Primary Fermenting - how long?

[leigh1919]

hi -

Currently have my first extract sitting in an FV. It's been there for six days now, and up until yesterday was still fermenting at a healthy rate (bubbling about twice every five minutes).

I'm just struggling with when to bottle. It's now slowed down (bubbling about once every 15 minutes), and the yeast head on top has reduced right down. Should I bottle now?

Here's the rub - I want to get the stuff into bottles asap, as don't want it spoil, being sat in dead yeast and god knows what until I am ready - but i can't bottle until at least Tuesday night (time constraints - work, basically) -

Am i ok to wait until then? or should i consider racking off into a second vessel for a few days prior to bottling?

Also, I added a protofloc tablet during the boil - should I add finings prior to bottling?

I know these are simple questions, but i don't have the experience yet to make my own judgements!
cheers!

[wetdog]

I'm sure an expert will be along in a minute but until then I should say that you will be ok to leave it until Tuesday. really I would have checked the OG when the bubbler was going less than 1 per minute. if its down to below 1012 then you are ok to bottle.
it shouldnt really need finings but generally you dont add them just before bottling as any suspended matter that they cause to drop out will still be in your bottles. better to rack into a secondary and add the finings then bottle a week or so later

[Jim]

Hi Leigh. Do you have a hydrometer? If you're going to bottle, I would say it's an essential piece of kit. You just need to take 2 or 3 readings on successive days and if they're pretty much the same (and in the correct ballpark for the beer you're making) it's safe to bottle.

Don't worry about leaving the beer on the yeast. I generally leave mine in the primary for a couple of weeks - you won't get any problems with off flavours in that kind of timescale. Plus if you're bottling it gives you a safety margin to prevent bursting bottles!

[leigh1919]

guys -

yeah i do have a hydrometer - didnt even occur to me to start taking readings! i was concerned about leaving it in Primary and ruining the beer but it seems this wont happen!

what i will do is rack into a secondary (if the readings are stable), add some finings at the start of this week, then bottle as planned next weekend -

thanks as usual, guys!

[yashicamat]

Further to this, but I've read on several occasions that it's a good idea to leave the beer in the primary for 2 weeks to allow the yeasties to clean up after themselves. Apparently it's getting on for 4 weeks before the yeast will start to autolyse (die and eat itself, producing some off flavours).
I've been leaving my beer in the primary for the last couple of brews and they taste very good indeed, so I don't think leaving it a bit longer is a bad idea at all. Plus, as has been said already, it gives you a bit of a safety margin for the bottle bomb scenario. Please check your gravity though before bottling. Fermentation can stop completely then start up again days later . . . you don't want this happening in your bottles.

[leigh1919]

thanks guys, the more I read up on this, the more it makes sense, and Matt -your point seems right - was pretty quiet yesterday but it's bubbling again this morning - -

RETURN OF THE LIVING WORT da da daaaa!!!

[Invalid Stout]

I'm trying to decide when to bottle my beer. It was brewed last Monday and I was planning on bottling it the following Monday -- which is tomorrow. The gravity is down from 1056 to 1020. This is still too high isn't it?

I'm going away on Tuesday so it looks like I'll be waiting another week to bottle it :\

If anyone cares, it's a small batch of extract pale ale made of 1.4kg LME, 40g Northern Brewer, 10g Goldings and a nice big spoonful of gypsum ... it already tastes pretty good, if you like gypsum