When is too soon to bottle?

[Dutch Brewmeester]

Made a mistake and didn't leave myself enough time to brew, ferment and bottle properly... Need to have the beer ready to drink in 13 days now, while beer (American Wheat) has only been in carboy, fermenting for just 10 days? (PS: no more bubbles since a few days) Do you think I can run the risk? Or would it be better to properly ferment the beer and have it bottled + carbonated shorter... Might not have used the proper terms, but hope you all understand the question!

 

[Steveruch]

Unless your original gravity was really high your brew should be done fermenting and able to be bottled in ten days. As long as you keep the bottles at room temperature they'll be drinkable in 13 days.

 

[Golddiggie]

IME, it's better to give the batch the time it needs to become as great as it can then try to rush it through.
I give all my brews at least three weeks from grain to going into serving keg/can. I do carbonate in fermenter (3-4 days to be fully carbonated). I typically chill to harvest the yeast after two weeks.

With solid temperature control, you can have batches finished faster than without it. Since I have a glycol chiller, keeping the fermenting beer at the target temperature, I fall into that segment. Carbonating in fermenter (using a carbonation stone) also shortens the time to glass.

Personally, I wouldn't play too much with bottle conditioning, trying to get them carbonated sooner. I can see the potential for things to go sideways and result in beer lost. I'm sure people do it, as with most things home brewing.

If you're under the gun to have a brew done for a specific date, then it pays to plan things far enough ahead. Or get the gear so that you CAN go grain to glass in a shorter time frame without any negative effects.

BTW, most of my pale ales are 'done' fermenting in a few days (from when they start). I still give them about two weeks for the yeast to cleanup after themselves before I cool to drop the yeast and then start carbonating. Getting consistent great results with this. Bigger beers are given more time as per the recipe.

 

[Dutch Brewmeester]

Unless your original gravity was really high your brew should be done fermenting and able to be bottled in ten days. As long as you keep the bottles at room temperature they'll be drinkable in 13 days.

Thanks! I will be racking tonight!