Rack/Bottle/Condition Schedule - Session Ale

[Wooden]

Hey, I recently made a session ale (kind of a cross between a blonde and a pale ale) -

(Under 1.045 O.G., 18 IBU, fermented high 60's with S-04)

It's a pretty simple light ale, with some late addition American aroma hops to get some hops flavor without huge bitterness.

Wondering how fast I can get this bottled without sacrificing the quality of the taste.

If it makes sense, I would be OK with pushing the schedule a little on the early side to have the first few ready to drink, if it would not permanently impact the potential of the beer once aged (I don't go through a 5 gal batch real fast or have parties, but I am really excited to drink this).

Right now, the beer has been in the primary for 1 week. Fermentation w S-04 started quickly, less than 8hr. Temp never exceeded 73 deg.

Was wondering if I could just bottle this after primary activity subsides and bottle condition say 1 week at 70 deg (so beer would be 14 days old at first sip) and bottle condition the rest for longer as needed.

Basically, assuming the beer carbonates sufficiently, what I am getting at: would a schedule of

1 wk primary/3 wks bottle conditioning

produce beer of comparable quality as beer fermented:

3 wk primary/1 wk bottle conditioning?

Or is there a reason that I absolutely have to leave it in the primary at least 2 wk?

For what it's worth, I don't care that much about the clarity of the beer, just flavor.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

I prefer to leave the beer in the primary on the yeast cake at least 2 weeks to clean up any off flavors. Then at least 2 weeks in the bottle to get carbonated and clarify. You can go faster. Try it and see if you like the results. It would be best if you were using a highly flocculant yeast like Nottingham or Fermentis SO4 otherwise you could end up with too much yeast in the bottles. Also make sure the final gravity is stable for a few days to avoid bottle bombs. Taste the samples. If they seem off wait a few more days then bottle.

 

[AgBrew12]

My first batch was a session ale last fall and I was also eager to taste my beer. I rushed things a bit also because I knew I would be visiting family and wanted to be able to take them a few bottles.

I will have to check my notes later, but I believe my timeline was,

1 week primary, 12 days secondary, 10-12 days bottled.

The beer was OK initially, but I definitely noticed it tasted much better a month after bottling. The off flavors dissipated with time.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Biggest issue is ensuring the yeast is done to avoid bottle bombs.

I am not sure how your temp control was. If it was excellent, I wouldn't hesitate to bottle after 1.5 weeks on a low gravity beer with a quick yeast like S04. That might be pushing it, but if you did everything else right and you want your beer now, go for it.

 

[Wooden]

Thanks guys. So I did use S-04. I wouldn't say my temperature control was great (temp control is thermostat) but the beer definitely stayed within it's range, did not exceed 72F, and did not get too cold either. Fermentation also started really quickly on this beer. Pitched before bed, and in the morning had a healthy layer of Krausen needing the blow off tube an hour later.

Tasted the beer and did not taste that good to me! Watery, and bitter, (ok, it is a session ale) but an estimated IBUs of 20 or less.

But it didn't taste bad, like off flavors. It had a "Budweiser" taste to me, which I wasn't crazy about, but I don't think it constitutes an off flavor. Probably a product of my choices of ingredients, or rather the lack thereof. I may have to hit it with some dry hops.

At any rate, I have resisted temptation and have left the beer alone.

It's been 9 long days!

Cheers,

Wooden

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks guys. So I did use S-04. I wouldn't say my temperature control was great (temp control is thermostat) but the beer definitely stayed within it's range, did not exceed 72F, and did not get too cold either. Fermentation also started really quickly on this beer. Pitched before bed, and in the morning had a healthy layer of Krausen needing the blow off tube an hour later.

Tasted the beer and did not taste that good to me! Watery, and bitter, (ok, it is a session ale) but an estimated IBUs of 20 or less.

But it didn't taste bad, like off flavors. It had a "Budweiser" taste to me, which I wasn't crazy about, but I don't think it constitutes an off flavor. Probably a product of my choices of ingredients, or rather the lack thereof. I may have to hit it with some dry hops.

At any rate, I have resisted temptation and have left the beer alone.

It's been 9 long days!

Cheers,

Wooden

This sounds to me like the flavor of a young beer. Give it some time and it is likely to come around.

 

[Likefully]

This sounds to me like the flavor of a young beer. Give it some time and it is likely to come around.

Yip I agree.

I made a light beer, the OG was 1.035 and it came out at 3% - i bottled it quite quickly and tried the first bottles after about 8 days of bottle conditioning. From the start the beer tasted good and because it was light and hoppy I didn't expect it to get much better, but it got WAY better about a month after it was bottled.

 

[VApatriot]

As a home brewer who only bottles, I learned along time ago that time and patience are your friends. When I first started brewing I couldn't hardly wait to try the first bottle of a batch. Now I usually wait at least six weeks but usually 2 months before even trying the first one. Having some stock in your pipeline definitely helps.

 

[tennesseean_87]

As a home brewer who only bottles, I learned along time ago that time and patience are your friends. When I first started brewing I couldn't hardly wait to try the first bottle of a batch. Now I usually wait at least six weeks but usually 2 months before even trying the first one. Having some stock in your pipeline definitely helps.

If that works for you, go ahead. I've found that some beers (not all), especially some session and lighter beers are excellent fresh. Lots of fresh hop aroma is on its way out after all that time. For hoppy beers I often try to go grain to glass in 4 weeks. I'll still have plenty left later, but I like to get started early.

 

[Wooden]

So guys,

Lots of good points taken, thank you. I went to LHBS, and bought a pack of hops to give me a reason to resist temptation to bottle.

So, it has been 10 (or 11?) days now, meaning it will be at least 3 more days, but more likely 5-7 or so.

It's not so much that it NEEDED dry hops, as I need to resist temptation. But it WILL be more awesome with the dry hops, and if time was not a factor I would have done it that way anyway. So, you all have basically steered me back on course!

Cheers!