I am fermenting my 2nd batch of beer and have a question. The fg is at 1.010 after 1 week, which is just right and I still have it in the primary bucket. My question, is it ready to proceed to bottling, leave it in the primary or move to secondary and if so why and for how much longer? I have fermented at 68-70 degrees and the krausen has dropped. Man, I enjoy this hobby and this forum. Appreciate any help with this.
I leave all my ales in the primary for at least 2 weeks and usually upwards of 3 weeks. Even when visible active fermentation is done, the yeast are still at work cleaning up after themselves. Eating up byproducts and such. Low gravity beers can be done in about a week, but for something average (1.40-1.060 ish) Just leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks. Most people (not all) don’t use a secondary unless there is a reason such as aging a beer, or adding fruit or spices, or dry hopping. You can do all this in the primary as well, but I rinse and collect yeast, so i use a secondary as a means of getting the beer off the yeast cake and then collecting the yeast.
Thanks for the reply Dobe12, I will leave in the primary another week. It has been 2 weeks already. Should I increase or decrease temp or is 68-70 good to finish up with?
That temp is fine. I routinely ferment in the low 60’s for ales for the first 5-7days. Then take the fermentor out of my minifridge and let it sit at room temps (68-72F) for the next 2 weeks or so. Temperature is very important for the first few days of active fermentation. After that, it’s not a big deal.
