NEWBIE - Please Help Me Get Started!

[seabrew8]

Thanks so much. I'll be looking in to BIAB for sure. Right now I'm waiting on my first extract brew to be complete. It's got another week to ferment.

Question for all: should I leave it be for an additional week before bottling? It calls for two weeks, but I don't mind waiting longer if it could make it better. Or should I leave it an additional week after bottling? Or it won't make a difference?

Also, I wanted to take a pic to show how far off I was from the 5 gallon mark. I wrote the number 5 on the side of the fermenter to show where I should have been. I must have over boiled, but I hope it doesn't drastically change anything. View attachment 382280View attachment 382281

Not hitting exactly 5 gallon is no problem at all. You could of come out with 4 gallons and it still would be good beer. Just stronger.

If you seen it mentioned this is what people are referring to when they say, "dialing in my system."

I would bottle the beer up after 2 weeks myself. An extra week is fine but its not like you have cases of beer stocked up. And besides this is your first brew, try all kinds of schedules. I've bottled after 5-10 days for instance many times, find whats right for you.

One thing about homebrew there's not many dogmatic rules. Only - Water, Yeast and Fermentables.

 

[Ogri]

Also, I wanted to take a pic to show how far off I was from the 5 gallon mark. I wrote the number 5 on the side of the fermenter to show where I should have been. I must have over boiled, but I hope it doesn't drastically change anything. View attachment 382280View attachment 382281

One thing that strikes me about the upper one of those two pics is how much head space you have there.
If it were me I'd be looking at how to increase the volume of beer going into the fermentor by using more malt/fermentables/adjuncts and increasing hop additions to balance the higher level of sweetness from additional fermentables.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for all the tips!
PADave - great call on not using the full amount of sugar. I'm assuming the bag is for the 5 gallons I was supposed to brew before I boiled it out of there lol. I would have definitely made that mistake.

Seabrew8 - love having new jargon to learn. I will also be trying different schedules to see what I think, but for this batch, I'm really hoping it's drinkable so I'm going to let it sit for an additional week since I'm not in any rush (just anxious lol).

Ogri- I'm assuming there is so much headspace due to me boiling out that amount I did. The fermenter, I believe, is 7.5 gallons. It's not supposed to be full, is it? I originally started with 6 gallons of water, so that's what I was left with. I just assumed I over boiled which is why I was left with under the 5 gallon mark.

 

[BongoYodeler]

One thing that strikes me about the upper one of those two pics is how much head space you have there.
If it were me I'd be looking at how to increase the volume of beer going into the fermentor by using more malt/fermentables/adjuncts and increasing hop additions to balance the higher level of sweetness from additional fermentables.

That's an interesting observation, and as a new brewer it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. I'm kind of in the same boat since I use a Speidel 30L (7.9 gal) fermenter for my home brewing, and so far have only brewed 5 gallon extract batches. Of course into the fermenter is somewhat less than 5 gallons, leaving a lot of head space. Recently bought a 15 gallon kettle and going forward plan to do BIAB. I've downloaded and Beersmith and once I figure it out I'd like to brew maybe 6.5 or 7 gallon batches to help eliminate some of that dead space. I'm assuming Beersmith will recalculate recipes for the larger amount(?)

 

[mongoose33]

That's an interesting observation, and as a new brewer it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. I'm kind of in the same boat since I use a Speidel 30L (7.9 gal) fermenter for my home brewing, and so far have only brewed 5 gallon extract batches. Of course into the fermenter is somewhat less than 5 gallons, leaving a lot of head space. Recently bought a 15 gallon kettle and going forward plan to do BIAB. I've downloaded and Beersmith and once I figure it out I'd like to brew maybe 6.5 or 7 gallon batches to help eliminate some of that dead space. I'm assuming Beersmith will recalculate recipes for the larger amount(?)

Be very careful doing that. Headspace in a fermenter is necessary so there is space into which the krausen may form. If you have too much beer and too little headspace you will get a blowout, where the krausen goes up into the airlock and out of the fermenter.

My own fermenters are 6.5 gallons; I've never had a blowout but I've been very close. A different beer and yeast could have done it.

To guard against a blowout sometimes a blowoff tube is used instead of a normal airlock. This terminates in a bucket of Star-San or similar so as to maintain isolation from the surrounding atmosphere and the nasties that float around in it.

A large headspace in a fermenter isn't going to be a detriment; the yeast give off CO2 and the air in the headspace is gradually replaced with that CO2.

Think about it: in the old days, they used to ferment in open vats. Those had a lot of headspace too!

 

[PADave]

That's an interesting observation, and as a new brewer it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. I'm kind of in the same boat since I use a Speidel 30L (7.9 gal) fermenter for my home brewing, and so far have only brewed 5 gallon extract batches. Of course into the fermenter is somewhat less than 5 gallons, leaving a lot of head space. Recently bought a 15 gallon kettle and going forward plan to do BIAB. I've downloaded and Beersmith and once I figure it out I'd like to brew maybe 6.5 or 7 gallon batches to help eliminate some of that dead space. I'm assuming Beersmith will recalculate recipes for the larger amount(?)

The extra headspace is great, no worries about a blow off. I have both the Speidel 30L as well as the 7.5 gal Fermonster that Brett has. Been using them for my 5-5.5 gal brews for a while now. They do give you the option of increasing your batch size a little. Yes, you can use software to scale your recipe.

 

[Ogri]

I suppose I must be just too used to seeing pics of peoples' carbuoys filled closer to the transition and using blow off tubes. That and hating to see all that space being unused when some more beer could be there and going into bottles.

 

[martiniw2olives]

Thanks so much. I'll be looking in to BIAB for sure. Right now I'm waiting on my first extract brew to be complete. It's got another week to ferment.

Question for all: should I leave it be for an additional week before bottling? It calls for two weeks, but I don't mind waiting longer if it could make it better. Or should I leave it an additional week after bottling? Or it won't make a difference?

Also, I wanted to take a pic to show how far off I was from the 5 gallon mark. I wrote the number 5 on the side of the fermenter to show where I should have been. I must have over boiled, but I hope it doesn't drastically change anything. View attachment 382280View attachment 382281

Good enough, nice job. Now buy another fermenter and get another batch going.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Just to add a quick note to the fermentor-headspace part of the conversation, this amount of headspace is no problem in an unopened primary, thanks to the positive pressure of the CO2 produced by the yeast. However, if you let oxygen in by opening the top and then resealing (for example, if adding dry hops), you will quickly notice oxidation and off-flavors, so don't open this up until you're ready to bottle/keg.

 

[BrettCo124]

Should I have added water after transferring to the fermenter to reach the 5 gallon mark? It didn't say to do so in my directions. Just curious if I could have/should have because I'd obviously prefer more beer, but am not sure if I would have messed up the recipe/flavor.

Second fermonster was just delivered, so I'll be trying a new recipe shortly!

Another question I had is, the room I keep the fermenter in has become colder as the winter moves through. The fermenter used to be 60-62 degrees and the airlock was full of activity. Now, it's reading 58 degrees, and hardly any activity in the airlock.

I should note that it's now been a week and three days since brew day. I laid a fleece blanket over the fermenter to see if it could raise the temp at all. I have no idea if it would, but I figure I'd try.

Lastly, just purchased How To Brew. You are right once again, what an incredible source of information it contains!

 

[mongoose33]

Should I have added water after transferring to the fermenter to reach the 5 gallon mark? It didn't say to do so in my directions. Just curious if I could have/should have because I'd obviously prefer more beer, but am not sure if I would have messed up the recipe/flavor.

You could have. Depends on what you want to achieve. You'll have a higher-gravity beer if you don't, and ultimately more alcohol produced. The alcohol content will fall if you add water, as you're diluting the gravity and ultimately resulting alcohol content.

Second fermonster was just delivered, so I'll be trying a new recipe shortly!

Good luck!

Another question I had is, the room I keep the fermenter in has become colder as the winter moves through. The fermenter used to be 60-62 degrees and the airlock was full of activity. Now, it's reading 58 degrees, and hardly any activity in the airlock.

I should note that it's now been a week and three days since brew day. I laid a fleece blanket over the fermenter to see if it could raise the temp at all. I have no idea if it would, but I figure I'd try.

I'm guessing your beer is probably done fermenting. The only way to know for sure is to check your gravity reading and see where you are with it. If you check it a couple days later and it's the same, you're done. I don't tend to do that, I let it go 2 weeks and check, and if it's where (more or less) I expect it to be, I'll presume it's done.

Lastly, just purchased How To Brew. You are right once again, what an incredible source of information it contains!

A very good book. No particular need for a secondary fermenter, and it's no big deal if you let trub go into the fermenter, but it's a very good book to start with. He's got a knack for writing at the levels we need as new brewers, but yet he's not dumbing it down.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Yes, you can add top-up water to reach your target volume. You have the same total amount of sugar either way, so this actually helps you bring it down to the correct OG (which is just a measure of the ratio of sugar to water). Most extract kits' instructions are designed around a partial volume to which top-up water is added in the fermentor. Nevertheless, your current beer will be fine. It may just end up stronger than intended!

 

[BongoYodeler]

Just to add a quick note to the fermentor-headspace part of the conversation, this amount of headspace is no problem in an unopened primary, thanks to the positive pressure of the CO2 produced by the yeast. However, if you let oxygen in by opening the top and then resealing (for example, if adding dry hops), you will quickly notice oxidation and off-flavors, so don't open this up until you're ready to bottle/keg.

Hopefully this isn't considered threadjacking since it does add to the newbie questions that Brett started with.

I understand that there's a CO2 layer on top but if opening the top breaks the seal, allows oxygen in, and can cause off flavors then how have people been dry hopping IPAs all this time? I did read through Braufessor's thread on the NE style IPA so I understand there are those who dry hop in the keg, but what about those of use who are bottling?

BTW, for my next beer, (my first attempt at BIAB) I'm planning to tackle Yooper's Oatmeal Stout, so dry hopping doesn't come into play.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Hopefully this isn't considered threadjacking since it does add to the newbie questions that Brett started with.

I understand that there's a CO2 layer on top but if opening the top breaks the seal, allows oxygen in, and can cause off flavors then how have people been dry hopping IPAs all this time? I did read through Braufessor's thread on the NE style IPA so I understand there are those who dry hop in the keg, but what about those of use who are bottling?

BTW, for my next beer, (my first attempt at BIAB) I'm planning to tackle Yooper's Oatmeal Stout, so dry hopping doesn't come into play.

That's a very valid question. I have two answers for you.

1. In the case of a NEIPA , you are adding dry hops before fermentation is complete, so the yeast will continue to produce CO2 and push out excess oxygen. So, short of splashing around the beer as you add your dry hops, you are not likely to create problems.

2. In the case of dry hopping when fermentation is fully complete, you have some considerations. I dry hop in a purged keg, so as to bypass the risk of oxidation more easily. However, if you want to dry hop in the primary, you want to a) minimize the amount of time that the fermentor is open while adding the hops, to limit the amount of gas exchange between your CO2 layer and the outside oxygen, and b) ease the hops in gently so as not to introduce any more oxygen than absolutely necessary (splashing and other agitation can cause problems). I do NOT recommend secondary for dry hopping, as you add the extra step of racking from one vessel to another, which will almost certainly introduce oxygen, unless done under pressure to a purged vessel (at which point, you are just going into the keg, pretty much). As far as bottling, again, try to minimize splashing, and cap your bottles as they are filled, rather than letting them sit open to the air for several minutes as you fill other bottles. My method when I was bottling was to have my fiancée fill the bottles and for me to cap them as they were passed to me. If you don't have a two man team, I'd say fill only one or two at a time, then cap, then continue.

EDIT: Also, on an unrelated note, you're going to love that oatmeal stout!

 

[PADave]

Another question I had is, the room I keep the fermenter in has become colder as the winter moves through. The fermenter used to be 60-62 degrees and the airlock was full of activity. Now, it's reading 58 degrees, and hardly any activity in the airlock.

I should note that it's now been a week and three days since brew day. I laid a fleece blanket over the fermenter to see if it could raise the temp at all. I have no idea if it would, but I figure I'd try.

Your fermentation is for the most part probably done. I'm a firm believer in the theory of letting the yeast "clean up" after they are done fermenting, which is one of the reasons I do 3 week primary. But now that initial fermentation is finished, you might want to raise the temp to the upper 60's or even 70 degrees to let the yeast finish. Easiest way would be to move the fermenter to a warmer spot in your house. At this point there is no heat being produced, so a blanket isn't going to do anything.

 

[motosapiens]

Hopefully this isn't considered threadjacking since it does add to the newbie questions that Brett started with.

I understand that there's a CO2 layer on top but if opening the top breaks the seal, allows oxygen in, and can cause off flavors then how have people been dry hopping IPAs all this time? I did read through Braufessor's thread on the NE style IPA so I understand there are those who dry hop in the keg, but what about those of use who are bottling?

I have never experienced any oxidized flavor in any beer i've made, even several months after bottling, and I've been racking to secondary and dry-hopping for years, which is surely one of the more effective ways to introduce oxygen into beer. I think many of the things homebrewers worry about are not worth as much worry as people think. Browsing through the different exbeeriments at brulosophy.com seems to confirm this.

http://brulosophy.com/2016/12/19/po...normal-vs-high-oxidation-exbeeriment-results/

even so, just to simplify my life, i'm going to start skipping secondary for everything except NE style pale ales that get 2 separate dry-hop additions, and just dryhop in primary after fermentation is complete. I just got a couple fermonsters, so it will be easy to drop hops in without letting any significant amount of oxygen in..... if it mattered.

 

[BrettCo124]

I will start adding water to meet my 5 gallon mark from this point on. I'll also bring my fermenter in to a warmer room for the remainder of the time I'm letting it sit for (I'm on one week and four days I believe, so I think I'll leave it for another week and a half).

Can't wait to dive in to the book and learn more of the science behind the process. Next purchase: outside burner.

Any advice on a burner that can handle 10 gallons? I don't mind putting out the money for good equipment, so if one is more popular than the other (for whatever reason), I'd get that one.

 

[mongoose33]

I will start adding water to meet my 5 gallon mark from this point on. I'll also bring my fermenter in to a warmer room for the remainder of the time I'm letting it sit for (I'm on one week and four days I believe, so I think I'll leave it for another week and a half).

Can't wait to dive in to the book and learn more of the science behind the process. Next purchase: outside burner.

Any advice on a burner that can handle 10 gallons? I don't mind putting out the money for good equipment, so if one is more popular than the other (for whatever reason), I'd get that one.

I use a burner that has 54,000 BTUs, and I do batches that have as much as 6.5 to 6.75 gallons to start. It's barely enough to do that, so whatever burner you get, if you want to boil 10 gallons, go bigger than that.

And if it were a 10-gallon batch, you'd actually be boiling probably 12 gallons or so.

There are burners out there that do 72,000 BTUs which isn't bad--33 percent higher than mine. But for 10 gallons+, go higher. I'm saving my pennies for a Blichmann Hellfire Burner--140,000 BTUs on high, 80,000 BTUs on low--though you can actually go lower than that to get the right boil.

Only problem w/ the Blichmann is it's $150 w/o the leg extensions. But in the end, I'm going to get one.

 

[BrettCo124]

Great looking burner. Just checked it out. Thanks for the advice.

I was going to move the fermenter in to a warmer room (it's 58 degrees currently in the room it's in), but when I lifted the fermenter, i noticed it made a sound like it was dripping some water back in to the fermenter. I used a little star San in it initially, so I'm not too concerned about that. But what I noticed when I put it back down is that it no longer bubbles out of the airlock anymore. It was doing about one per 30 seconds to a minute. Now, it's not doing anything and I'm afraid I messed something up.

Any thoughts? Should I be concerned? Here is a pic of how much water is left in my airlock. It's lower than the "fill line". Is that an issue?View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1483316420.167890.jpg

 

[jrodmfish]

Great looking burner. Just checked it out. Thanks for the advice.

I was going to move the fermenter in to a warmer room (it's 58 degrees currently in the room it's in), but when I lifted the fermenter, i noticed it made a sound like it was dripping some water back in to the fermenter. I used a little star San in it initially, so I'm not too concerned about that. But what I noticed when I put it back down is that it no longer bubbles out of the airlock anymore. It was doing about one per 30 seconds to a minute. Now, it's not doing anything and I'm afraid I messed something up.

Any thoughts? Should I be concerned? Here is a pic of how much water is left in my airlock. It's lower than the "fill line". Is that an issue?View attachment 382824

Don't worry about it. Airlock activity is a very fickle sign of fermentation.

 

[BrettCo124]

Jrodmfish - thanks, I'm trying not to worry lol. I'm just concerned that it may not be operating properly anymore.

Reason for my concern is, I noticed it would still bubble one time about every 45 seconds or so. Now, it's doing nothing since I moved it.

I'm going to sit by it and wait for it to raise. I already waited for quite a while with no activity, but I'll try again since it would be the only way for me to know I didn't mess it up.

 

[BrettCo124]

I take it back! Lol, it's doing it again. Just checked. The bubbles have returned. I was concerned for a minute there.

 

[motosapiens]

thanks, I'm trying not to worry lol.

it appears to me that you are completely failing in that attempt.

Don't worry. have a beer. illiterate savages were able to brew beer, so i'm sure you can too, even tho each batch presents another learning opportunity.

 

[mongoose33]

Great looking burner. Just checked it out. Thanks for the advice.

I was going to move the fermenter in to a warmer room (it's 58 degrees currently in the room it's in), but when I lifted the fermenter, i noticed it made a sound like it was dripping some water back in to the fermenter. I used a little star San in it initially, so I'm not too concerned about that. But what I noticed when I put it back down is that it no longer bubbles out of the airlock anymore. It was doing about one per 30 seconds to a minute. Now, it's not doing anything and I'm afraid I messed something up.

Any thoughts? Should I be concerned? Here is a pic of how much water is left in my airlock. It's lower than the "fill line". Is that an issue?View attachment 382824

Not an issue. A little star-san never hurt anything. As far as it stopping bubbling, by doing what you did, you eliminated whatever minor positive pressure existed in the fermenter. It may start up again, or it may just be CO2 offgassing from the beer. Nothing to be concerned with.

 

[BrettCo124]

Lol, great point. I know I'm worrying too much, but It's my first batch ever, and everything i read up on is always talking about how simple it is to completely ruin it.

Thanks mongoose! I'm done worrying lol. I'm going to cheers my first beer to all of you, no doubt, for all of your help and advice.

 

[skraeling]

@brettco124


Hell... I sucked up almost a quarter of a jar of star san into my wort before i pitched my yeast haha. It was hot and was cooling down and forgot the whole temp / pressure / airtight container relationship lol.

Meh no biggie just pitched my yeast next morning and it was ripping right along less than 24hr later.

One does also not need a super crazy burner to boil large volumes either. Ive used this for literally years.

Bayou Classic KAB4 High Pressure Banjo Cooker maybe 70 bucks on amazon. It doesnt take expensive equipment to do what needs done usually.

You can make plenty of mistakes and make very drinkable even good beer. Heck sometimes i miss volumes, gravitys, temps... whatever it will still be beer. maybe not the beer im shooting for, but this is all about the chase its not my job half the fun is just bsing with my cobrewer for a few hours talking and making beer.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Lol, great point. I know I'm worrying too much, but It's my first batch ever, and everything i read up on is always talking about how simple it is to completely ruin it.

Thanks mongoose! I'm done worrying lol. I'm going to cheers my first beer to all of you, no doubt, for all of your help and advice.

Brett kick back have a beer, and don't worry, you're making beer not world peace. As I mentioned earlier you're beer will be good, in fact I think you're going to be surprised how good.

PS: I recently bought the Blichmann burner. More Beer had them for $10 off once they started selling the Hellfire. I also have a gas line running to my back patio that my gas grill is hooked up to, so I'll be able to go natural gas and forgo the LP tanks. A little less BTUs but it should still work. Can't wait to use it.

 

[gromitdj]

I will start adding water to meet my 5 gallon mark from this point on......

If I may offer some advice; I would be less concerned with volume into the fermenter, and focus my efforts on hitting the expected O.G. Performing a couple of brews and focusing on hitting numbers will allow you to learn your system. Keeping notes of your boil off rate and vessel dead space will have you hitting both volume and gravity targets regularly.

 

[seabrew8]

it appears to me that you are completely failing in that attempt.

Don't worry. have a beer. illiterate savages were able to brew beer, so i'm sure you can too, even tho each batch presents another learning opportunity.

Savages? Pretty harsh man. They probably worked together better then most in the western world.

 

[jan_b19]

Lol, great point. I know I'm worrying too much, but It's my first batch ever, and everything i read up on is always talking about how simple it is to completely ruin it.

Thanks mongoose! I'm done worrying lol. I'm going to cheers my first beer to all of you, no doubt, for all of your help and advice.

Actually you'd have to do a lot to totally ruin it. As long as you remember to clean and sanitize anything the beer will ever touch there's not a whole lot you can mess up.
I've had fermentations that were barely noticeable and I had fermentations with vigorous airlock activity. Always had good beer in the end.
When you remove the airlock or lift the fermentor it's normal if there's a few less bubbles.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks all! How about oxygen? When is introducing oxygen bad?

 

[skraeling]

Thanks all! How about oxygen? When is introducing oxygen bad?

anytime post fermentation is the "rule" as it were. As you will be bottle conditioning it really wont be much of an issue for you as any o2 left in the bottles will be taken up as they carbonate from the now woken up yeasties (priming sugar).

frankly I at least drink my beer so quick or give it away fast enough that no matter what I do, i don't notice any oxidation issues.

minimizing good, will your beer suck if you dont? nope lol.

 

[JordanKnudson]

I will just go ahead and offer a dissenting opinion on the effect of oxygen (although as long as you follow the basic steps suggested in this thread and use common sense, you shouldn't have anything to worry about). A couple folks have said that they don't notice oxidation in their beers, and at least one person has suggested that oxygen-reducing practices are really more important for the pro brewers. Well, let me tell you, I managed to oxidize two of my early-ish IPAs and it was most definitely noticeable. Now, perhaps I have a strong sensitivity to it (as I have noticed this in one or two local offerings from newly opened commercial breweries, although they have subsequently resolved the problem), but the aroma is something like a damp paper bag, and I find it utterly distracting and unpleasant. It is especially pronounced in the retronasal perception, and it makes me not want to swallow the beer at all. It might sound like I'm just being dramatic, but this is one of those beer flaws that I find really bothersome to my palate, and I'd just as soon take the basic precautions to avoid it.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for your input. It's obvious that oxidizing beer is problematic. I certainly don't want my first batch of beer to taste like a wet paper bag lol.

I've been pretty careful so far. When I moved the fermenter, it's plastic, so i lightly squeezed it to lift. When I did that, it forced some of the water from the airlock in to the fermenter. When I released the fermenter, it made that sound like it was slurping some air in (you can picture what I mean if you imagine squeezing a tube of shampoo and then releasing it - it would slightly suck air back in). I didn't know if that's the amount of oxygen that would be problematic.

When I go to bottle, won't everything be exposed to oxygen until it's sealed in a bottle?

Also, I've read conflicting opinions: when I bottle, is two weeks enough time to get an ale to carbonate? I'm leaving it 3 weeks, untouched, in the fermenter, and two full weeks in the bottles - I'm even chilling the bottles for an additional 2-3 days before drinking.

I'm having people over on that weekend, and I'd like to obviously offer them my beer if it doesn't taste like s**t. What's your thoughts on the timing?

 

[BongoYodeler]

Your plan sounds fine to me, though hopefully others will chime in. For what it's worth on my two beers I left them in the fermenter for three weeks. After bottling the first beer, a brown ale, it was fully carbed within two weeks. My second beer, an IPA, I checked a bit sooner, after 10 days, and it too was carbed.

 

[PADave]

Here's a tip for you. Next time put your Fermonster into a milk crate before you fill it. Makes moving it so much easier.

 

[JordanKnudson]

When I go to bottle, won't everything be exposed to oxygen until it's sealed in a bottle?

Yes. This is pretty much inevitable when you bottle, but if you've treated it well prior to that point, you will be okay. You should only get a little oxygen in there, and the yeast will scrub some (but not all) of it out as it carbonates the beer. An unavoidable step like this one should just illustrate that it's important to take simple precautions during other parts of the process where it is possible. However, it does not mean that your beer is doomed!

Also, I've read conflicting opinions: when I bottle, is two weeks enough time to get an ale to carbonate? I'm leaving it 3 weeks, untouched, in the fermenter, and two full weeks in the bottles - I'm even chilling the bottles for an additional 2-3 days before drinking.

I'm having people over on that weekend, and I'd like to obviously offer them my beer if it doesn't taste like s**t. What's your thoughts on the timing?

Your time frame sounds good. 2 weeks is what most kit recipes will estimate for carbing in the bottle. This depends somewhat on the yeast variety and on the conditions under which carbonation is happening (temperature, abv, yeast health, etc). If those conditions are average, and the yeast is not a sluggish strain (I don't remember what you used, but most first-time brews don't tend to be wacky styles with finicky yeast), 2 weeks is a reasonable expectation. Pop one open before you chill them down and see if they've fully carbonated.

Also, provided you don't need those extra couple days to finish carbonation, sticking them in the fridge for 2-3 days is a smart idea, as it will help the yeast fall out of suspension so that the beer you pour will taste like you intended it to, instead of like rising bread dough!

 

[motosapiens]

Also, I've read conflicting opinions: when I bottle, is two weeks enough time to get an ale to carbonate? I'm leaving it 3 weeks, untouched, in the fermenter, and two full weeks in the bottles - I'm even chilling the bottles for an additional 2-3 days before drinking.

I'm having people over on that weekend, and I'd like to obviously offer them my beer if it doesn't taste like s**t. What's your thoughts on the timing?

It only takes an hour or so to chill bottles, so I can't see any good reason to do it for a few days, although it might make them *slightly* clearer.

regarding carbonation, it seems to depend alot on temperature. At 70-75 degrees, my ales carbonate pretty quickly, and are drinkable at 1 week, although they continue to get better for another 10 days or so after that.

At 63-65 (the normal winter temp of my spare bedroom) they are still kinda flat after 1 week, but by 2 or 2 1/2 weeks pretty much done.

I always bottle a handful of 12 oz bottles, and I'll typically try a sample at 7-10 days just to see how it's coming along. I find it interesting to track the development of the beer as it conditions and matures. Note that I also sample when racking to secondary, and when bottling.

 

[PADave]

Also note that the beer might be carbed, but it might not be quite ready. I always try a bottle after one week. Usually has some carbonation but not good. After 2 weeks, I would call it carbonated, drinkable. But usually the change from week 2 to week 3-4 is the biggest. At that point IMO is when they start to get good. Of course this depends on the style and varies with every brew. I have a stout that I bottled 4 months ago. Up until now I was disappointed with it. Had a couple over the holidays and it's becoming quite good.

 

[BrettCo124]

This is really interesting. Thanks for everyone chiming in. Wow, this thread is overloaded with knowledge and tips.

I'm looking forward to trying a beer. I'll most likely try one a week-in, then two week, then I'll have them all ready for the party which would be 16 days after bottling. We shall see!

Right now, there is a disgusting looking inch or so of crap at the bottom of the fermenter, but some good lookin beer right above it.