okay to bottle????

[lpdb185]

i've had my stille nacht clone (my first homebrew) in the secondary for a little over a week now. in 7 days, it has only dropped from a tad under 1.020 to a tad over 1.019 (less than 1/1000th). it started at 1.088 OG, so i would think it's pretty much done. is it okay to bottle it now or does it have to completely stop before bottling?? thanks.

 

[TipsyDragon]

really you should of left it in the primary till the gravity stopped falling, typicaly two weeks. but with that said your beer is probably fine. your current gravity sounds about right. you should wait till the gravity stops falling befor you bottle or risk having bottle bombs. I know your in a rush but try to stay calm. the brew will need to sit for atleast two weeks after bottleing. the another week in the fridge befor drinking.

 

[lpdb185]

i had read that you should take gravity readings over a period of 2-3 days and make sure there were no changes in gravity. the thing is, over just a few days you really can't tell any change. i just noticed that the airlock will creep up at a barely noticable pace and release a tiny bit of CO2 about every 5-10 minutes and it has dropped less than 1/1000 in a week. but what you're saying is that it will completely stop this slow process at some point? should i just leave it another week and check it then?

 

[TipsyDragon]

yes it will eventually stop bubbling. there is no harm in letting it sit another week. although your probably close enough. sorry if i'm confusing you.

 

[lpdb185]

okay, i got ya. thanks for the help.
guess i'll just have to keep waiting

 

[malkore]

the thing is, over just a few days you really can't tell any change. i just noticed that the airlock will creep up at a barely noticable pace and release a tiny bit of CO2 about every 5-10 minutes....

The airlock movement really has nothing to do with fermentation.

And yes, you can see a change in hydrometer readings in three days. If you don't, and the gravity is at your estimated final gravity, THAT is how you know its done and ready to rack to secondary.

If its not done fermenting the gravity will drop, even if its only .001 difference...its changed and NOT DONE.