Testing Beer in Conditioning phase??

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JoseLima

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My Porter has been Fermenting for 6 days now... Show I take a sample and test it with Hydrometer? Bubbles have slowed done to almost non I m keeping it at a steady 68 degrees.
 
I don't generally bother sampling until its getting close to bottling/kegging time. I don't like to take more than one sample for the finishing gravity, since each one is "lost" beer. And depending on how you sample, you may be exposing the beer to contamination or oxygenation unnecessarily.

It (almost certainly) won't really hurt anything, if you really want to know how its coming along though.
 
One of the most difficult things for new brewers to master is the art of patience (ask me how I know). Leave your yeasties to do their work for at least two weeks, preferably three (that's my standard these days) before you even think of sampling for gravity, unless it didn't start fermenting at all or you have other suspected issues.
 
A good general rule to follow is 2-2-2 for MOST ales:

2 weeks in primary
2 weeks in bottles
2 weeks in the fridge before serving.

If you start with those as MINIMUMS, you'll have MUCH higher quality beers than trying to rush it. Most experienced brewers leave average ABV beers in primary 4-6 weeks.

Also, the less you sample/test, the better. Each time you open that fermenter, you are opening your closed, sanitized environment to the outside world of bacteria and oxygen. You really should ONLY test when you intend to rack/bottle anyway to minimize exposure.

If you stick to the 2-6 week primary ferementation, then 99% of the time you are already at FG. I personally take post-boil OG readings, but I haven't taken a FG reading in years. I typically leave most beers in primary for 4 weeks then taste a sample at the same time I am racking to the keg. Unless that sample seems cloyingly sweet, I know I'm at FG.

Patience.....6 days is NOT enough to make a quality porter. Give it AT LEAST 2 weeks, preferably 4-6.
 
A good general rule to follow is 2-2-2 for MOST ales:

2 weeks in primary
2 weeks in bottles
2 weeks in the fridge before serving.

If you start with those as MINIMUMS, you'll have MUCH higher quality beers than trying to rush it. Most experienced brewers leave average ABV beers in primary 4-6 weeks.

Also, the less you sample/test, the better. Each time you open that fermenter, you are opening your closed, sanitized environment to the outside world of bacteria and oxygen. You really should ONLY test when you intend to rack/bottle anyway to minimize exposure.


If you stick to the 2-6 week primary ferementation, then 99% of the time you are already at FG. I personally take post-boil OG readings, but I haven't taken a FG reading in years. I typically leave most beers in primary for 4 weeks then taste a sample at the same time I am racking to the keg. Unless that sample seems cloyingly sweet, I know I'm at FG.

Patience.....6 days is NOT enough to make a quality porter. Give it AT LEAST 2 weeks, preferably 4-6.

I plan on leaving in primary 3 weeks. and Bottle for another 2-3 weeks. I was just wondering if it was a necessity to test HYdro...
 
If I could take a sample every day of fermentation, I would. I like to know the various fermentation profiles of different yeasts (in terms of speed), and also like to know if a beer is not going to reach a good FG as soon as possible, so I can determine if I have an issue with my procedure, or with a batch of yeast that I had harvested, etc.

With that said, its a waste of beer and its a great way to introduce infection. It really is best just to wait it out, but sometimes its hard to do so :)
 
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