So i received a whole brewing kit as a gift and brewed my first Bavarian Hefeweizen. Tomorrow marks the 2 week period and should be ready to bottle. My question is while all the foam went down and the airlock only bubbles like once every minute or two, there are a couple of yeast colonies floating on top. Is this normal and ready to be bottled or do i need to wait longer than the two weeks until all of the colonies sink? Thanks in advanced !
I would let it sit for another week or 2 before bottling. The floating yeast is perfectly normal just rack the wort below it. The only safe way to bottle is to take a final gravity reading using a hydrometer.
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Let it condition. More. Take several grav readings over 3 days. If grav stays the same. Your brew ready to be bottled
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Is there a way to check the specific gravity without the tool? Unfortunately that piece does not come in the kit i have
Iām not sure why a hydrometer is not included in brew starter kits. It is the or one of the most important tools for a home brewer. It is the only practical way to check gravity and very inexpensive.
Here is a post about them Hydrometers You need one, here is how to use one
The wait a while advice is solid. I know it hurts because you canāt wait to taste your beer. Then after bottling you get to wait again. We have all been there. At two weeks I would bet it is ready but without gravity readings itās better to wait another week or two. If your beer is not at final gravity the sugar left can cause over carbonation or worse exploding bottles. The floaters on the top and gunk in the bottom called Trub (pronounced troob) are normal. When you rack to your bottling bucket you can leave as much as possible behind without wasting too much precious beer.
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If the air locker is burpingā¦itās still fermenting.
Sneezles61
Yall are great! I appreciate the responses. I will definitely buy a hydrometer. My last question (probably a stupid one) is that i am brewing in the glass carboys that have the rubber stopper and airlock at the top. Would pulling the stopper out to check the gravity levels cause to much gases to be realized and mess up the brewing process if you check multiple times?
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No problem pulling the bung to check gravity. It will release most of the gas so it may take a little while for the bubbler to start again. You will probably want to buy a wine thief to pull a sample and a hydrometer flask to take the reading. Both not very expensive and very useful.
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Although 3 readings in a row will verify complete fermentation, it will be quiet a bit of waste for 5gal. I would wait 4 weeks and test gravity. If it around a āfinishedā gravity (depends on beer style/recipe but youāll have an idea of that) then I would either bottle or wait another week, test again and see if the reading is the same.
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Another āI received a brewing kit as a giftā n00bā¦
I am 12 days past brew day (Block Party Amber extract kit) and the airlock is still burping. The recipe called for 1-2 weeks fermentation. Should I wait until the burping stops to even start taking checking the gravity? It is burping about every 35 seconds or so.
Wait until it totally stops burping, probably another couple of days. Then check specific gravity. Then wait 3 or 4 more days. Then check gravity again. If specific gravity remains stable for 3 days, you can bottle it. If it changes even just by one or two points, wait 3 more days, then check gravity again, and repeat until it is stable for 3 days.
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Drop the hydrometer in the carboy and leave it. Wonāt hurt anything
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Iāve had fermentors full on nothing but Starsan bubble and burp. Your fermentor is basically a giant barometer. I personally think 2 weeks is rushing a fermentation. While Iāve safely bottled after 2 weeks it is rare. Without a hydrometer and a sense of what your final gravity (FG) should be I would let it go another 7 days. What @dmtaylo2 says is good practice. 3 or 4 days of stability in your gravity near/at expected FG and your good to bottle.
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After 2 weeks I would bringing it to a warmer spot and give it a little swirl now and again then probably safe to bottle after 3 weeks.
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