Can I Bottle?

BlaineHomebrew

BlaineHomebrew

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I am trying to get a Holiday Ale (Brewers Best Extract Kit) ready for Christmas. I brewed on 11/19 and have had these recent SG readings:

11/29/2017 -- 1.014
12/1/2017 -- 1.012
12/3/2017 -- 1.011

I'd like to bottle ASAP so that I have three weeks for bottle conditioning. Is it safe to add priming sugar and bottle or should I wait a few more days to confirm the SG has stabilized?

Thank you in advance for any replies.
 
When you check your OG 2 days apart and it’s the same, you’re good to bottle. Based on your numbers, you could short yourself a little of the priming sugar and cross your fingers that you don’t have bottle bombs.
 
BrewCLE said:
I am trying to get a Holiday Ale (Brewers Best Extract Kit) ready for Christmas. I brewed on 11/19 and have had these recent SG readings:

11/29/2017 -- 1.014
12/1/2017 -- 1.012
12/3/2017 -- 1.011

I'd like to bottle ASAP so that I have three weeks for bottle conditioning. Is it safe to add priming sugar and bottle or should I wait a few more days to confirm the SG has stabilized?

Thank you in advance for any replies.
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Surely it won't have far to go now I say thumbs up to that
 
Without more information about OG, yeast, temperature, etc but it's likely at least very close. The fact that it was still at .014 at 10 days, though says that it's going a little slowly and it could still have a couple of points. Give it another day so you can feel confident.
Is it starting to clear well? You'd want to let it clear properly before bottling even if it's at gravity. Bottle conditioning under the right circumstances can be done in less than 3 weeks, but you're right to want to get it packaged sooner rather than later.
 
J A said:
Without more information about OG, yeast, temperature, etc but it's likely at least very close. The fact that it was still at .014 at 10 days, though says that it's going a little slowly and it could still have a couple of points. Give it another day so you can feel confident.
Is it starting to clear well? You'd want to let it clear properly before bottling even if it's at gravity. Bottle conditioning under the right circumstances can be done in less than 3 weeks, but you're right to want to get it packaged sooner rather than later.
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OG was 1.062 and it has been fermenting in about 70 degrees ambient temperature wrapped in a blanket. It nearly blew off my airlock and required a blowoff tube for about two days. I unfortunately don't know what the yeast was as the instructions don't specify what it was.

Additionally, it is not very clear based on the sample I pulled today to check gravity.

Can you give me advice for bottle conditioning as fast as possible? Thanks!!
 
It looks like it's bottoming out. Wait another day and take another reading. Unless you know exactly where it will finish, there's no way you can tell if it's done except by taking readings two days apart and having them the same.
 
BrewCLE said:
OG was 1.062 and it has been fermenting in about 70 degrees ambient temperature wrapped in a blanket. It nearly blew off my airlock and required a blowoff tube for about two days. I unfortunately don't know what the yeast was as the instructions don't specify what it was.

Additionally, it is not very clear based on the sample I pulled today to check gravity.

Can you give me advice for bottle conditioning as fast as possible? Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Waiting a couple of days or more to let it finish won’t hurt any.
You should have enough time to bottle condition it by Xmas. Use the priming calculator and determine how much carbonation you want (to get the amount of sugar right), bottle it and keep at 70-75 F. Rouse the yeast daily to keep them going and it should be ready in 1 to 2 weeks. Once it’s carbonated, store in the frig. Simple.
 
It was probably S-05 yeast in that BB kit. I’ve brewed a ton of their kits. Your gravity was supposed to start at about 1.070 and drop to about 1.016. You’re in the ballpark, but lack of time won’t let you be sure. Honestly, I’d probably bottle now if I was in your shoes. Put the bottles upright in a cooler with the lid shut to contain any explosions that could happen. Keep the bottles at room temp to condition.

Here’s the spec sheet for your beer.

http://www.brewersbestkits.com/assets/1049-2016-holiday-ale-recipe.pdf
 
PS, you know those kits are from an Ohio company, right? They’re in Kent.

O - H !!!
 
The yeast is Nottingham.
I think you're safe to bottle
Brian
 
Nope, it's just young.
time and temperature will clear everything up.
Cheers,
Brian
 
BrewCLE said:
Can you give me advice for bottle conditioning as fast as possible? Thanks!!
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I found Nottingham to be just a little slow to floc completely but once it was clear the sediment was like a rock. It could go a little lower for you, but not likely more than a point or so and that won't cause bottle bombs. Depending on the style, you could go on the low end of the range for carb volumes just in case. With Notty, it should carb fast so I'd keep it plenty warm after bottling, check a sample bottle after a week and chill it down to 33 or 34 degrees for a solid week and it should be fine.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. Life happened and I ended up bottling tonight. @JA the sediment on the bottom of the carboy was like a rock and it formed peaks and craters that looked like some distant planet. Very cool. I’ll follow up with how it turns out.
 
I cracked one open yesterday. It had the distinct hiss as I popped the cap and had a decent head after I poured it. Carbonation is a bit lacking but its probably still working on that. One thing I found odd was that the head was gone within a minute of the pour. Is that something that might get better as it ages a bit or do I need to think about other things I may have done wrong? Thanks!
 
Is your glass hand washed and Beer Clean?
 
BrewCLE said:
Is that something that might get better as it ages a bit or do I need to think about other things I may have done wrong?
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Three possibilities:
1) Oil or soap in the bottle or somewhere in the bottling process or even in your glass. Sometimes something in the boil will do it, too.
2) Recipe or bad mashing - I don't know if this is an extract kit, but sometimes head retention can be a problem even with all-grain.
3) Heavy diacetyl in the beer. Usually if it's present enough to kill head, you can taste the buttery notes and feel a slickness in the finish.
Another possibility is that it just isn't carbed enough and occasionally other infections can cause head problems, too. Let your bottles sit at 70 degrees or better for as long as possible before you chill them for consumption. It may get better.
 
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