First Batch Question

The decision to bottle is determined by your FG (final gravity), depending on your method, yeast, recipe, etc...this could take several weeks or several days.

I would not consider taking a measurement until at least the end of the 2nd week, and really I'd just let it ride for 3 weeks. When you have a consistent FG reading 3 days apart, it should be safe to bottle. This assume that your FG is consistent with the recipe/design.

 

All else equal ... it's hard to go wrong by fermenting three full weeks before bottling.

 

The safe thing to do is check the gravity, as johnsnow says, but if you wait 3 weeks, as herb says you'll probably be fine. I recommend that familiarize yourself with the taste of diacetyl and acetaldehyde. These common flavors in immature beers. If you taste them, it is too soon to bottle.

 

I'm surprised that the homebrew store person wasn't more specific. However, since the answer there did not involve recommending that you take a gravity measurement, does that mean that person possibly knows that you don't have a hydrometer? If that's the case, then waiting a specific period of time like two weeks is what you'll have to do (unless you get a hydrometer soon). But you need to verify that fermentation did occur because your yeast may not take hold and do their job for a couple reasons (pitched way too hot or too cold). If your fermentor is a carboy, observation of the krausen bubbling will confirm fermentation. Your airlock will confirm CO2 escaping in a bucket. When either cease, then fermentation is essentially done.

If you do have a hydrometer, then waiting until you're pretty sure the fermentation is finished (from the observation methods noted above) and then taking a gravity reading will be the surest way to decide when to package. After taking a gravity reading, then take another one in 3 days, and if they are very close (and the readings are close to what your recipe predicts), that signals that your sugar has been consumed and the fermentation is complete. Waiting a few extra days after that is advisable to allow time for the yeast to clean up after themselves which help prevent unwanted off-flavors in your beer. Then you can package.

The question that you asked in this post tells me that you many not have done much reading to educate yourself about the whole science of homebrewing, so I'll recommend that you consider getting the book How to Brew by John Palmer. An earlier version of the book is free online at howtobrew.com and that book is an excellent source for learning the basics as well as intermediate brewing skills.

Good luck on getting this first one under your belt and into your belly.

 

A good reason the LHBS guy wasn't so specific is that it's hard to be. There are variables that can cause extended fermentation times. The beer is done when it says it's done; yeast can't read calendars.
Personally, I do first gravity check at 2 and a half weeks, planning on bottling at 3 weeks. There have been a couple times it hasn't been ready, so I left it be another week. At those point there's no worry about problems of it being there too long.

 

I usually go for 3. I use plastic buckets and I don't have oxidation issues. I think if you need for the beer to sit for more than 2 months, you'd better be in a BB or a glass carboy. I think by then you'd better be racking off the yeast cake too.

Typically I go for 3 weeks and rack to keg, or bottling bucket and package quickly.

 

Watch for bubbling in the airlock and get yourself a hydrometer. They are cheap and indespensible. The kit you got should tell you your target FG.

 

Hydrometer, yes. But bubbles can be a terrible indicator of fermentation/degree of attenuation. There are dozens (hundreds?) of threads from people who want to know "What went wrong, should I pitch more yeast?" because they never saw any bubbles. A lot of the time, they discover their beer is done.

 

Change the "CAN be a terrible..." to "ARE a terrible..." and I agree with you

 

General opinion around here is that you shouldn't transfer to a secondary unless you are going to a) age the beer for an extended time or b) rack onto fruit/oak/spices/whatever. You risk oxidizing or infecting your beer every time you transfer and there aren't any clear benefits to doing it.

 

For a pale ale, I wouldn't rack to secondary. As long as you pitched enough healthy yeast and had a solid fermentation, bottling after 2-3 weeks in primary is fine. I would still do a hydrometer test after 2 weeks, but the F.G. should be in the 'finish' range by that point in time.

If you are doing bulk aging for sours/bigger beers, or aging it on fruit or oak, etc.. then you should rack to secondary, but in your case I don't see a need to.

 

Except for air expansion inside the fermentor giving a false indication with the expansion bubbles, the bubbles in an airlock are a good indicator to confirm that fermentation is occurring. However, I agree with you that a LACK of bubbles is not a good indicator that fermentation in NOT occurring or is complete. You gotta' know your bubbles to understand them.

 

So far, I have done two batches as a home brewer... First was a pale ale and the second a hefeweizen (all grain batches).

I left them both in for two weeks in primary and they finished exactly where they should have been... So far so good at 2 weeks for me. Then I bottle and condition for a few weeks.

 

I leave virtually all of my beers in the fermenter for three weeks. I take a gravity reading at that point, not to see if it's done (it is), but just to update my notes. Big beers are the notable exception.

 

Drawing a hydro sample for reading the gravity is all well in good for all but small batch sizes ... i.e., < = 3G.

More better to just wait the three full weeks.

 

I'd go by the hydrometer readings or alternatively, leave it in the fermenter for a few weeks. There's no harm in letting it settle a bit more.

Once its bottled tho, I'd let it sit for at least a month before drinking it.
You can drink it after a week or two but the longer it sits the more it will mellow.

Patience is the hardest part about brewing. I found that out the hard way. lol.

Good luck, mate

 

Three weeks is a good bet for fermentation. I ferment in carboys, so it is easy to see the yeast in action. After active fermentation is complete I transfer the beer to secondary. For most of my brews this is after one week, but some times the yeast is still churning the wort after a week so I will let it go a second week. If this is the case, i will leave it in secondary for two weeks or more. If the beer doesn't clear up in secondary (or I don't have an empty keg) I will let it go longer. I broke my hydrometer, so I don't take gravity measurements any more. When I did, it was to calculate the alcohol content and not to determine if fermentation is complete. I brew all grain and keg my beer, so it probably isn't as critical since fermentation can finish in the keg.

I kegged my first brew after two weeks (one primary, one secondary) because I was impatient and wanted to taste it. The first pint tasted good, but the last pint was even better.

If you want to make this a good hobby as opposed to getting cheap beer, look up How To Brew as mentioned above. There are a lot of online resources if you want to learn the science of brewing. Lately I've been getting emails from Groupon advertising an on line Master Beer-Brewing Course for $29. I haven't checked it out, but it might be worth your while if you are just starting out and have $29 to spend.

Good Luck with your first brew.