Woodfordes primary fermentation time

djmarkhill · Dec 1, 2013

Hi all

I'm just starting my third batch of home brew and need some advice. The two batches I've already completed don't seem to be clearing in the bottles after 3ish weeks, I stuck to the 4-6 days primary fermentation as per the instructions and also used a hydrometer. Am I better off disregarding the hydrometer reading and leaving for longer in the primary vessel? I'm using a Woodfordes real ale kit.

RM-MN · Dec 1, 2013

The instructions you have should be burned. You should never bottle before the yeast are completely done and they don't follow a schedule. Leave this one in the fermenter for 2 to 3 weeks and then take at least 2 hydrometer readings 3 days apart to verify that the gravity isn't still changing. Once you have determined that the yeast really are done you can bottle and the beer will clear up pretty quickly.

In the meanwhile, the beer you already have bottled may be still working on primary fermentation and could release much more CO2 than planned on which can cause the bottles to burst. Make sure you have these bottles in a location where you can cover them in case they burst so you can contain the glass fragments and spilled beer. I like a cardboard box with a lid sitting where the spilled beer won't be hard to clean up or a plastic tub with lid.

flars · Dec 1, 2013

When you siphon to the bottling bucket start with the siphon high above the trub. Gradually lower it as the level in the primary diminishes. This should minimize the amount of trub in your bottles. With enough bottle conditioning time most yeasts will compact on the bottom when trub is not present in quantity.

HopSong · Dec 1, 2013

You said you "also used a hydrometer".. What did the hydrometer tell you after the 4-6 days? Did you reach your expected gravity? If not, you still had a lot of unfermented sugars left.. and or cleanup of yeast byproducts. If you bottled adding more sugars, you may, as RM_MN mentioned , have potential bottle bombs.. that can be scary and very dangerous if you are near them. Do you get gushers when you open any of them? If not, you may be ok. Cold crash those bottles in a cold box.. near 35* if you can for a week and you should see some clearing. If already crashed and you still have cloudy beer it may well be 'chill haze'.. and that will clear up after time.

djmarkhill · Dec 1, 2013

Brilliant, thanks guys, when I open a bottle it's the same sound as a bottle
Of fizzy pop, not much head but plenty of bubbles. I've used plastic bottles as someone recommended doing so to start off so as not to have exploding glass initially. I've currently got
Them chilled in our touring caravan in the drive. The gravity reading although I can't remember the figure off hand did match that on the aforementioned instructions, it seems they're misleading. I'll leave this batch much longer and I'll check the gravity after 2-3 weeks, I don't think it'll be ready for Xmas as I first thought then. So much to learn : )

HopSong · Dec 1, 2013

2-3 weeks won't hurt.. but, when the gravity hits what it is supposed to.. you are safe to wait a week for the yeast to clean up it's byproducts.. then bottle with the proper amount of corn sugar per the calculators for the style you are brewing. Don't assume any kit has the proper amount of bottling sugar.. They don't usually measure them for a kit. A good calculator for bottlling can be found HERE Pay attention to the last item.. Temp.