When to Bottle

[DrifterFred]

I know this is a real nube question....but... my first batch is 1 day in a secondary carboy after 7 days in ferment bucket ( I have since read that it is unnecessary to secondary ) but I wanted to "see" the new beer and start another..soo..how soon can I bottle????? patience is a vertue I am lacking...

 

[mcclainm24]

First, I am well aware of the discussion concerning primary vs secondary fermentation. Personally, I rack all my beers to a secondary. I have seen real improvement in the quality of my beer. However, it is important to point out that if you are going to use secondary fermentation then you need to be smart when you rack your beer. Namely, make sure the technique is clean and sterile.

To address your question, it depends on the type of beer and purpose (i.e. Are you adding hops? fruits?). Typically for 1.050 beers, the general rule is 1 week in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary, and 3 weeks bottled. Again, this is just a general rule and will ultimately depend on your beer and the conditions it is left in. A good sign that your beer is ready to bottle is A.) Take a hydrometer reading, if you reached your FG then bottle the beer and B.) Wait until the beer is clear in the secondary.

Hope this helps! Happy Brewing!

 

[DrifterFred]

thanks...good advise...I have read that general rule and was hoping that I could shave a few days off...I guess I need to get zen and just let it happen..once the 1st batch is ready, and I ahve something to sample, maybe I won't be so antsy for the 2nd, 3rd etc...

 

[acidrain23]

Waiting is by far the hardest part. Once you have a few cases bottled and a "pipeline" going, it gets easier!! Just remember- waiting a little longer is better than bottling too soon!

 

[cravej]

how soon can I bottle?????

You can bottle it as soon as the gravity is stable, but it might turn out better if you can give the yeast an extra week or two to clean up after themselves.

 

[jhamilt]

Haha yeah its tough to wait, you have to be careful though, if you rack the beer away from the yeast to early you can get butterscotch flavors. Its good to let the yeast clean up after themselves. I like to give the beer around 14 days in the primary, depending on type, style, yeast strain, etc.

 

[bobbrews]

You really need patience to brew good beer.

Typically, I leave my 1.065-1.075 OG beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks with no secondary. If I am racking however, then 2 weeks in primary and 2 weeks in secondary.

Bottle carbing takes about 2-3 weeks. I usually check the first bottle on day 14, but day 17-18 seems to be the prime time.

Be sure to carb your bottles in the low 70s (or a little higher than primary fermentation) away from light.

 

[kmos]

Best thing you can do is keep brewing. Once you've got a few beers under your belt and you've accumulated several carboys (it won't take long), you'll find that you've forgotten all about that beer that's been in the bottle for 2 months, and it'll surprise you. Hang in there, the wait will be worth it.

 

[drocu]

Best thing you can do is keep brewing. Once you've got a few beers under your belt and you've accumulated several carboys (it won't take long), you'll find that you've forgotten all about that beer that's been in the bottle for 2 months, and it'll surprise you. Hang in there, the wait will be worth it.

+1. The first couple of batches are the worst when it comes to patience. Once you have a few under way, you'll definitely forget about the others. I only recently started drinking a pale ale from this past November that'd been sitting in a keg in my basement.

I used to think I couldn't wait for things like Apfelwein which get better with age. My last batch sat in a glass carboy for 6 months because I was too lazy/busy to keg it. Plus, I had a bunch of beer waiting in line ahead of it.

 

[DrifterFred]

thanks...all valid and valuable points...