How long after FG stabilizes should you bottle?

[TripleC223]

I know the basic accepted theory is that after the yeast is done converting the sugars to alcohol, they move into the next stage of fermentation in which they clean up after themselves, eliminate waste and generally scrub away off-flavors.

...However, I can't seem to find much about how long that process actually takes. This seems to be one of those questions that boils down to each homebrewer's preferences, which are largely based on experience (or superstition). I've seen a lot of people who wait a minimum of 3 weeks before bottling, and others who swear they can get from pitch to glass in 10 days.

Is there any actual research that addresses this? Is it 24 hours after the final gravity stabilizes? 48 hours? One week? Two? Is there a way to tell, after you determine primary fermentation is complete, that the beer is ready to bottle?

 

[ksut1547]

Taste it. If you taste or smell anything off, leave it for a couple days.

The need to age depends a lot on process. Good, sound practices minimize the need to let yeast clean up. Therefore, it is really up to the individual brewer to decide what their beer needs.

 

[jerbrew]

Research? Not sure. But I agree that this very specific to each fermentation. Knowing the yeast your using and ensuring a healthy fermentation helps you gauge when something is "ready".

If I'm using something new I'll give it 10 days sample it and make a judgement on what I taste and the attenuation observed vs. what is average. I use wlp007 often and I can I bottle as soon as I hit fg, about 10 days most of the time. This is something I'm familiar with. And can tell if the fermentation performs differently.

 

[kh54s10]

I have done no research but I feel a few days is plenty. When I started 6 years ago there seemed to be 2 camps. One said 2 weeks and the other said 4 weeks or longer. I opted to go 3 weeks. Procrastination made some up to a month and a half. I then ran my pipeline low and did a couple at 2 weeks. I detected no difference. But through procrastination most are at 3 weeks to a month.

Now, pitch to glass in 10 days cannot happen if you are bottling. These people are burst carbonating in kegs. At a minimum if you bottle it is about 7 days fermenting then maybe a week for some carbonation. Carbonating could take 3 weeks or longer. I have had some that carbonated well at about 2 weeks in the bottles, but all of my bottled beers have tasted better at 3 weeks or longer. So if they are carbonated at 2 weeks, I will drink them, but slowly so I get most of them after the flavor has stabilized at 3 weeks or longer.

I am sure that someone will say they bottle at day 5 and open one at day 10 but I don't think that is usual.

 

[ncbrewer]

I feel that your fermentation routine also depends on your set-up. I have just a bucket in a swamp cooler - no CO2 for purging the head space. When I open it, some air gets in. So I pre-determine fermentation time (normally 2 1/2 to 3 weeks). Two days before bottling day I take a gravity sample. On bottling day I take another gravity sample. Gravity has always been stable at this time, and I bottle. If it has dropped, I would wait and check it later. This method reduces the exposure to air. Many brewers skip the first sample - I do it just as a safety measure.

For those with a nicer set-up and CO2 purging, extra sampling isn't really an issue, so you can shorten the time some.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I use a Tilt and usually keg a few days after it's stable. Lately I have been seeing FG at about 4 or 5 days. I just kegged an English IPA at 7 days.

Dry hopped at day 4 (wanted to add hops before FG so Instill had some yeast activity).

 

[Yooper]

That "clean up" process finishes up within a day of the beer reaching FG. The rest of the time in the fermenter is to give the beer time to clear, if that's important to you. The processes yeast go through aren't really "first this, then that", as since there are hundreds of billions of them they are in varying degrees of their life cycles, so those stages overlap. But once they are at FG, the fermentation is over and so the clean up time for all of them will be over within 24 hours of reaching FG.

If you use a highly flocculant yeast, and pitch the proper amount of it, the beer is generally finished in about 5 days and will be clear a day or two after that. If you use a less flocculant yeast, it may still be at FG in 5 days or so, but take longer to clear.

I often keg about day 10 for beers I'm not dryhopping, and usually day 14 or so for beers I've dryhopped in the fermenter. Others go a lot longer, but I don't like the character imparted by a real long contact with the yeast/trub.

 

[luckybeagle]

That "clean up" process finishes up within a day of the beer reaching FG. The rest of the time in the fermenter is to give the beer time to clear, if that's important to you. The processes yeast go through aren't really "first this, then that", as since there are hundreds of billions of them they are in varying degrees of their life cycles, so those stages overlap. But once they are at FG, the fermentation is over and so the clean up time for all of them will be over within 24 hours of reaching FG.

If you use a highly flocculant yeast, and pitch the proper amount of it, the beer is generally finished in about 5 days and will be clear a day or two after that. If you use a less flocculant yeast, it may still be at FG in 5 days or so, but take longer to clear.

I often keg about day 10 for beers I'm not dryhopping, and usually day 14 or so for beers I've dryhopped in the fermenter. Others go a lot longer, but I don't like the character imparted by a real long contact with the yeast/trub.

I've been meaning to ask this for about 6 months, Yooper: If you hit FG in 5 days typically, and are kegging on day 10... is that a matter of convenience, clarification, or just habit?

I find myself in the emergency: need beer camp and hit FG 24 hours ago on a very simple Trappist Single. Tastes good but has a fair amount of yeast in suspension (WY3787). I'm contemplating a crash now with kegging tomorrow with gelatin, followed by 40PSI for a day so that I can enjoy some before the weekend is up. Thoughts on this, too? It'd be a grain-to-glass in a record 6 days: OG 1.054 to FG 1.010 = 5.7%ABV

 

[McKnuckle]

(Note: This is a 2.5 year old thread you're replying to.)

I would never compromise a hard-won, cared-for batch by rushing it just because I wanted a drink. Especially a Belgian of any kind, even low gravity. They always need proper conditioning. Just go to the store and buy something.

 

[luckybeagle]

(Note: This is a 2.5 year old thread you're replying to.)

I would never compromise a hard-won, cared-for batch by rushing it just because I wanted a drink. Especially a Belgian of any kind, even low gravity. They always need proper conditioning. Just go to the store and buy something.

Thanks and I totally get what you’re saying. I did brew this exact recipe with WY1388 and had it kegged in about 8 or 9 days last time. That one fermented crazy fast and had some serious diastatic power—went down to 1.003 FG for 92% attenuation. This is my first time with Wy3787 and I’m currently at 81% apparent attenuation, have held this gravity for 36-48 hours now. The 1388 batch tasted great young but I have heard 3787 can take a while to come into itself. This is really behind my hesitation. It’s the first beer I’ve done on my new eHERMS system, a trial run, so I wouldn’t be heartbroken if it wasn’t perfect—maybe I’ll put some in a water bottle and carb-cap it as a test run...

 

[McKnuckle]

Well, I guess the Devil's Advocate would say that the Belgians often conduct primary fermentation for just a few days, then they transfer the beer to bright tanks for very cold conditioning over a couple of weeks.

So if you wanted to follow that mindset, it would support what you're contemplating. Even if you blast carbonate it and impatiently drink some well before its prime, it will then be sitting in the cold, conditioning over time. Just don't drink it all up at once!

 

[Yooper]

I've been meaning to ask this for about 6 months, Yooper: If you hit FG in 5 days typically, and are kegging on day 10... is that a matter of convenience, clarification, or just habit?

I find myself in the emergency: need beer camp and hit FG 24 hours ago on a very simple Trappist Single. Tastes good but has a fair amount of yeast in suspension (WY3787). I'm contemplating a crash now with kegging tomorrow with gelatin, followed by 40PSI for a day so that I can enjoy some before the weekend is up. Thoughts on this, too? It'd be a grain-to-glass in a record 6 days: OG 1.054 to FG 1.010 = 5.7%ABV

I’d definitely give that a try. I’d probably do 30 psi for 24 hours (if the beer is cold when you start carbing it), and then purge and set at 12 psi.

So, let us know how it worked out!