Too early to bottle?

[jlietzow]

I have had an oatmeal stout fermenting for about two weeks now. It looks and tastes great and has hit it's final gravity target (1.012 or less). It's only my second batch and I'm excited about getting it in bottles so that I can try it soon. (I finished drinking my first batch last weekend!).

Will I be compromising the quality of the beer greatly if I bottle this weekend?

 

[flars]

Don't bottle unless you are very sure it is at FG. Take another hydrometer sample in a few days. More time in the fermentor for excess yeast and sediment to drop out means less sediment in your bottles and more beer to pour into the glass.

 

[auburntsts]

I think you're good to go.

 

[65C]

I keep my stronger beers for 4-12 weeks in the carboy

Nothing good has come from bottling too soon for me (and soon is usually <4wks)

Now I've been brewing for a bit - I'd rather buy some for a couple of weeks than bottle early

 

[jlietzow]

Thanks for the replies. I decided to just relax and give it one more week. I'll just buy some beer to keep me happy in the mean time!

 

[RM-MN]

Stouts can taste pretty harsh when first bottled and will take some time to mature into a smooth flavor. The extra week in the fermenter can count towards the maturity so that week isn't a waste no matter how long it seems.

I'd suggest you brew another batch of beer that is lighter colored as those mature quicker and having that to drink while your stout matures will get you better beer. I really like to leave a stout for several months in the bottle and am rewarded with a much smoother, easier to drink beer.

 

[LostHopper]

I could be wrong but I think yeast does more than just ferment sugars into alcohol and C02. I think it was John Palmer that said to give the yeast time to clean up after themselves and this reduces off flavors.

 

[ncbrewer]

Don't bottle unless you are very sure it is at FG. Take another hydrometer sample in a few days. More time in the fermentor for excess yeast and sediment to drop out means less sediment in your bottles and more beer to pour into the glass.

Also, if you bottle before fermentation is finished, it will ferment some more in the bottles. You could get gushing, or even bottle bombs.