When To Bottle

[Tanga]

Sooo... I broke my hydrometer and I was wondering when to bottle. I am planning on bottling into PET so bottle bombs aren't as much of a problem as they could be. Some will be coopers PET bottles, the rest will be coke bottles.

I started brewing last Sunday (8 days ago). it was at around 26 for the first day and 24 the ones after that and is now at 22. It went great guns for the first few days and has now slowed down to about a bloop every 30-35 seconds. The CO2 smells a little ... cidery. I'm worried the high temps killed off lots of yeast and now it will develop off flavours. I don't have a secondary fermenter either, and so I can't rack to secondary =(.

Suggestions for how to have a decent brew with these limited supplies? I will head down to Menzels now to see what they can offer in the way of secondaries - but unless they're really cheap I will have to wait until next Monday.

PS What flavour are the esters that come from high temp fermentation? I won't mind the flavour - bad hangovers will kind of suck though.

 

[Brewlord]

Sooo... I broke my hydrometer and I was wondering when to bottle. I am planning on bottling into PET so bottle bombs aren't as much of a problem as they could be. Some will be coopers PET bottles, the rest will be coke bottles.

I'm a bit worried because of the high temperatures during brewing (it was at around 26 for the first day and 24 the ones after that and is now at 22). I started this Sunday afternoon. It went great guns for the first few days and has now slowed down to about a bloop every 30-35 seconds. The CO2 smells a little ... cidery. I'm worried the high temps killed off lots of yeast and now it will develop off flavours. I don't have a secondary fermenter either, and so I can't rack to secondary =(.

Suggestions for how to have a decent brew with these limited supplies? I will head down to Menzels now to see what they can offer in the way of secondaries - but unless they're really cheap I will have to wait until next Monday.

PS What flavour are the esters that come from high temp fermentation? I won't mind the flavour - bad hangovers will kind of suck though.

Have a look at the previous topic on 'quick fermentation' in this forum. We've just been having this very discussion. Using PET will be safer than glass but try and get another hydrometer to be sure. As I mentioned in the other topic, too hot can be bad. Off tastes like really strong burning alcohol and even fusel alcohols which cause hangovers and gave me bad headaches. The 'quick fermentation' topic also has some good ideas on keeping your fermenter cool

Cheers

 

[StewTurner]

I would suggest that you either:

1) Wait until you have a new hydrometer and stable readings.

or

2) If that's not a possibility, give it at least 2 weeks in the fermenter before you bottle, preferably 3. You would be giving yourself the greatest chance of avoiding 'gushers', and the extra time will improve the flavours.

Also, the temperatures above 24 would not have killed the yeast, but might have led to them producing off flavours.

 

[ekul]

You should probably wait till you have a hydrometer to bottle. If you have a stalled ferment the brew will look like its finished but it will still have awhile to go. If it decided to unstall itself in the bottle then you'll have yourself some fireworks. Fireworks that shoot out glass instead of awesome though.

I had a few blow up a couple weeks ago, you'd be surprised at how powerful an exploding bottle is. There were bits of glass in the strut across from the shelf it was sitting on, a good 3m away. You'd lose an eye if that blew up near you.

 

[RobH]

" " as above, and don't take the airlock blooping as a sign it is still fermenting, it could be the temperature difference between day & night - some people have found that a wide variance in temp means that at night time as the beer/wort cools down, naturally it contracts and ends up sucking in air through the airlock - then in the day when it heats up, it bloops it back out again - giving the impession of active fermentation.

also, beer will release CO2 as it gets warmer - so as it warms it could be releasing CO2 & blooping

so for the next couple of weeks try and keep the temp as stable as possible, and so I have heard, the yeast will do some cleaning up after itself.

In answer to your question on flavours produced from this... I find the flavour produced by high temp brewing hard to describe ... most people call it "twang" ... which is probbly their perception of a cidery taste. Bottom line - it aint the sort of flavour most people desire in their beer - but mostly we try and drink it cause we brewed it

 

[Tanga]

So... I used a voucher and got a hydrometer. It was a cheap $10 jobby - so without a tube. I am drinking the glass I had to pour with it now. There is a bit of that cidery twang there, but otherwise not too bad. It might even be the acid from the lime that's giving that taste. The reading was 1010 - but since it reads water at 1002 I'm guessing the real reading is closer to 1008. I'm not sure what the FG was meant to be. I used the Cerveza kit and added BE2 and a 750mL bottle of Bickford's Lime Cordial.

I'm thinking that's close to what the FG should be? Will it really clean itself up in the primary or should I bottle now (without priming)? Or should I leave it another couple of days and do SG readings?

 

[outbreak]

Thats should be your FG but good practice would be to take a a couple more SG readings over the next couple of days to see if they are consistent.

 

[kelbygreen]

if it reads 1002 in water the real reading will be 1012. thats within range of a standard kit but not knowing what you brewed I cant say. I would look at getting your temp down to as you will make alot better beer and for the 2 more days it takes I cant see why risk it. I would leave it, Its good idea to leave at least 3 days after fermentation is finished to give yeast time to clean up. check gravity in a few days and go from there

 

[Lecterfan]

The one thing, without doubt, that everyone does at some stage is start getting toey about bottling the beer. If you have your temperature under control (which sounds like you're struggling a bit at 26-24c...the first few days are important), you've pitched a decent number of healthy yeast cells, everything was cleaned and sanitised before putting it into the fermenter then...just take it easy.

Chill out. Go fishing. Do something nice for a friend or relative. Read a book that you bought on holiday 3 years ago and never got around to. Take some macrame lessons. Start a mini Zen rock garden.


If in doubt, leave it for another week. If you don't want it sitting on the yeast cake for some reason then rack it and leave for two weeks. What's the rush? B) Breathe in, breathe out...it's all good!

 

[Tanga]

Thanks guys! Good advice =).

I was thinking of adding lime to the bottles for priming, but with the acid already in the glass I'm thinking plain sugar will do the trick.

 

[towards the dark side]

with Lecterfan on this one..all the I's dotted and T's crossed then chill n let it go, i've left mine for up to 4weeks before bottling..gives you a clearer beer and a perfect amount of gas in your beer when you crack the bottle..the only time i use a hydrometer is befor i add yeast so i know what alc i can achieve..

you do have to keep your temperature under control..frozen bottles strapped to your wort, changed as needed help..

be aware that coopers cerveza has a blend of ale and lager yeast http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guil...osts&t=1911 so you should be aiming for 16deg for a typical flavour..so it's best to stick to ale yeasts during summer n try lagers thru winter..

my personal experience with trying to achieve a hint of lime/lemon in my brew have not been to successful as the yeast converts the acid/sugars involved..so now i just add a slice after pouring the beer..

good luck

 

[stux]

Just let it go for 3-4 weeks total in the primary. it should be fine, although i find you can get away with longer the lower you brew.

Ale yeasts will probably not die at temperatures like 22-25C, but they will produce fruity flavours.... some like this, and it will mellow out in the bottle

I check my brews once or twice a week. Once I've had a week where the gravity hasn't changed, then I keg , its a good way to sample your brew as it conditions too, you should be able to notice the beer changing

As I only keg on weekends this works well. I tend to check on friday night, then crash chill overnight to knock the yeast out

ale will take about 2-3 weeks, lager 3-4 weeks, ciders take 4-5

I don't bother with a secondary, the extended primary phase and then the keg cold conditioning seem to get exactly the same results with less mucking about and less risk of infection/oxidation.


get an old fridge for 10$ off ebay

 

[Tanga]

3-4 weeks? Really? I've done that a couple of times before (couldn't be arsed bottling) and the results were pretty rank. Remember I don't have any way of keeping the wort cool (my current flatmates hog the freezer section so I can't even freeze a bottle to tape to my fermenter).

I will have to shell out for a fridge eventually I think - it'll have to wait until March or later though. That's when I'll be setting up house properly with a couple of mates (moving twice between now and then - first into their flat, then into a house). Next brew I'll try and keep cooler (with ice). I'll try and convince my mates that they need to get into home brewing too before then - should bring costs down =) - though we may need to invest in a second fermenter. =)

 

[Fents]

14 days, 3 hours, 41 minutes and a few seconds should see you good to go. Dont bottle if its sunny outside though means the yeast hasnt finshed.


p.s go buy another hydrometer!

 

[Tanga]

I did. It's at 1010 again today (really 1012 as water is 1002). The fermentation lock is giving the odd burp - but probably just temp changes.

Taste is OK - bitter and a little acid. But that will be good in a summer brew. In fact the 200+ mL I had to pour is being drunk right now. If it's this tasty as wort I can't wait until is carbonated. I'll be bottling up tomorrow if the hydro stays steady. A total girls drink, but then I am a girl so that's OK =p.

 

[stux]

I did. It's at 1010 again today (really 1012 as water is 1002). The fermentation lock is giving the odd burp - but probably just temp changes.

Taste is OK - bitter and a little acid. But that will be good in a summer brew. In fact the 200+ mL I had to pour is being drunk right now. If it's this tasty as wort I can't wait until is carbonated. I'll be bottling up tomorrow if the hydro stays steady. A total girls drink, but then I am a girl so that's OK =p.

Not wort, its green beer now

wort is unfermented

 

[mjp]

with Lecterfan on this one..all the I's dotted and T's crossed then chill n let it go, i've left mine for up to 4weeks before bottling..gives you a clearer beer and a perfect amount of gas in your beer when you crack the bottle..the only time i use a hydrometer is befor i add yeast so i know what alc i can achieve..

you do have to keep your temperature under control..frozen bottles strapped to your wort, changed as needed help..

be aware that coopers cerveza has a blend of ale and lager yeast http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guil...osts&t=1911 so you should be aiming for 16deg for a typical flavour..so it's best to stick to ale yeasts during summer n try lagers thru winter..

my personal experience with trying to achieve a hint of lime/lemon in my brew have not been to successful as the yeast converts the acid/sugars involved..so now i just add a slice after pouring the beer..

good luck

"dry hopped " with 4 kaffir lime leaves in a cerveza with 4 days to go(day 10)works a treat!

 

[Tanga]

Mine has a hint of lime and a great acidity. I made the cerveza as recommended and added a 750mL bottle of Bickford's lime. Someone else used lime juice instead of sugar when priming (6 times? Read the side of a bottle to see the percentage) which apparently turned out well.

 

[towards the dark side]

"dry hopped " with 4 kaffir lime leaves in a cerveza with 4 days to go(day 10)works a treat!

thanks