What would you do?

[Brewno]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for opinions to try and get a better feel of extract brewing. This is only my 4th batch and after a few personal issues this 4th one is a year after my last.
My schedule is a little odd and I have off on Wed, Sat and Sun.
But, I leave for work at 9am and don't return until 10:30 pm (in bed by 11) so my days are shot as far as doing anything else .

So far all three of my brews have fermented in primary for at least 10 days. I have been waiting until the krausen falls but then also waiting for 1-2 minutes between airlock activity/bubbles before racking into secondary. This 4th batch is still bubbling away at once every 6 seconds down from every second a few days ago. Today is day 6 in primary; brewday was last Saturday so figure start of fermentation (atenuation?) between Saturday and Sunday. I had one bubble every 2 minutes at 7 hours after pitching. I'm already thinking (pretty sure) this will go past Sunday which leaves me having to wait until Wed to rack "if it is ready." I do have something to do on Wed but I might have time to get to it....if it's ready. But due to my schedule, if not or if it isn't ready, then I have to wait until the weekend at which time it will be 2 weeks in primary. At that point would I be better off just leaving it alone for another week and just going straight to bottling?

I also wanted to dry hop.

Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

Well, I usually follow the 1-2-3 guideline; 1 week primary, 2 weeks clearing tank, 3 weeks bottles before drinking. BUT, I have often had 10-14 days in the primary just because of my work schedule and skipped the clearing tank occasionally.

If I wasn't using a clearing tank, I'd almost always do a 3 week primary. If you want to dry hop, I think I'd do a 2 week primary and then rack and dry hop for a week or even longer.

Don't forget that you can't really rely on airlock activity to know when fermentation is finished, you really need to check the sg to ensure it's done before you bottle or even rack off the yeast cake. Sometimes the fermentation is just about done, but you get airlock activity due to temperature changes/barometric pressure changes and the co2 is off-gassing but no fermentation is taking place.

 

[TheJadedDog]

I have been doing 2 week primaries, then 2-3 week secondaries at a minimum (usually longer as I like to bulk age and sometimes have to wait for a keg to free up). Even if you leave it longer in primary, you can still secondary to dry hop, the extra time will only make your beer better.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

all excellent advice. No hurries, no worries. Longer is ussually better. You need to let the yeast do its thing and clean up after itself. I usually do a 3 week primary and I have even done 4. I do not do a clearing tank myself and I am happy with the results. Though I really only brew ales so I cannot speak about lagers.

In regards to dry hopping, I have a batch going now of APA that I just threw the hop pellets straight into the primary vessel after about 10 days. That way the CO2 activity in the airlock was pretty much non-existant so the hop aromas would not get scrubbed with the escaping gas.

I definately understand having difficulty finding time for brewing. I've got a 2.5 year old and I am the stay at home dad. Keep trying, you'll get a system down. Your beer will work with you just let it do its thing.

 

[TexLaw]

Beer is very forgiving. It can wait a long time for you, if needed. Don't fret about it too much.


TL

 

[Beerrific]

I went through the same scheduling things when I started...now I just brew. Set it and forget it (for the most part) and when you get the time to move it or bottle, do it and don't worry. (OK don't leave it on the yeast or in [oxygen permeable] plastic for too long, but that is a long time).

 

[ohiobrewtus]

It's pretty hard to *really* mess up a batch of brew. If you've got 1 or 2 days a week that you know that you'll be able to rack, bottle, etc. then you'll have plenty of time.

 

[Brewno]

In regards to dry hopping, I have a batch going now of APA that I just threw the hop pellets straight into the primary vessel after about 10 days. That way the CO2 activity in the airlock was pretty much non-existant so the hop aromas would not get scrubbed with the escaping gas.

That's a good point....thanks


And thanks for the rest of the replies!

 

[malkore]

definitely get a hydrometer reading. its the only way to know for sure, period.