Time to Bottle?

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balzern

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I know that it is time to bottle in most cases whenever you have a constant gravity. I brewed two beers one on the 16th and one on the 17th. Their OG's were 1.057 and 1.053. When I transferred to secondary on the 26th the 1.057 was at 1.020 and the 1.053 was at 1.011. Today I checked the gravity and they remained the same (I think the 1.011 was between 1.010 and 1.011 :) ) I was planning on bottling them Friday or Saturday. Is this cool?
 
sounds like it is fine. you will need to condition them for a little while yet (in bottle). did you use any clarifiers? the problem i always have when doing it so early is keeping it clear.
 
yeah, but most people will say wait 'til it's been sitting a month before bottling. your beer will be better for it.
 
I used irish moss in both - I was planning on letting them sit for 2-3 weeks after bottling. I think I read a post on here about a 1-2-3 week fermentation schedule that I was going to give a whirl (1 primary, 2 secondary, 3 bottle). They are both pretty clear at this point.
 
I think I read a post on here about a 1-2-3 week fermentation schedule ...


You may have read that here but not often - many (if not most) of us have dismissed that. This hobby is continually evolving, and we strive to post our best experiences to share with others.

While there are still plenty of folks that use a secondary, many do not. - but secondary or no, TIME is often not cut so short these days.

We often leave even the lightest pale ale for a month in the fermenter, darker beers even longer.

Temperature control is another critical item that many of us pay attention to.

Bottling requires 70F for 3 weeks, minimum, to get a good, consistent result.

If you've been around a while - surely you noticed one piece of equipment you might want to look into: it costs nothing, is not available in stores, and can be very difficult to obtain: patience. - We were all beginners once, but that one yields results.

:mug:
 
Thanks for the advice! I have been creeping around these boards and have noticed the secondary/no secondary debate. If one was not going to leave a beer in secondary, about how long would it sit in primary? Also, I have noticed that my beer carbs well at 2 weeks but even better at 3. As for temperature control, I am living in an apartment at college with 4 other people so temperature is a battle but I think I am winning :) I try to keep it at about 68 or higher in the room I brew in. Eventually, when I graduate, I will up my equipment and perhaps have a better time controlling temperature. As it is now, I am getting by - and from the last couple beers I have brewed I would say I am doing pretty well for just getting into the hobby in September.
 
I try to keep it at about 68 or higher in the room I brew in. ......and from the last couple beers I have brewed I would say I am doing pretty well for just getting into the hobby in September.

Welcome to your obsession.

I would put 68 as the MAX, not the minimum. If your room is 68 then the first few days of fermenting, the beer is likely 74. (yeast create heat early on). When I started paying attention - I keep my ales at about 62-64, in a temp-controlled water bath - I got much better results.

I am sure you're doing well - do yourself a favor and set aside one of your better beers, for comparison. 6 months to a year from now, compare that to what you're making and you'll see yourself go from good to great!
 
Thanks! I will definitely put a few away - it is hard though :p Also, the yeasts I was using for this last batch were relatively high fermenting yeasts 64-72 degrees, 64-78, and 70-84 is the one I am using currently. I kept the temperature on my fermometer between 68-70 depending on the day (1st two days were closer to 70 due to the aggressive fermentations of both batches). Usually I use a swamp cooler for lower temp. yeasts but these ones I figured I could let them sit without it. Like I said before, it is kinda hard to control temperature in an apartment that has awful temperature regulation.
 
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