Questions about instructions

[slantedbolt]

I purchased a beer kit from AHS and it says 1 1/2 weeks approx in the fermenter. Its an Ale, and I have also read in the forums here that instructions are worthless.

I also read that if there is less then one bubble a minute in the air lock, thats a good time to rack and bottle.

Any suggestions?

 

[Revvy]

What those instruction usually leave out is the use of a hydrometer to PROVE that fermentation has indeed stopped in 7-10 days.

As most of us now realize, if fermentation can sometimes take 3 days to even begin, there is a high likely hood that it is not really done on the 7th day (come one we KNOW that the inexperience brewer will read 7-10 days and do it on the 7th, I did my first time, it's human nature.)

The kit and kilo or basic kit manufacturers are banking on the fact that they only have a limited window of sales to an individual before he/she moves on to the next step of brewing, either trying recipes in books or online, or going all grain. So the bank on 2-3 sales per new brewer before they discover how to brew beer better.

Also as you ALL know, as you became more experienced, this is a hobby about patience, but in this quick trunover society retailers know that something that takes time, would be less popular than something with a quick turn around time...So they know that even though the beer would be better if they told the n00b to wait even a week further, they want to make this hobby as "pain free" as possible....

They're not technically lying, IF the yeast takes hold within a few hours and finishes in a week, you can bottle a lower to moderate gravity beer in 10 days, as Orfy's 10 for 10 milds proves. They just leave off the fact that waiting even a week more makes for better beer.

If you've noticed, it's mostly the kit and kilo, brew in a bag or mr beer type kits that say to do it quickly. The better kit manufacturers usually tell you to wait, as well as suggest to use a hydrometer. I've noticed the the Norther Brewer Catalog gives the most accurate range of their beers based on gravity and style. They will say, for example, "primary for 14 days, secondary 3-6 months, bottle condition another 6" for a higer grav beer.

We have multiple threads about this all over the place, like this one https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ignore-instructions-do-not-bottle-after-5-10-days-78298/

You'll find that more and more recipes these days do not advocate moving to a secondary at all, but mention primary for a month, which is starting to reflect the shift in brewing culture that has occurred in the last 4 years, MOSTLY because of many of us on here, skipping secondary, opting for longer primaries, and writing about it. Recipes in BYO have begun stating that in their magazine. I remember the "scandal" it caused i the letters to the editor's section a month later, it was just like how it was here when we began discussing it, except a lot more civil than it was here. But after the Byo/Basic brewing experiment, they started reflecting it in their recipes.

Where fermentation is concerned, If you arbitrarily move your beer, like to follow the silly 1-2-3 rule (or instructions that say move after a week or when bubbles slow down), you will often interrupt fermentation. Because sometimes the yeast won't even begin to ferment your beer until 72 hours after yeast pitch, so if you rush the beer off the yeast on day 7 then you are only allowing the yeast a few days to work. The problem is that yeast don't know how to read so they seldom follow the instructions. They dance to their own tune and its seldom 4 x 4 Time.

This often leads to stuck fermentation because you have removed the beer from the very stuff you need to ferment your beer. The yeast....It can often lead to the same off flavors one gets if they undrpitch their yeast.

Besides, fermenting the beer is just a part of what the yeast do. If you leave the beer alone, they will go back and clean up the byproducts of fermentation that often lead to off flavors. That's why many brewers skip secondary and leave our beers alone in primary for a month. It leaves plenty of time for the yeast to ferment, clean up after themselves and then fall out, leveing our beers crystal clear, with a tight yeast cake.

 

[slantedbolt]

So if the hydrometer states the correct gravity, then its time to move on in the process? But leaving it an extra week will make a better beer?

With the current batch I brewed, which is my first, I have fermentation going with in 16 hours.

What I dont want, is to move the beer to soon, and end up with a beer that is not enjoyable.

 

[brew2enjoy]

Revvy, that is great advice. This is the kind of info a newb like myself enjoy reading on this site.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

Preface: I'm no pro. Done about 10-15 batches of ales. There are times when I want beer fast. There are times when I have beer and I'm willing to wait.

Basic Ales:
If I am willing to wait, 4 weeks in primary is best (some 'special' beers need longer but this is plenty for many 'basic' ales), then bottle or keg.

If I'm in a big hurry, I have been known to ferment two weeks, then keg or bottle. If there is no more foam on the surface of the beer, then you are ready to take a hydrometer reading. The beer may taste a little 'green' but in no way was it bad!

 

[mikeysab]

The correct gravity is the final gravity. The kit might say your grav should be 1.010, but another thing you'll learn is that's a rough estimate. It SHOULD go there, but it may not. it might finish 4, 6, or even 10 points higher. The correct gravity is the gravity that stays steady over 3 days. One thing you'll learn here is to not rush, and that nothing is set in stone. So even though your kit says 7 to 10 days, like Revvy said, they just want you to clear out your primary and throw another kit in there. Leave it for 4 weeks, let your yeast do it's thing, and you'll enjoy your beer, instead of being disappointed.