When to bottle?

[RDLJr]

My wife got me Midwest Supply's "Everything And A Carboy" kit for Christmas, with the Irish Red Ale recipe kit.

I brewed on the 21st, left it in primary until it stopped bubbling and all the yeast had settled to the bottom of the primary fermenter, then moved it to the carboy on Wednesday. There's no more visible signs of fermentation, and the beer looks cleared almost to the bottom of the carboy.

Is there any particular point at which I should bottle? Wait for the haze to drop completely to the bottom, or leave it for a set amount of time, or what?

 

[TheJadedDog]

The general rule of thumb is 1 week in primary (bucket), 2 weeks in secondary (carboy), then bottle and let it condition for 3 weeks before drinking.

Please note, this is just a rule of thumb. Every fermentation is different so they may take longer. I have had beers that took 3 weeks to ferment completely. Only a hydrometer will tell you if fermentation is done and it is time to rack to secondary.

 

[RDLJr]

The general rule of thumb is 1 week in primary (bucket), 2 weeks in secondary (carboy), then bottle and let it condition for 3 weeks before drinking.

Please note, this is just a rule of thumb. Every fermentation is different so they may take longer. I have had beers that took 3 weeks to ferment completely. Only a hydrometer will tell you if fermentation is done and it is time to rack to secondary.

Reading this, it seems the secondary fermentation is to get the beer to clear before bottling. Is that all that's going on in there?

If so, should I bottle when the beer clears up so that I can get it off the dead yeast and let it condition in the bottles for about a month?

 

[malkore]

You shouldn't have racked to secondary until at least today, if not tomorrow or sunday.

As stated above, you need 3 days of consistent hydrometer readings, that are close to the expected final gravity, before you transfer to secondary. Yeast drop out is not a sure fire method. Some yeast drop quick and easy...others stay in suspension a long time (ever had a hefewiezen?).

That said, your beer is probably ok. But leave it in the carboy/secondary for a full 2 weeks from Wednesday (so like, Jan 9th). Its only gonna give you better beer and allow any leftover sugar to be taken care of by the yeast that are still in suspension.
And there'd be nothing wrong with waiting until the weekend after the 9th to bottle. Plan on bottling taking a solid 2 hours your first time. that does include sanitizing the bottles, racking to the bottling bucket that was pre-filled with priming sugar solution, filling and capping. it assumes your bottles are already clean.
making good beer is 1/3 art, 1/3 science and 1/3 patience

 

[TheJadedDog]

Secondary is to let the beer clear and to bulk age. I'd leave it at least 2 weeks in secondary otherwise what was the point of transferring it?

You don't need to worry about getting the beer off the yeast when it's in secondary (I left my wee heavy in secondary for 5 months with no autolysis issues) only when leaving in primary for over a month.

 

[RDLJr]

The top 2/5ths of the beer look really good. Nice, clear, dark color.

The middle 1/5th looks like it did when I moved it.

The bottom is still really hazy. My buddy who's an intern brewer at one of the larger brewers recommends moving it when it clears. Then he rattled off a bunch of chemical reasons why. His other concern is yeast viability for carbonation when the beer spends too much time in secondary.

Maybe I'll split the difference and go 10 days.

 

[dpt222]

You don't need to worry about getting the beer off the yeast when it's in secondary (I left my wee heavy in secondary for 5 months with no autolysis issues) only when leaving in primary for over a month.

What then are autolysis issues? Could this somehow affect the taste? I left my first batch of pale ale in the primary for a total of three and a half weeks before transferring for bottling...is this pretty safe practice?

 

[elkdog]

It takes a couple of months in the secondary before you don't have enough yeast to carbonate. No worries there. One thing I've learned on this board is that taking your time with fermentation and conditioning never hurts your beer. Waiting is hardest with your first batch, but this should be the only time you have to wait for homebrew. After this, you'll have some ready to drink.

I had a dandy of an Irish Red, the imported house brew at O'Hara's pub, the other day. I'll not be far behind you in brewing up a batch. Cheers!

 

[elkdog]

What then are autolysis issues? Could this somehow affect the taste? I left my first batch of pale ale in the primary for a total of three and a half weeks before transferring for bottling...is this pretty safe practice?

Yep. A lot of really experienced brewers here don't use a secondary at all, choosing instead to leave it in the primary for a couple of more weeks. I don't think you want to leave it on the yeast for too terribly long, but you're well within the guidelines I've gathered from this forum.

 

[TheJadedDog]

What then are autolysis issues? Could this somehow affect the taste? I left my first batch of pale ale in the primary for a total of three and a half weeks before transferring for bottling...is this pretty safe practice?

Autolysis can cause off-flavors if you leave your beer sitting on the yeast case for extended periods of time. 3-4 weeks is nothing to worry about.

 

[TheJadedDog]

The top 2/5ths of the beer look really good. Nice, clear, dark color.

The middle 1/5th looks like it did when I moved it.

The bottom is still really hazy. My buddy who's an intern brewer at one of the larger brewers recommends moving it when it clears. Then he rattled off a bunch of chemical reasons why. His other concern is yeast viability for carbonation when the beer spends too much time in secondary.

Maybe I'll split the difference and go 10 days.

a) I think they do things a little differently at big breweries than we do in our kitchens.

b) even after 5 months there was plenty of yeast to carbonate my brew, so I don't think 2 weeks is going to hurt you.

c) if you rush it, your beer will not be as good.