New brewer with questions

[blouic]

Good day,
I'm a new brewer now on my second brew and have one major question.
How do you know that your brew is ready to bottle.
My first batch was probably bottled too soon because of the temperature at which I made my beer using ale yeast. For my second brew, I'm using a lagger yeast and after a week I racked to my secondary fermenter (glass carboy). It's been 5 days that's its been in the secondary fermenter and there's very little activity (the top is completely clear and very little co2 being released)
I know I should wait longer before bottling, but how can I know the optimal time to do so. Not a rule of thumb (1-2-3 I read in an feed) but a way to make sure.
My og was 1.041 and at racking 1.001. Can I use the gravity? Do I wait until there is 0 co2 emanating from my carboy?
Help please

 

[jdauria]

Gravity at racking was 1.001? Wow, that is low. Will have a very dry beer.

Did you use a recipe? Usually it will give you an estimated final gravity and suggested time to let it ferment and to sit in secondary if needed. If you reach they end of that suggested time, then you want to take gravity readings a couple days in a row, if the gravity doesn't change, then it's ready to bottle.

However, what kind of beer are you making? You mention using lager yeast, if you are actually making a lager, you want to let the beer "lager" for several weeks, even months depending on style at temps in mid 30's to allow it to clear. If it was an ale, usually after 7-10 days in primary, your beer is probably ready to bottle, but people use a secondary (or just keep in primary longer) to allow the beer to clear.

 

[BrewerinBR]

Welcome to Home Brew Talk -- and the passion of home brewing

The best way to determine if fermentation is complete is by using specific gravity. When the gravity reading is consist for multiple test (3) over several days (5) then you can be certain that fermentation has completed.

Depending on the Original Gravity and the yeast used this could take 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days and even as much as 35 days.

Lager Yeast will take much longer than ale yeast because lager yeast ferments cooler as in under 55F. Some lager yeasts ferment as low 48F. These yeast take there time up to 56 days (8 weeks). Then lagers need to be "lagered" or "stored" cold in the 35F to 45F for 35 to 42 days.

For myself I rarely test any brew prior to 21 days. I use buckets and place the ales in the ale closet and do not touch it for 7 days when I replace blow off tube with airlock. After that I ignore it for 14 more days at least. Since I have sufficient fermenters I allow ales to sit for 28 days then I dry hop (if needed) and then cold crash in my cold closet. Lagers I leave at 49F to 50F for 42 days before testing.

I do not use a secondary for ales after a 28 day fermentation and 5 days cold crash I rack to bottle bucket and bottle. Lagers I will use a secondary and rack them off the yeast after 42 days and then let then sit at 39F for another 42 days then bottle.

Other brewers will have different styles and processes and procedures some will secondary and some will not.

In your first case 1.041 to 1.001 this is a very high attenuation and I am fairly certain fermentation was complete so you did not bottle too early.
The most serious problem with bottling early is to much active fermentation in the bottle causing high carbonation which can result in bottle failure due to high pressure. Bottle Bombs are scary, have the experience of witnessing a bottle bomb and it sounded like a gun going off in the closet. Glass in the ceiling and a mess to clean up. Scary thing to carry the rest to the fridge to get them cold ASAP.

 

[blouic]

I was very surprised with the 1.001 myself, re-check and it is accurate within .001.
It is a lagger yeast, but I was told to keep it around 40. I'm at 55f
I used the lagger yeast since at 55f is a bit too low for a ale yeast (or so I was told)
Other than clearing, what is the purpose of laggering?
I did follow a recipe for a carslberg clone that I found on this website, I just substituted some of the sugar with honey.
I just rechecked the recipe and it indicates racking gravity at 1006 but no final gravity and no timeline

 

[blouic]

Actually, most recipes I find don't indicate those informations, that's why I'm asking

 

[BrewerinBR]

The purpose of lagering to allow the beer to age and mellow and smooth out off flavors. This cold aging is one of the reasons lagers are noted for their crisp and clean flavor.
40F is pretty low even for a lager yeast. Storing or lagering at 40F is good. Fermenting at 55F is good. What yeast did you use?

 

[blouic]

Wyeast 2042 Danish lagger

And to get back to the original point; the only way to confirm that fermentation is done and that you can bottle is the gravity, correct?