too early to bottle?

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MalasaluD

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ok my first batch i did not take the OG. the directions on the kit says to ferment for 4-7 days tommorow will be 8 days. the directions then say its optional to transfer to a second fermenter and let ferment for an additional 1-2 weeks. i dont have a second fermenter so i'm going to skip this part. my question is do i leave the brew in the primary fermenter for those 1-2 weeks, do i wait till there are no signs of bubbles comming up in the airlock, or is it ready to bottle?
 
ok my first batch i did not take the OG. the directions on the kit says to ferment for 4-7 days tommorow will be 8 days. the directions then say its optional to transfer to a second fermenter and let ferment for an additional 1-2 weeks. i dont have a second fermenter so i'm going to skip this part. my question is do i leave the brew in the primary fermenter for those 1-2 weeks, do i wait till there are no signs of bubbles comming up in the airlock, or is it ready to bottle?


Leave your beer in the primary fermenter for those 1-2 weeks. 8 days is too soon to bottle.

Do you have a hydrometer? Using one is really the best way to ensure that fermentation is complete before bottling. No air lock bubbling is a pretty unreliable indicator that fermentation is complete.
 
no :( i thought that the kit i ordered included a hydrometer but i was mistaken. i will be getting one soon before my next batch
 
I agree let it sit for a bit. You need to make sure the fermentation is complete before bottling or you'll blow up bottles. If you don't have a hydrometer the best way to make sure it's done is let it sit for a while.
 
Patience is about the hardest part of making decent beer.

Do yourself a favor and leave it be in the primary for at least 14 days. Even though you might not see any airlock activity, there's still yeast at work in there, and they're still changing the flavor of your beer. If you give them some extra time to clean up after all that active fermentation they did you'll be rewarded with a cleaner more enjoyable product in the end.

Oh yeah, before you ask why your beer isn't carbed after only 14 days in the bottle, it takes 21 days;);) (this is said in good fun, don't take it the wrong way).

Start planning your next batch while you wait!
 
thanks! i think i will go out and get a secondary fermenter! and a hydrometer haha
 
Ahhh the impatience of the first brew...... Do yourself a favor and let it finish for 2 more weeks. It will save you the irritating fun of having green beer farts. Trust me I know my first batch I bottled at 8 days. I just about chased swmbo out of the house.
 
How about keeping it in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks?
That would be a better option and you don't need to spend extra.
 
How about keeping it in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks?
That would be a better option and you don't need to spend extra.

The generally accepted reason for not staying in a primary for longer than 1 week is that yeasts may impart off flavors to the brew.
 
3-4 weeks in primary is fine. No need to worry about it.

As for your other question - if you ever have to post on an internet forum to ask if it is too soon to bottle - it most definately is too soon. Always wait it out.
 
The generally accepted reason for not staying in a primary for longer than 1 week is that yeasts may impart off flavors to the brew.

You're thinking about the dreaded bogeyman "Autolysis" which quite a few of us here don't accept as anything more than an urban legend...You can leave a beer on a yeast cake for a couple months with no problems. (There's quite a few threads on here debunking the autolysis myth..even a great one last week.)

Actually leaving it in primary on a yeast cake for several weeks is good for the beer...It allows the yeast, after fermentation to clean up after itself...It makes for clearer and cleaner tasting beer....I just let a Dead guy clone sit for a month in primary, then skipped secondary and went straight to bottle....

I just cracked one last night. I have NEVER had a beer that was as clean tasting and crystal clear, and with no chill haze as that beer...It was amazing to taste and see the difference from my other beers which I have taken off the yeast as soon as fermentation was complete (even with long secondary periods.)

A lot of people pick up on this idea that leaving beer on a yeastcake too long is bad from other people....But here's what Palmer says about it. This is the part of How to brew that most people fail to notice, when they read about the "dreaded" autolysis. (Sometimes I wish beginner books would leave out all the negative stuff....I think it breeds too much fear in "da n00bs.")


How To Brew said:
As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis...
 
+1 on Revvy's post above. One thing I've found to love about brewing is that sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing at all and let nature take it's course. The craft rewards procrastination (at the appropriate times).

I'd say leave it in the primary for a few more weeks, and in the meantime go get another primary and brew another batch.
 
Thanks for the advice my brew came out sooo good way better than i expected!!
i think i found a lifetime hobby
 
Congratulations on the brew, MalasaluD.

Revvy,
You're correct. That's what I was thinking about and thanks for the point of clarification on Autolysis.
 
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