2 weeks fermenting, then straight to bottles?

[Tanjo]

hey everybody. got a quick question.

I bought a robust porter kit from brewers best awhile ago, and have been waiting to make it. just yesterday, i got hit with basically no notice deployment orders, im leaving in 2 weeks and will be gone for 4 months. Just this morning i brewed the kit and got it into primary. Heres my question. What are the chances it will be ready to bottle in 12-14 days? if it absolutley wont be ready, could i leave it in primary, and then rack it to secondary right before i leave, and leave it a dark, temp controlled room for 4 months? or would that be too long to leave it on whatever trub that would come with it from the primary? Im feeling i might have screwed myself here.

 

[kombat]

Go with Plan B. It will benefit from the long aging. It will be delicious when you get back.

 

[Leithoa]

I've done 12 day primaries a few times, but if your yeast decide to be lazy it won't hurt to leave it in the carboy. Assuming it's O2 impermeable(glass or better bottles).

 

[amandabab]

Rack it before you leave, put a silicone airlock on it and bottle it in 4 months.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064ODLP2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Tanjo]

Will a regular stopper/airlock not work for that amount of time? Or is it just the silicone is better at sealing out 02?

 

[amandabab]

they seal the same, the benefit to the silicone is there is no worry about them drying out when left unattended for long periods of time.

if someone will be there to check it, a standard airlock will work.

 

[Yooper]

I routinely bottle beers by day 14. I don't see any advantage to bottling at day 30 vs day 12, if the beer is done.

I'd bottle it before I went, and have great beer when I got home.

 

[Larso]

I'm with yooper, I always bottle after 2 weeks. Why wait all that time, then bottle and have to wait another 3 weeks for it to condition? Into bottles before you go if possible

 

[Snisup]

Check the gravity for a couple of days before you leave and if it's done, bottle it. I usually bottled all of my standard beers (6%ABV or less, no dry hops) at about 14 days. I've never had an issue.
The bonus is that they'll be wonderfully carbed by the time you get back!

 

[tdexterc]

+1 for a early bottle. Just check the FG the day before or so, and if it's good to go, throw it in bottles and be done with it. I'm bottling my hefe today after day 10 in the carboy. Granted, the hefe yeast is a champ with attenuation, but still.

 

[Dolomieu]

This beer does well with extended aging. It really doesn't matter if it's in the bottle or carboy. This was the first beer i ever made. It took four weeks in the bottle for it to round out (for me anyway). If the FG is reached i would bottle this as well. This way when you get back you just toss a couple in the fridge and you are enjoying it sooner.

Also it may help to not follow the directions to a T. just leave it in the primary for those fourteen days rather than doing a secondary. This is how i would do it if i were to go back to kits.

just my $.02

 

[bnairuni87]

I agree with Yopper.

No reason not to bottle condition....

 

[sweetcell]

i wouldn't leave it in primary for 4 months. to my mind, you have 2 choices: rack to secondary, or bottle.

i just looked up the PDF of this recipe, and it states:
OG: 1.051 - 1.055
FG: 1.012 - 1.016
ABV%: 5.0% - 5.5%

that's a pretty average beer. it should be done in 12 days. if it was any bigger i'd worry about it not being done, but you should be fine. given the circumstances i think bottling after 12 is your best course of action.

 

[Tanjo]

so, 2 weeks in primary, then straight to bottles? would it be worth it to rack to secondary for about 7 days?

 

[AnOldUR]

Nope. If it's been at final gravity for a couple of days and has cleared to your satisfaction, bottle it.