Before I Bottle

[Iron23]

Well the time has come, the bubling has stopped a few days earlier than I imagined, after about 4, I tried heating it up to 24, no results.

So, Im considering bottleing today.

my Hydrometer confirms that it has stopped at 1011. As opposed to the 1005 stated on the can.

The samples I have taken and tasted from the tests have all been extremely cloudy. taste is off but I imagine will improve with time.


So should I bottle it? or should I try and get the temp down for a while, it really is quite cloudy.

 

[Lecterfan]

Leave it sit. Give it 7-10 days in the fermenter before thinking about doing anything with it. There is more going on than just getting to final gravity.

Spend that time enjoying your weekend, calling a distant relative, washing the windows, catching up on world news, surfing the net for bizarre erotica, surfing AHB to research issues that may come up in the future. Whatever floats your boat.

Just let the beer sit and have a good hard think about itself.




Or just do whatever you want and learn from the experience. Either way.

 

[michael_aussie]

Leave it sit. Give it 7-10 days in the fermenter before thinking about doing anything with it. There is more going on than just getting to final gravity.

Spend that time enjoying your weekend, calling a distant relative, washing the windows, catching up on world news, surfing the net for bizarre erotica, surfing AHB to research issues that may come up in the future. Whatever floats your boat.

Just let the beer sit and have a good hard think about itself.




Or just do whatever you want and learn from the experience. Either way.

+1
The ones in the know say that letting it sit cleans up some unpleasant tastes.
I never bottle/keg under 3 weeks.

EDIT Also I wouldn't advise brewing at 24 degrees.
Once again those in the know all recommend 18-20 if you can achieve that.

 

[felten]

nothing wrong with heating it up a little bit towards the end of fermentation to speed up the cleanup, you just don't want to start there with most yeasts

 

[fcmcg]

I'd also suggest 3 consecutive days of the same gravity reading , before you bottle ..your airlock means nothing...trust your hydrometer..it will tell you when fermentation has finished !
Don't worry about the cloudiness ...usually pulling a hydro sample will pull some extra yeast of the massive cake on the bottom of your fermenter...and once you bottle , it will settle out !
Relax...it will be fine !!

 

[manticle]

There is more going on than just getting to final gravity.

Well said.

 

[Iron23]

Its been in for 8 days now, Thanks for the advice, I might let it sit a little longer, Its just getting harder to maintain the 18c without making my planned fridge modifications.

 

[Iron23]

Just did another gravity reading. Its gone up to 1012, That seems strange..

The sample is also quite nicely carbonated.

Im tempted to bottle a few tonight, and then bottle the rest in another few days, so I can see the difference it makes, Any opinions on that ?

 

[mwd]

Just did another gravity reading. Its gone up to 1012, That seems strange..

The sample is also quite nicely carbonated.

Im tempted to bottle a few tonight, and then bottle the rest in another few days, so I can see the difference it makes, Any opinions on that ?

The one point higher is probably due to the CO2 in the sample. Got to say it is quite difficult to read the meniscus to one point consistently.

If the beer is gassing from the Primary sample it sounds like it just may still be fermenting. Should not really be gassing if it has finished.

 

[InCider]

Hey Iron, just wait until the day you get kegs... and never worry about exploding bottles

With what the previous brewers said, FG is not the be-all and end-all of catalysts for bottling day. I don't measure the gravity at all during fermentation, I just look up bizarre erotica for 2 weeks then keg.

 

[warra48]

Let it sit for a while, no need to hurry. Letting it sit will do good things for your beer.

My ales don't get bottled before about 3 weeks at least, sometimes up to 4 weeks.

Personally, I wouldn't go down the path of bottling some now and more later. You might be OK, but you introduce the potential for infection of your batch. You'll need to be anal about cleaning the tap, and you'll be succking oxygen into your fermenter to displace the bottled beer.

Patience is a virtue, difficult as it is.