clean up flavors produced during fermentation.

You should be fine with the temp. Ideally, you want to cool the wort quickly so that you can pitch the yeast fast. The longer you wait to pitch yeast, the more time is available for "other" organisms (bacteria/wild yeast) to get a foothold in your wort.

Look into getting "How to Brew" by John Palmer - great introductory book. This forum also can answer about any question you ever have.

 

[kh54s10]

You should be fine even with the extended cool down. There is a segment of brewers that let the wort cool down overnight then pitch the yeast in the morning.

Instructions are often notoriously vague. And timings listed are usually very short. It is often suggested that kit MFG's do this on purpose so they can sell another kit sooner.

Did you get a hydrometer? If not - get one asap. Going by time instead of knowing how the yeast are actually doing with the fermentation is just asking for trouble. One week is, IMO, absolute minimum for time to bottle. You should take gravity readings a few days after you no longer see any fermentation activity. Then 24 hours or so later take another reading. If they are the same and only if they are the same it is safe to bottle. I do all my fermentations at least 2 weeks and most 3 weeks before determining when to bottle or keg.

As to bottle conditioning, keep the bottles at room temperature, about 70ish for a minimum of 2 weeks then cool one for a day or two and try it. If it is not fully carbonated wait another week. I have had a few beers that were carbonated in 2 weeks but ALL of them tasted better at 3 weeks or longer.

 

[s89bunton]

So it sounds like the batch is still good. I did get a hydrometer so I will test it. Thanks for all the info