question on first ag

[kansasbrew]

I just brewed my first ag. I tried Ed Wort's haus pale ale https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-

He says it ferments fast and he crash cools and kegs in 7 to ten days. What would this mean for bottling? Should I rack to a secondary (when and how long) or just bottle after ten days?

 

[manticle]

Bottle when it's ready. That means when it's finished fermenting rather than any set time limit (eg stable gravity etc).

Extra time conditioning afterwards will help.

When kegging you can drop out the yeast with a cold environment and force carbonate. With bottling you want the yeast to have finished its work then give it a tiny bit more for carbonation. Too much and the bottles will explode. Stable gravity within expected FG range is the only way to ensure ferment is over. Number of days means nothing.

 

[blkandrust]

I just brewed my first ag. I tried Ed Wort's haus pale ale https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-

He says it ferments fast and he crash cools and kegs in 7 to ten days. What would this mean for bottling? Should I rack to a secondary (when and how long) or just bottle after ten days?

I would def recommend secondary..I no longer bottle but i still feel a week or 2 of secondary is highly beneficial...IIRC when I used to bottle I used to follow the 1-2-3 rule...1 week primary 2 week secondary 3 wk in bottle...I have however left a batch in primary for over 3 weeks...turned out great..Experiment and find out which you prefer..There is no wrong way...I wouldnt leave beer in primary over 3 wks though,as it may develop off flavors due to mutation...

 

[kansasbrew]

Thanks for the help. Sounds like a plan. So, I guess I'll check after fermentation seems to stop. Get a gravity reading and check again a couple days later. If stable, I'll rack to a secondary and let it sit a couple weeks.

 

[jldc]

I would def recommend secondary..I no longer bottle but i still feel a week or 2 of secondary is highly beneficial...IIRC when I used to bottle I used to follow the 1-2-3 rule...1 week primary 2 week secondary 3 wk in bottle...I have however left a batch in primary for over 3 weeks...turned out great..Experiment and find out which you prefer..There is no wrong way...I wouldnt leave beer in primary over 3 wks though,as it may develop off flavors due to mutation...

A full month in primary is fine and two months is probably ok. There are tons of reports on HBT of people leaving beer in primary for a much longer time than is traditional without any reports (really none at all) of any problems. As you said, there is no wrong way (except maybe to bottle to soon).

I would primary for 3-4 weeks then bottle. I usually keg, and I have enough beer to be patient, so when I brew Ed's pale (and most other brews), I primary for 3 weeks, then keg and leave at room temp for 3 weeks, then force carb and serve.