First time brewing. Need advice

Let it go the 2 weeks minimum. They may be finished producing alcohol and CO2, but they still have some cleaning up to do. What was the beer you made?

 

Counting bubbles in not reliable.

Take a hydrometer reading, then another 2-3 days later. If the gravity doesn't change between those readings and is near the expected final gravity, attenuation is done.

If you don't have a hydrometer, wait two weeks, bottle, and cross your fingers. And make sure the beer doesn't taste sweet first.

 

There's no harm in leaving it in there longer, just to be sure. Plus, the extra time in the fermenter will give the yeast more time to clean up after itself. I know you're anxious because it's your first brew, but patience is a good thing.

I don't use a secondary and it sounds like you don't either. I always leave beers in the primary for at least a month and then take a hydrometer sample before bottling, just to be sure it's done. Haven't had an issues as of yet. Perhaps I'm overly cautious but bottling too early sounds like wasted effort.

Enjoy!
Jeff

 

Are you using a plastic bucket for fermentation and lifting the lid so you can peek, or are you using a carboy so that you can see what is happening?

 

No. You need to do what Vikeman said.

 

What is the final gravity supposed to be? Is this a kit? Which yeast? How many gallons?

 

+1. Listen to the VikeMan.

Going from 1.036 to 1.010, it sounds like the fermentation is probably complete or very very close. Check again in 3-4 days. If gravity remains constant at 1.010, then you can bottle. You really just want to make absolutely sure that the gravity is done changing before you bottle, that's the key. Otherwise you'll get gushers or bombs, which are not fun and can be dangerous!

 

I don't buy the 2 week rule as hard and fast. I think you can pretty accurately predict FG ( I use brewcipher and it is extremely accurate). If you are at your FG and no off flavors you should be in the clear to bottle.

 

An Original Gravity of 1.036 is very low for an IPA. My guess is that your wort and top-off water were not well mixed before you took the reading. Anyway, 1.010 sounds about right for a final gravity. But YMMV, and that second reading in 2-3 days is good insurance.

 

"And it's an IPA recipe..."

And you will not be dry hopping this beer?

I suppose that technically you can brew an IPA without dry hopping but I personally have never done that.

Cheers!

 

Nope, it's not too late. Just put it in the primary for 7-10 days. If you're using a carboy you're pretty much going to have to just dump them in, but if you're fermenting in a bucket you can use a fine mesh bag (sanitized) to help contain the hops and make it easier to get them out before you bottle the beer.

 

Vikeman's advice addresses attenuation. Scurvy311's advice is also worth heeding. In addition to eating sugar, yeast eat their own byproducts, which otherwise may give the beer certain off-flavors. Therefore, when you check the gravity for attenuation, you should taste the sample. If it doesn't taste right, let it go another week and try again. It might even help to raise the temperature a few degrees at this point. But note that not all off-flavors will go away. The primary ones I am thinking about that yeast will clean up are diacetyl (buttery) and acetaldehyde (green apple). If you move the beer off the main yeast mass before these are cleaned up, they may persist in your packaged beer. Or they may go away if the yeast that remain in the packaged product are so motivated, but it is risky to rely on that.