Almost 2 weeks since my first ever brew day - Irish Draught Ale Extract.
Checked the Gravity today and its at 1.012 - I’ll check it again in 2 days, but assuming that its all done fermenting, and I’m not going to do secondary - is there any difference is doing 2 weeks primary & 4 in bottle versus 3 weeks primary & 3 in Bottle?
I’m itching to get another beer started - but if it means losing any quality I would sit on my hands for another week.
Thanks in advance for any ideas. Its killling me just looking at it every day in the carboy!
Pretty new at this myself but it’s my understanding that if you bottle it early you will get more “stuff” floating around in your bottles because it hasn’t had time to settle out. Whatever goes into the bottle will stay in the bottle. I have read on here about people “cold crashing” which I believe is lowering the temp of the carboy to force the yeast to settle to the bottom before racking. I recommend you wait for someone with more experience than me to respond. I have a week off work and am bored to death so I thought I would give you my two cents. :cheers:
You will need at least 3, sometimes 4 weeks in the bottle. Sometime carbonation is good in less time. But the extra time can make a huge difference in the flavor.
Time in the fermenter: the longer you can go, 2-3 weeks, the more solids will precipitate out. Thus there will be less sediment in the bottle. Lowering the temp will help with this.
2 weeks in the fermenter and 3-4 in the bottle will work fine. It’s your 1st beer, get it in the bottle and get a new batch going. Once you get the pipe line filled, you can let the beer sit longer if you like.
When you go to bottle, fill one soda bottle. Squeeze to 02 our and screw to cap on. As CO2 is produced, the bottle will expand. No wondering what is happening in the glass bottles.
Three weeks in the fermenter, then bottle. +1 to using at least one PET bottle as a canary for the rest of the batch. Keep the bottles at 75-80F and they’ll be fully carbed in one week with no negative effects on the beer. Put them in the fridge to drop the yeast and any sediment and try your first one after at least a couple of days. Be patient, though - they’re going to get better with some time so don’t power through 3/4 of the bottles in the first week!
You will need at least 3, sometimes 4 weeks in the bottle. Sometime carbonation is good in less time. But the extra time can make a huge difference in the flavor.
Time in the fermenter: the longer you can go, 2-3 weeks, the more solids will precipitate out. Thus there will be less sediment in the bottle. Lowering the temp will help with this.
2 weeks in the fermenter and 3-4 in the bottle will work fine. It’s your 1st beer, get it in the bottle and get a new batch going. Once you get the pipe line filled, you can let the beer sit longer if you like.
When you go to bottle, fill one soda bottle. Squeeze to 02 our and screw to cap on. As CO2 is produced, the bottle will expand. No wondering what is happening in the glass bottles.[/quote]
Personally I’d recommend trying a bottle one week after bottling, two weeks after bottling, etc until it’s right. It is interesting to see the change and you’ll know when it is good.
[quote=“dustinwwww”]
Personally I’d recommend trying a bottle one week after bottling, two weeks after bottling, etc until it’s right. It is interesting to see the change and you’ll know when it is good.[/quote]
I would rather not drink a beer that is not carbonated. When I can wait another week or two and drink a much better beer.
There is certainly nothing wrong with seeing how age affects the beer.
