Should I bottle this weekend or next?

[ToddStark]

First beer for me. It is a kit called "Old American Ale". Yesterday it had been in the fermenter for 12 days and my instructions told me to check the gravity. My current Grav is at 1.007. Instructions state goal is 1.022 or less.

To me this would indicate I am done and ready to bottle but in the next paragraph my instructions state "When the finishing gravity has been reached and the beer has been in the fermenter for 16 days" then you can start your bottling. 16 days would put me out to Monday and I wouldn't be able to bottle until the following weekend.

How important would you say it is to stick to the 16 day instructions? Should I be fine bottling at 1.007 if I am only at 14 days?

Guide me, ALL KNOWLEDGEABLE BREW MASTERS!

P.S. I have a side note on my instructions that state "Beer should be bottled as soon as possible after it has been in the fermenter for 16 days." Any longer and you will have to transfer to a secondary fermenter to avoid off flavors.

 

[JonM]

Eh, the kit instructions about "wait X days and then do Y" are pretty much useless. Just ignore them and bottle when the beer is ready.

Having said that though ... while it sounds like it's probably done (and I often keg two weeks after brewday) for your first batch, just take your time. Three weeks in the fermenter is good. If it is done, another week will let a little more yeast settle out resulting in a clearer beer. I'd say, unless you have some all-consuming Super Bowl plans next weekend, just let it sit another week.

ETA: And that stuff about secondary and off-flavors is a bunch of hooey. Kit instructions always seem to include that "ye olde tyme" nonsense about getting the beer off the yeast and autolysis, etc. Just ignore it.

 

[unionrdr]

That last line no longer applies, since we have higher quality yeast these days. It sounds like the instructions were written by an old school home brewer, back when they feared autolysis? When you test for an FG number, wait until the 3rd day, then test it again. If the numbers match, it's done fermenting. I then give it another 3-7 days to clean up any by-products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bulk prime & bottle. Most kit instructions are off with regard to real-world time lines. You'll find better info here.

 

[tezcatlipoca]

You can bottle either weekend without having issues. I wouldn't even say you need stable FG numbers since you're sitting at 1.007. It is done.

 

[unionrdr]

The FG test numbers have to be stable, regardless of whether high or low. That depends on the style & individual brew.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm fermenting an English Special Bitter variant right now, and as of today it's been in the fermenter for 21 days. I'll do something with it this weekend (keg and/or bottle), but as I've learned, there's a benefit to leaving it in the fermenter longer as opposed to shorter times--up to a point. I'd have no problem going another week or even more. If I were going to age this beer a long time, I rack to a secondary, but I'm going right to packaging.

The short version is to wait until next weekend to bottle. It'll be fine.

 

[ToddStark]

Greatly appreciate all of you taking the time to share your knowledge on this topic. Believe I will wait and bottle in another week before the game.

Thanks again folks!

 

[sky4meplease]

All good advice here.
May I ask how you measure gravity?
1.007 seems pretty low for an Ale kit.
A temperature compensated hydrometer reading would be preferable to measuring with a refractometer.

 

[ViciousFishes]

Next weekend. I always advise to wait a bit before you start procrastinating.

 

[ToddStark]

All good advice here.
May I ask how you measure gravity?
1.007 seems pretty low for an Ale kit.
A temperature compensated hydrometer reading would be preferable to measuring with a refractometer.

I just used a simple hydrometer. I never saw anything on the package about it being temperature compensating?

 

[Elkobrewer]

One more week in the fermenter won't hurt a thing

 

[Wash1]

I just used a simple hydrometer. I never saw anything on the package about it being temperature compensating?

Most hydrometers have a temperature on the bottom of the scale that it is calibrated for. Having said that, I have three hydrometers, and the one that is for heavy liquids (scale starts at 1.060) doesn't have a temp on it.

 

[sky4meplease]

I just used a simple hydrometer. I never saw anything on the package about it being temperature compensating?

Your hydrometer will come from the manufacturer calibrated for a particular temperature typically 60 or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're sample deviates from that you need to adjust your reading accordingly.

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

First beer for me. It is a kit called "Old American Ale". Yesterday it had been in the fermenter for 12 days and my instructions told me to check the gravity. My current Grav is at 1.007. Instructions state goal is 1.022 or less.

To me this would indicate I am done and ready to bottle but in the next paragraph my instructions state "When the finishing gravity has been reached and the beer has been in the fermenter for 16 days" then you can start your bottling. 16 days would put me out to Monday and I wouldn't be able to bottle until the following weekend.

How important would you say it is to stick to the 16 day instructions? Should I be fine bottling at 1.007 if I am only at 14 days?

Guide me, ALL KNOWLEDGEABLE BREW MASTERS!

P.S. I have a side note on my instructions that state "Beer should be bottled as soon as possible after it has been in the fermenter for 16 days." Any longer and you will have to transfer to a secondary fermenter to avoid off flavors.

One suggestion is to take a WELL SANITIZED CUP and take a sample. Swish in your mouth. No butter flavor? I'd say bottle. 12 days is fine. My DIPA's are only in fermenter 12-14days. RISs maybe 17-21. Or another week will be just fine also...

 

[ToddStark]

Ok then, appears I need to do a bit more reading on Hydrometers and how to take measurements with them.

--Yes my Hydrometer appears to be calibrated to 60 F.
--Range appears to be .980 - 1.130
--I don't see any information on how to adjust for diff temps (need to read)

My guess at this point would be the temp they are talking about is the liquid I am measuring and not the room temp. This is being said, I never measured the temp of the beer for my last reading.

All important stuff I should probably figure out before my next batch. Thank you for the lessons.

Oh and I did taste the product at my last invalid hydro test. No buttery taste to me, actually just tasted like flat beer which I was very excited about

 

[unionrdr]

Here's a handy program for temp corrections; http://www.brewheads.com/gravcorrect.php
If you don't have one, a stick-on temp strip on the fermenter will tell accurate internal temps. Just stick it on in the middle of the liquid level. Reading an hydrometer is easy. The long lines with numbers start at 1.000, the specific gravity of water at 60F or 68F, depending on which one you have. But the 60F one seems to be the most common. The longer lines are numbered as 1.000, 1.010, 1.020, etc. The shorter lines in between are read as 2, 4, 6, 8. So if the liquid level in the tube is at the 2nd line below 1.020, & it tells you to read above the meniscus, the reading would be 1.024.

 

[eadavis80]

Try to find a bottling buddy - it makes the task a lot more enjoyable and less boring. I don't mind bottling alone - I'll just listen to tunes or a good sports talk station, but like anything brewing related - it's usually better (and easier) with another set of hands. Congrats on the debut batch!

 

[tezcatlipoca]

Try to find a bottling buddy - it makes the task a lot more enjoyable and less boring. I don't mind bottling alone - I'll just listen to tunes or a good sports talk station, but like anything brewing related - it's usually better (and easier) with another set of hands. Congrats on the debut batch!

I agree with this so much. I used to have two bottling buddies. They both usually helped bottle, but every now and then I'd just have one helping. Other one was busy. We had it down, one sanitizes bottles and hands em to the filler and then I'd be handed a full bottle to cap.

After I lost those two buddies, I started kegging exclusively. Moving sucks.