Fermentation Time

[Luguci]

I've started my first homebrew from a kit and right now the beer has been fermenting for about 3 weeks.

The kit says to wait 2 weeks to ferment but I am still seeing small bubbles rising to the top about 3 weeks later, additionally the beer is fairly opaque (shouldn't the beer be a bit clearer?).

Should I bottle now or wait another week? At what point will I know if the beer is ready for bottling?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Do you have a hydrometer?

It should be safe to bottle now.

The bubbles are just a slow release of residual carbon dioxide, not an indication of fermentation activity.

Welcome to HBT!

 

[Luguci]

Thanks for the reply and the welcome!

I don't have a hydrometer so I don't have a reading for the original gravity, should I buy one anyway to test the final gravity? This is definitely something that I want to invest in for future batches.

Anyways, I won't stress about the bubbles and go ahead and bottle this week. Thanks for your help!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yes, I highly recommend using a hydrometer. It's the tool we need to measure fermentation progress; bubbling doesn't mean much.

They're inexpensive and very easy to use once you get the hang of it.

You need a tube to hold the liquid -- I use the tube that came with my hydrometer. You also need a way to get the liquid into the tube. A turkey baster works for this.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I regularly turn around ales in 7 - 10 days. Assuming you brewed an ale? 3 weeks is definitely enough time for that to be ready.

 

[Luguci]

I regularly turn around ales in 7 - 10 days. Assuming you brewed an ale? 3 weeks is definitely enough time for that to be ready.

Yes its an ale, I read that it was ok to leave it longer so I had figured better safe than sorry.

Since I am eager to bottle, I am glad to learn that I don't have to wait any longer!

 

[Luguci]

Yes, I highly recommend using a hydrometer. It's the tool we need to measure fermentation progress; bubbling doesn't mean much.

They're inexpensive and very easy to use once you get the hang of it.

You need a tube to hold the liquid -- I use the tube that came with my hydrometer. You also need a way to get the liquid into the tube. A turkey baster works for this.

Thank you! A hydrometer will definitely be my next purchase.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

Yes its an ale, I read that it was ok to leave it longer so I had figured better safe than sorry.

Since I am eager to bottle, I am glad to learn that I don't have to wait any longer!

Waiting is an art form. Especially when you are just starting out.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Waiting is an art form. Especially when you are just starting out.

Wait until you start playing with sours - they are like trees; the best time to start one is a year ago.

For ales, and really any beer, figuring out when fermentation is complete is part of the learning process - you become better at with time and experience. I used a kviek strain hit FG in 36 hours and was drinking the beer from a keg in six days.

Basically, if (A) your SG (specific gravity) is generally inline with what the recipe says, and (B) it has been stable for two readings 3 days apart, and (C) it has been fermenting for at least 10 days (14 is better), you are okay to bottle.

Let's say the recipe says a FG (final gravity) of 1.012, and you are showing 1.013 on Monday and again on Thursday, you can probably bottle on Friday. If it says something like 1.018, even a stable 1.018, then it probably needs more time, or give it a gentle shake to rouse the yeast.

 

[El Nino]

Depending on the yeast, but usually ales are done around day 7-10. Usually I leave it in for 13-14 if I want to be sure. It might be a good idea to invest in a refractometer, you could get those for cheap on amazon and you don't use as big of a sample as the hydrometer.

Might not be as spot-on accurate as the hydrometer but if you get the same brix readings over 2-3 days it's safe to say it's completed. I started off with 1g, then 2.5g batches so a hydro sample was giving up a lot, hence why i went the refrac route.

Did you dry hop your beer? that can cause some off gassing / bubbles even if it's already done fermenting.

 

[snarf7]

I'd be surprised if it's not done by now but if you're worried it won't hurt to leave it another week by any means...only downside is you have to wait a little longer to enjoy it

As others have noted, buy a hydrometer, it's an absolutely essential tool. Here's my process, adapt as you need to:

1. Once the boil is complete I take a sterilized pyrex measuring cup (make sure it's pyrex! it is heat proof an won't shatter when dunked in boiling wort), and draw off a cup of wort and fill the hydrometer, make sure you have enough liquid for the glass measuring thing to float freely in it then just let it sit until it cools to room temp and then write down that value. Or if you can't wait for it to completely cool, use this tool to adjust accordingly: https://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/
2. proceed with the cooling of the wort, adding to fermenter, pitching yeast etc, store it in the basement and wait a week.
3. then I check daily for airlock activity. Once it's slowed significantly to maybe one bubble per min and the krausen looks like its dropped and there's a good sized yeast cake on the bottom its damn near done, take another 1 cup sample and fill the hydrometer and check it once more, at this point I'm usually a few points off my target FG (usually only 4-5 pts left to go) so this is when I'd also be adding my dry hops, then seal everything up again and let it go another 3-5 days and it's ready to rack.

 

[ncbrewer]

If you'll be doing extract batches, you don't need to check the OG. You can calculate it from the ppg of the extract, and use typical ppg values for the steeping grains (See http://howtobrew.com/book/section-2/what-is-malted-grain/table-of-typical-malt-yields).

You still need a hydrometer for FG. For this, you can use a bottling hydrometer (with a narrow range) - you can read it much more accurately than a standard hydrometer. I can read mine to the nearest 1/4 gravity point (0.00025 SG units).

 

[cswant88]

All my ales get 2 weeks in the primary, 3 weeks should be plenty. As other said, bubbling is just residual co2 escaping. It will increase if you dry hop or disturb the fermenter.