Specific Questions About Wee Heavy Kit

[drmikey]

Newbie questions. I have searched for a couple of hours on multiple sites.
Wee Heavy NB Kit.
1) How long do I leave it in primary(without brite move or secondary) before bottling once the sp gr is stable?
2)What is the Maximum primary temp for beer to be acceptable? I have managed to keep it at about 63-65 F so far with iced/swamp system.
3)When I do bottle, how long to let bottle condition before drinking?
4)Should I bulk cold condition in the primary bucket for some time before bottling? Or
5)Can bottle conditioning be at room temp or continue at 55-70 as recommended on the yeast?
Thanks for any help. Thanks for not being ugly about my questions. Thanks for the web site which is the best overall for beginners that I have found.
This is my third kit and second NB kit. The other two were excellent, a French saison and a holiday saison.

 

[RogerDeRok]

I don't know if this will help, but maybe looking at these recipes may give an idea? This site tends to explain it well.

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipes/scottish-and-irish-ale/strong-scotch-ale

 

[woozy]

According to the NB instructions:

1. stable sp gravity means (unless fermentation has stalled) that final gravity has been reached. This mean you are ready to bottle or secondary at any time. But the instructions for *this* beer says you should secondary and you should secondary for 2 months. I'm sure many on this forums will suggest that you can leave in primary for these two months.
2. There isn't a maximum so much as an optimum range. For this yeast 55 - 70 F. So max is 70. If you go above this you won't *destroy* your beer so much as risk off flavors possibly/probably. Provided you don't get to the high 90s and 100s and *kill* your yeast, I'm sure you will get drinkable beer. I *read* the ideal temps is in the low sixties and that scottish ales prefer lower temps than other ales. I don't know though. Some-one else will.
3. According to instructions you bottle after 2 months in secondary or (roughly) 2 1/2 months after brewing. This is not typical of other types of beers.
4. According to the instructions you should bulk condition (whether in primary or secondary) for 2 months before bottling.
5. Unless someone knows something I don't the fermenting conditions on yeast aren't relevent to bottling. Bottle at room temperature for 2 to 4 weeks.

I'm not familiar with Scattish Ales but it seems they are not typical in that they require significantly more bulk conditioning. Someone more familar can maybe advice what parts of the instructions you can modify and ignore (maybe you can bottle after 2 weeks and bottle condition for 3 months, or maybe you can just combine primary and secondary for a blanket 3 months in primary....)

=== added

Heh-heh.... I typed "scattish ales" ... heh-heh

 

[drmikey]

Thanks for the reply. The link helped.

 

[drmikey]

Should have said "Thanks for the replies". These helped.

 

[RM-MN]

I haven't brewed this beer before but of the ones I did, longer primary has always helped to get me better beer. The brown ale that stayed in the fermenter for 9 weeks was very smooth after a week in the bottle while those that went for a shorter time always needed 3 to 4 weeks in the bottle and were never quite this smooth. For only a 3 month total there isn't a need to go to secondary. Your yeast won't autolyse for many months.

 

[drmikey]

I haven't brewed this beer before but of the ones I did, longer primary has always helped to get me better beer. The brown ale that stayed in the fermenter for 9 weeks was very smooth after a week in the bottle while those that went for a shorter time always needed 3 to 4 weeks in the bottle and were never quite this smooth. For only a 3 month total there isn't a need to go to secondary. Your yeast won't autolyse for many months.

RM-MN,
Thanks for the response. One other question. In your opinion does the bottle conditioning need to be maintained at the recommended yeast temps or can I go to room temp for a few months?

 

[BansheeRider]

RM-MN,
Thanks for the response. One other question. In your opinion does the bottle conditioning need to be maintained at the recommended yeast temps or can I go to room temp for a few months?

Seems like most of your questions are answered in the instructions that came with the kit. Most of the time using a secondary is not necessary, leaving it in primary for 3-4 weeks is plenty of time for the beer to clear and the yeast to clean up. However your beer needs extended bulk aging due to the high gravity and style of beer as per the instructions. I would wait at least 3 weeks and check FG then rack to secondary.

For bottling the minimum is 3 weeks at 70 degrees. Going above 70 will only carbonate your beer faster, at least in my experience. It also depends on the FG for how long it takes to condition and carb. Lower gravity beers may only take a week or two to carb. What was the final gravity of your beer?

 

[drmikey]

Seems like most of your questions are answered in the instructions that came with the kit. Most of the time using a secondary is not necessary, leaving it in primary for 3-4 weeks is plenty of time for the beer to clear and the yeast to clean up. However your beer needs extended bulk aging due to the high gravity and style of beer as per the instructions. I would wait at least 3 weeks and check FG then rack to secondary.

For bottling the minimum is 3 weeks at 70 degrees. Going above 70 will only carbonate your beer faster, at least in my experience. It also depends on the FG for how long it takes to condition and carb. Lower gravity beers may only take a week or two to carb. What was the final gravity of your beer?

Thanks!! In the instructions, they don't specify whether temps for initial fermentation need to be maintained after bottling. I don't use secondary but go to bottle after lenghty stay in "primary". I am very OCD and would welcome very specific instructions. However, I am finding that the instructions seem a little vague and I am learning to deal with that. Any help is appreciated. I have a tripel about to be bottled, saison in bottles and the wee heavy in "primary". Whether success or failure I will post specifically what I did so people can learn some things that might help or hurt their beer.

 

[BansheeRider]

Thanks!! In the instructions, they don't specify whether temps for initial fermentation need to be maintained after bottling. I don't use secondary but go to bottle after lenghty stay in "primary". I am very OCD and would welcome very specific instructions. However, I am finding that the instructions seem a little vague and I am learning to deal with that. Any help is appreciated. I have a tripel about to be bottled, saison in bottles and the wee heavy in "primary". Whether success or failure I will post specifically what I did so people can learn some things that might help or hurt their beer.

IMO NB instructions are thorough when compared to other stores. The only thing I don't care for is the fact they recommend a secondary fermentation for almost all their beers, which is not necessary IMO.

The last paragraph in the instructions say room temperature for 2-4 weeks for bottling. The reason why they say 2-4 weeks is because conditioning and carbing times vary depending on your room temperature. Below 70 degrees the bottles could take longer than three weeks. Over 70 degrees the bottles could be ready in 1-2 weeks. The colder the temps the longer they take.

What I do is just put the bottles where ever I have space in the house regardless of room temp. If they take 1 week cool, if they take a month no problem. Another thing to keep in mind is the FG. The higher the gravity the longer they may take to carb. What ever you do I'm sure you will have great beer. Patience is key when bottling especially when you have a big beer like the one you are referring to.

 

[drmikey]

BansheeRider
Thanks for the response. I read the bottling time, but since they say 1-2 or 2-4 weeks on all their instructions in the kits I've brewed I thought it might be that more experienced brewers might have a different take. you have helped confirm my procedures so far. My first kits have all turned out great. The forum is great. I hope to be here for a long time.

 

[woozy]

I have to admit I thought the instructions were what I'd call thorough and specific. And I'm OCD too.

The problem with *any* instructions is that there are so many factors and variables and nothing is written in stone. You do not need to keep your beer at exactly 66 degrees and you *can not* say that the beer will be done fermented in exactly 14 days.

You have to read the instructions and figure what they mean and why the say that. You asked two or three times about whether you were allowed to bottle condition at a different temperature then the recommended yeast temperature. The instructions say "You can store cool are cold". "can". Not should, not must hence they don't think the temp matters. The previous instructions about were about fermenting and they said in "a warm dark quiet spot"[*]. Hence I conclude that for bottle conditioning (carbing as you've already bulked conditioned for over two months) it no longer needs to be warm and can be cold. Or not. Doesn't matter[**]

[*] and [**]. Actually this kind of confuses me. I'd have thought the opposite. That fermentation should be done in a *cool* spot and bottling should be done in a warm spot. I had been regularly fermenting pretty warm (room temp is 70 and the wort temp is 78+) and I've been making a concerted effort to *bring* *that* *down*.

 

[BansheeRider]

I have to admit I thought the instructions were what I'd call thorough and specific. And I'm OCD too.

The problem with *any* instructions is that there are so many factors and variables and nothing is written in stone. You do not need to keep your beer at exactly 66 degrees and you *can not* say that the beer will be done fermented in exactly 14 days.

You have to read the instructions and figure what they mean and why the say that. You asked two or three times about whether you were allowed to bottle condition at a different temperature then the recommended yeast temperature. The instructions say "You can store cool are cold". "can". Not should, not must hence they don't think the temp matters. The previous instructions about were about fermenting and they said in "a warm dark quiet spot"[*]. Hence I conclude that for bottle conditioning (carbing as you've already bulked conditioned for over two months) it no longer needs to be warm and can be cold. Or not. Doesn't matter[**]

[*] and [**]. Actually this kind of confuses me. I'd have thought the opposite. That fermentation should be done in a *cool* spot and bottling should be done in a warm spot. I had been regularly fermenting pretty warm (room temp is 70 and the wort temp is 78+) and I've been making a concerted effort to *bring* *that* *down*.

You are correct. Fermentation should be around the bottom to mid temp range for what ever yeast strain you're using to prevent off flavors. If you can do a comparison between cooler fermenting temps and warmer temps I would suggest doing that so you can taste the difference. Bottle conditioning should be done at room temp. Some people like their room temp cool or warm, it does not matter as long as the yeast don't go dormant from too cool of temperature. That's why 70 degrees is used as a baseline, and this baseline was constructed from many years of home brewing experience. Just remember cool temps take longer to carb, warm temps carb faster. The beers gravity also plays a role in carbing times.