I started a stout extract on 10/16 (NB) peanut butter cup). OG: 1.082. On 10/24 it was at 1.025. On 10/27 it was at 1.020. I checked it today (11/12) and it’s still at 1.020. Is it safe to think about bottling now? The attenuation is 74%. I’m a tiny bit concerned about bottle bombs. On 10/27 I moved to secondary so I could add the extra ingredients. I’m thinking I left a lot of yeast behind in the trub but didn’t understand the cleaning up after themselves. The brew is considerably clear and the taste is fine.
Sounds like it is done, extract will definitely have a bit higher specific gravity, and that style likely also will end up around 1.015 to around 1.021.
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Thanks. I bottled last night. I put the bottles in cardboard boxes, insulated with some bubble wrap I had and threw a heavy blanket over them, stuffed them in the shower. Yeas, I’m slightly paranoid. This is my very first bottling. Just wondering… If they did decide to explode it seems it would happen in the first week or so when the priming sugars are being consumed? I plan to let them bottle condition for a few months. Was just wondering if the chance of explosion reduces with time?
Likely the opposite, although the risk diminishes somewhat as less CO2 is produced as the fuel is consumed.
My one and only brush with bottle bombs led to me getting them out of the house and I believe they popped off randomly for some time ….and not right away.
With the same gravity reading more than two weeks apart it should be done. Stouts have a lot of unfermentable grains that typically keep the FG high so I would not worry about exploding bottles. It can’t hurt to be careful though.
When you open the first bottle, chill it for a few days and open it in the sink. My guess is that it will be carbed nice or even under carbonated. I have been lucky enough to never have one explode but have had bottles gush out almost the entire content when opened. Now days almost everything goes in a keg.
One more thing and I will shut up. It’s nice to have at least one PET plastic bottle from the batch. that way you can squeeze it occasionally to see how the pressure is increasing.
If patience is the word, than lets use it. Give it time , it’s ok to give it time. We gave time this far.
