Should I bottle at day four?

[impatient]

I boiled my first brew Sunday. Fermentation took within 24 hours, eventually blowing the lid off, which I posted. Now the beer is doing nothing, but it smelled real good, so, I drank some of it. It tastes really good right now. The only thing I notice is suspended particulates. It is not real clear yet. If I let it clear, will I risk the taste getting worse or will it get better.

Should I bottle it right now? And what are the gains of waiting?

 

[Flattop]

NO!!!!!
And Hell NO

Did you measure the FG? What was the SG at start?
I'm betting the airlock stopped bubbling and you think it is finished, it has just slowed down, if you gave it a gentle nudge it would crank up again a little.
Wait until the SG is stable for 3 days, if you bottle in glass now there is a fair bet the glass will explode as there is too much sugar for the yeast to eat creating too much C02 causing the glass to expand (which it doesn't).

The gains for waiting, cleaner brew, yeast finishes it job, fine particles drop to the bottom and don't end up in the bottle.

 

[impatient]

Unfortunately, I have went cheap so far. I have no hydrometer. I have only spent $40 and I have enough DME, hops and yeast to get another one started after this one. Do you really need a hydrometer? I don't even have a thermometer

 

[JMSetzler]

When you think that you could have a problem with a lid popping off during fermentation, there are a couple things you can do to prevent it. If you don't have enough head space in the fermenter, this can be a problem, especially with higher gravity beers.

Instead of an air lock in your stopper, get a stopper that will hold a 3/8" plastic tubing, and run the other end of the tube into a jar of distilled water (sanitized jar). If you have excessive blow-off, it shouldn't clog up the tubing. Once the fermentation settles down a bit, you can replace the plastic tubing with a regular air lock.

The best bet is to use a fermenter that will hold at least a one or 1.5 gallons more than your batch size...

 

[JMSetzler]

Unfortunately, I have went cheap so far. I have no hydrometer. I have only spent $40 and I have enough DME, hops and yeast to get another one started after this one. Do you really need a hydrometer? I don't even have a thermometer

A hydrometer isn't required, but without it, you won't know for sure when your fermentation is complete and you won't be able to measure the alcohol potential or final content of your brew...

 

[billtzk]

No!

Beers are rarely completely finished in only four days. Most fermentation may be complete, but the yeast are still active. They are cleaning up your beer and disposing of fermentation byproducts that will make your beer taste bad.

The earliest you should bottle is after two hydrometer readings on successive days yields the same specific gravity. There are many good reasons for waiting considerably longer than that.

Your beer will be full of suspended protein and yeast and trub particles that will not have fallen out yet. If you bottle at four days, you'll end up with 1/8th to a 1/4 inch of crap at the bottom of your bottles, and you'll have a cloudy beer. If fermentation isn't really complete, which you can only ascertain from hydrometer readings, then you'll end up with bottle bombs. That's right, nasty exploding beer grenades.

Letting your beer age for two weeks minimum after fermentation is complete (as verified by hydro readings) before bottling will do wonders for the clarity and flavor of your beer.

Have patience.

This is what I recommend.

1) Primary fermentation for seven to ten days, regardless of a drop in airlock activity.
2) Rack from primary to secondary to get beer off the trub when fermentation is complete (as verified by hydrometer readings).
3) Bulk age no less than two weeks in secondary, and preferably 4 to 6 weeks.
4) Prime and bottle.
5) Drink a bottle at two weeks, three, four, five, and six weeks. Take notes and compare. You'll be amazed how much your beer will improve over that time.
6) Start drinking the beer after six weeks of bottle conditioning.

Some people consider step 2 to be optional. They just let their beers sit on the trub in primary for the equivalent full amount of time. Different strokes. I always rack to secondary as it has always worked well for me.

Whatever you do, do NOT bottle your beer after four days of primary fermentation. You'll come to regret it for one reason or another.

 

[billtzk]

Unfortunately, I have went cheap so far. I have no hydrometer. I have only spent $40 and I have enough DME, hops and yeast to get another one started after this one. Do you really need a hydrometer? I don't even have a thermometer

You should get a hydrometer and a thermometer, especially if you are the impatient type. Without those tools, you need to be a very patient brewer. Wait double the normal times before going from one step to the next.

 

[impatient]

Thanks for the advice.

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[winzerz]

NO WAY JOSE

 

[ifishsum]

You need to give it more time, especially if you don't have a hydrometer. Don't waste the batch by bottling too early, give it 3 weeks before bottling - if you want to use a secondary you can do that after 7-10 days or so and keep it there for two weeks before bottling. Either way the beer will taste much, much better if you give it at least three weeks before bottling, and it will be finished.

 

[winzerz]

in Yoda Voice "Teach you patience we will emmmm"

:rockin:

 

[dwf137]

honestly, if it's one of your first beers and you're not brewing multiple batches at a time, you will be very pleased with the results if you wait 7-10 days to bottle, then wait 2-3 weeks to drink.

pop a few at 2 weeks in the bottles and enjoy your brew. They'll only get better as the weeks go by.

When you do more batches in the future, start to consider getting a secondary fermenter. Not everyone can start out with 2 fermenters, 4 carboys, and 10000 bottles, or wait 2 months to drink a bottle of beer.


side note: 1 thread > 4 threads... consolidate.