general question of primary fermenter

[bizit524]

I have been reading a lot of threads and finding information on what to do on this. I just have some general questions on this
I am brewing my first batch ever its an export stout. The directions are very very vague.
From the instructions it says it should stop bubbling 4-6 days which is has it stopped on day 5 (today). They said I can start bottling now

-From other places I've read it's not going to hurt it to stay in there a little longer?
Reason I ask this is because I want as clear of beer as possible. I was going to put it in a secondary but people on here suggested since this is my first batch just stick with 1 for now till I get the hang of it. Which I tend to agree

- How much longer can/should I keep it in there for a clearer beer? additional week; 2 weeks?? any suggestions are appreciated.

Also they said to put half a teaspoon of sugar in each bottle (i find this tedious and nonsensical ) BUT in other threads they said to just get a priming bucket which is exactly what I am going to do. The recipe again very vague said no more than 3oz of sugar in total.
- Since it said that should I add like 2.5-2.7 oz of sugar for the priming bucket?

I was using this website http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/
But I am not sure how much CO2 i want ... suggestions? because it did not have my beer listed (export stout) - so i chose another stout
With this website it gave me a different sugar weight than the instructions.
-what should i use?

 

[evrose]

I have been reading a lot of threads and finding information on what to do on this. I just have some general questions on this
I am brewing my first batch ever its an export stout. The directions are very very vague.
From the instructions it says it should stop bubbling 4-6 days which is has it stopped on day 5 (today). They said I can start bottling now

-From other places I've read it's not going to hurt it to stay in there a little longer?
Reason I ask this is because I want as clear of beer as possible. I was going to put it in a secondary but people on here suggested since this is my first batch just stick with 1 for now till I get the hang of it. Which I tend to agree

- How much longer can/should I keep it in there for a clearer beer? additional week; 2 weeks?? any suggestions are appreciated.

Also they said to put half a teaspoon of sugar in each bottle (i find this tedious and nonsensical ) BUT in other threads they said to just get a priming bucket which is exactly what I am going to do. The recipe again very vague said no more than 3oz of sugar in total.
- Since it said that should I add like 2.5-2.7 oz of sugar for the priming bucket?

I was using this website http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/
But I am not sure how much CO2 i want ... suggestions? because it did not have my beer listed (export stout) - so i chose another stout
With this website it gave me a different sugar weight than the instructions.
-what should i use?

A few thoughts.

1. It's a stout. It won't be clear no matter how long you leave it in the primary. Stouts are black. Cloudy black is no different than clear black (whatever that is).

2. The ONLY way to determine if a beer is done fermenting is to take a series of gravity measurements over a few days. Once the gravity stops dropping, it's done.

3. 5 days in a primary is VERY short. Most people here would suggest you leave it alone for a while. My average primary time is 24 days (I track these with a spreadsheet). My suggestion would be to let it sit for 3 weeks total, check the gravity for the last 3 days, then bottle if it's done.

4. Definitely batch prime. Use a priming calculator to calculate how much sugar to add to the priming bucket. http://tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html. Or the one of NB you linked to is fine. Choose any stout style... the differences are minimal. Don't worry too much about being overly precise with the priming sugar amount... get it close and you'll be fine.

Good luck!

 

[Demus]

1st off, a stout isn't exactly clear so I'm not sure why that would be a concern. More importantly, fermentation isn't complete in a certain number of days, a certain level of airlock activity, or your horoscope. It's complete at terminal gravity. The ONLY way to know if it's there is two specific gravity readings taken at least two days apart and have the EXACT same number. Even after that it can be beneficial to wait; yeast can absorb some off flavor causing byproducts as the settle into dormancy. I can say with confidence that bottling after 5 days would be a mistake. At the very least you'll be denying the yeast the chance to "clean up" after themselves, at the worst you'll be bottling beer that's still slowly fermenting and have stale beer and broken glass everywhere in a few days.
As for your priming sugar when the time comes (I'd recommend about two more weeks) I think you were reading about volume of CO2 based on your 2.5-2.7 number. That number of ounces wouldn't get it done in a 5 gallon batch. It will probably take more like 5. Just mix it into a cup of boiling water to sanitize and pour it into your sanitized bottling bucket. Transfer your beer into that bucket taking care NOT to aerate. If you angle the syphon tube it should create a gently whirlpool that is more than enough to mix the sugar in. Then just bottle away. Leave the at room temp for two weeks, then refrigerate one for a few hours and try. If it's carbed, refrigerate the rest and enjoy. If not, wait another week and repeat...
With all that waiting involved, I'd highly advise reading a decent home brewing book. This forum is great but you a need a foundation to get the most out of it...

 

[fuzzy2133]

2 weeks for bottle carbing is under the ideal condition of your house being around 70F the majority of the time.

Depending on your recipe some stouts need time to age for the flavors to come out. Right now I have an Oatmeal stout aging/conditioning that has a rather strong alcohol taste that just showed up after 3 weeks in bottle.

 

[bizit524]

ha well my bad I guess I should have specified "clear" I understand that a stout is black thats actually why i picked it as my first beer because I like stouts.
What I meant was that after a while the yeast sinks to the bottom of the bottle and creates a layer. From what i've read is if you put it in a secondary then it gets rid of that problem.

I shall keep it in the primary as advised from everyone. I am purely just going off what my directions tell me and it says " Fermentation will be complete when bubbles cease to rise (usually after 4-6 days) or when the gravity remains constant at 1008"

How am I supposed to take a gravity reading if its covered and I can't take the lid off?

I shall look for homebrew books. I am just probably going to be slow at reading it because I have a lot of reading for school/tests/homework. I took up this hobby because there is a lot of waiting involved, I learn lots, and I get beer!

 

[unionrdr]

Secondary doesn't elliminate the trub & yeast at the bottom of the bottle. You get that after carbonation is completed. It'll take more then 4-6 days to completely ferment out. In that amount of time,usually only initial fermentation is done. If your fermenter doesn't have a spigot,then you open the lid long enough to take the hydrometer sample & close it up again.