Premature Bottling

[UncleScotty]

You know the way the doctor does a C-section instead of waiting for the baby to arrive on its OWN schedule?

Just wondering if complications in my calendar would allow me to BOTTLE a little earlier than the recommended date? Kind of a C-section brew day!

Let's say my primary is still a little bit hazy.
Let's say I'm still getting a small bubble every couple of seconds out the fermentation lock.
Let's say my plan was to go straight from primary to the bottle.
Let's say I have to leave town for 4 or 5 days, unexpectedly.....which I do.

Any harm in dumping into the bottling bucket NOW......throwing in my cup of bottling sugar....going straight to the bottle and letting the remaining bit of primary sugar fight it out with the bottling dextrose as to "who tastes better".......and letting the whole thing clear up IN the bottle?

I've had an aggressive ferment in the primary for a week....and I would estimate that it's 95% done. I just can't wait any longer......UNLESS most of you would say the risk of bottling outweighs the risk of leaving it on the trub for three or four day longer than planned.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[buzd]

I'm pretty new, but you are much better off leaving it in primary for longer than planned than bottling early and risking overcarbonation and unfermented sugars.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I'd leave it -

I've had beer sit on the trub for months and it was fine. One of them was probably my best beer ever.

I just don't think that sitting on the trub - especially for a few days - is a problem; however, premature bottling could certainly be one.

 

[griffi]

I think the overwhelming consensus on this board would be to just let it wait until you are entirely sure that is completely fermented - you should check its final gravity with a hydrometer and make sure that remains stable at your desired FG for at least two days. Otherwise you run the risk of having bottle bombs which can be dangerous and messy

 

[flars]

You will have better beer coming out of the bottle if you wait a week or two and take SG readings to confirm the fermentation is complete. No sense in putting a lot of extra yeast and suspended particles in the bottle that you will have to dump out when you pour.

 

[bucketnative]

Three or four days on the trub will have no effect and presents basically no "risk".

Airlock activity is not a measure of fermentation.

When it comes to fermentation, don't estimate... know. Get a hydrometer and measure gravity.

You should be bottling when the gravity is stable. Then add your priming sugar (use a calculator to determine how much sugar to use for a desired carbonation level - http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/).

 

[Chanoc]

Prohibition brewing was done that way.
If you are familiar with your recipe and know how far from your FG you may take a chance, you may bottle a couple of plastic test bottles to check how the carving is working...

 

[UncleScotty]

Prohibition brewing was done that way.
If you are familiar with your recipe and know how far from your FG you may take a chance, you may bottle a couple of plastic test bottles to check how the carving is working...

It DOES appear the overwhelming opinion is to let the baby come when it's (or I'M) ready to bottle. (I had always thought sitting in the primary on all that gunk was a deadly sin; it's interesting to hear almost the contrary!)

I think I'll wait and do the whole batch when I get home.

The idea of doing a just a COUPLE of bottles in advance...as a kind of experimental run....is intriguing, but my entire homebrewing setup, especially the process of sterilization, is such that I live in constant fear of contamination and avoid ANY unnecessary handling, as it always sends shivers. I have a very furry cat.......and a parrot......and do most of my beer operations in the laundry room, so I'm sure you can empathize with my trauma and appreciate the potential for gremlins.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

 

[GHBWNY]

Let 'er ride. Anything short of knowing FOR SURE that ferm is completely done (i.e., 2-3 weeks in primary with consistent FG readings 2-3 days apart) is asking for bottle bombs.

 

[Yooper]

If you have a hydrometer, and the beer is finished, it's fine to bottle. If you haven't taken a hydrometer reading, then it's not safe to bottle the beer.

 

[Chanoc]

It DOES appear the overwhelming opinion is to let the baby come when it's (or I'M) ready to bottle. (I had always thought sitting in the primary on all that gunk was a deadly sin; it's interesting to hear almost the contrary!)

I think I'll wait and do the whole batch when I get home.

The idea of doing a just a COUPLE of bottles in advance...as a kind of experimental run....is intriguing, but my entire homebrewing setup, especially the process of sterilization, is such that I live in constant fear of contamination and avoid ANY unnecessary handling, as it always sends shivers. I have a very furry cat.......and a parrot......and do most of my beer operations in the laundry room, so I'm sure you can empathize with my trauma and appreciate the potential for gremlins.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

I suggested to bottle the whole batch and the two plastic bottles were to monitor the carbonation of the rest of the bottles.
Most likely carbonation wouldn't be perfect...
I am glad you decided to listen to the voice of reason and wait...

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Won't hurt to leave it until you return... Maybe by then it will be done. Take your readings as Yooper suggested it's the only way to know it is done. Patience is a key ingredient for home brew. :fro:

 

[kh54s10]

If you bottle early, add priming sugar and there is still fermentation happening you could easily create bottle bombs. That is creating co2 pressure in the bottles that exceeds the strength of the bottle.

If you cannot determine that you are at final gravity do not bottle them.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Bottle Bombs! YAY

 

[SpentBrains]

I'm going to take a contrary stand to almost all of the advice here, so light your arrows and get ready to flame me.

I have the same dilemma, I got rained out when I wanted to brew about 12 days ago and only brewed last week, 9 days ago. Playing with a new fermentation "fermenteezer", so now I have exact control over fermentation temps and the capacity to lager large volumes for long times. With all new exacting cool capability, my primary on this 10 gallon - half as an ale, half as a lager batch, has taken WAY longer than previous, room temp or slightly below room temp ferments. Now I am bumping up against a long ago planned 18 days away from home for vacation. I want to take some of the ale side of the ferment with me and I don't want to deal with it first thing when I get back home.

So let's say I have an explosion proof concrete bunker replete with blast curtains and floor drains, where I cellar my beers anyhow. Basically other than the beer loss I am not afraid of an over carb'd bottle being a saftey concern.

Old world brewers did and still do what I am advocating. They Kräusened beer by either bottling at just the right time in the primary process, or by adding more, yet unfermented fresh wort, just prior to bottling in the same way that we use priming sugar.

The problem becomes that you really need to have two things:

1) a firm understanding of gravity point contribution of your wort + added priming sugars. What each contributes to carbonation in vols and how far your yeast will continue in the bottle.

and

2) a tolerance or some may even demonstrate an embrace, of the aforementioned larger amounts of sediment in the bottles. Most americans recently weened from factory beers get a little squeamish here...

I'd say bottle it, like I am going to do with mine, but don't leave anything to chance. Know your O.G. know either from past brews or from claims of the yeast manufacturer what your F.G. should be. Calculate what level of CO2 your style should target and how much of that you'll get from the remaining fermentation. Then only add enough additional sugars to make up for the difference to achieve your target CO2 vol.

Follow standard sanitary practices and bottle, but be prepared to decant each one, as none of these beers go in the cooler on the boat, nor back packing. They get gently poured off of the yeast cake at the bottle's bottom, into a chilled beer stein, which you will take out onto the deck and watch the sunset or sunrise as appropriate...

 

[HopHeavy]

Not that it helps with your case, but sound like a good application for a fast ferment test... I am sure I saw a thread on it here but cannot locate it at the moment.

For any number of reasons, I have gotten in the habit of pitching an ounce or two of my starter with 500-600 ml of fresh wort (in a flask) I throw it back on a stirplate and it finishes way ahead of the bulk primary going on. I reach FG in two days. This way I have a good idea of where the primary should finish out. And yes, I have contemplated trying to game those final points to carb bottles, but I don't have the guts to try it.

 

[flars]

@SpentBrains You are really overthinking this. The hydrometer will let you know when the fermentation is done. Then you need to allow time for the beer to clear. You can speed this up by cold crashing, but letting it sit in the primary will accomplish the same thing.

The manufacturers attenuation percentage means nothing. These numbers are for comparing yeast strains. The yeast will finish when they finish and resulting flavors will be the result of how you handled the yeast and the fermentation temperature.

Relax.

 

[SpentBrains]

expected response...You completely ignored my reason for bottling prematurely and using some science to avoid the pitfalls. Similar to the OP's travel schedule... Must be nice to be home every night and not have a clue what people who have to travel deal with.

You see, when you travel you may have to mow your lawn when you have time to, not necessarily when the lawn needs to be mowed.

Besides, the science of Krauzened beer is in itself interesting and worthy of some research. Think back to a Europe before the new world gave them the exports of corn and sugar. Or science gave them compressed gasses. They still were smart enough not to settle for flat beer.

You can however rest assured that when schedule is not the overriding concern, I just keg after the fermentation and cold crashing is completed, when the beer is ready.

 

[UncleScotty]

Airlock activity is not a measure of fermentation.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/).

It is, however, an indication of fermentation......or not.

 

[filthyastronaut]

If your beer has just been going for a week, it sounds like your trip will give you just about the right amount of time to bottle, maybe give a couple days. I never do hydrometer readings until I'm bottling, because I hate taking more than one sample and opening the airlock unless I'm dry hopping. I just wait 2 weeks for most beers, 3 for some, and 4 if I were doing something really high gravity. I would not bottle earlier than 2 weeks in general. Give it at least that long.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

This is, more or less, off-topic, but I have a recipe for Edelweiss, which is meant to be bottled (with no priming sugar) after 3 days of fermentation. I'm guessing that the yeast and the grain bill have a lot to do with the way it works.

I'll be giving it a try hopefully later this month, but my point is that perhaps if you're on the road a lot, this beer (or a variant) might be worth a try.

Regarding the situation you are now facing, and speaking for myself only, I see no problem at all leaving it in primary (or secondary, or whatever) the few extra days. As has been said before, the beer is only going to improve with age (to a point, of course - but we're talking about months, not days). To do anything else is kind of like going hunting for deer with a .223 - yes, it CAN be done, but there are so many better options available.