A few questions about fermenting and bottling.

[will4009]

Hello,

On Friday, I brewed a BIAB Maris otter/Cascade smash. It started to ferment quite rapidly after 6 hours, and the air lock has now pretty much stopped bubbling. Is 4-5 days a reasonable time for fermentation to have taken place?

I did not take an initial gravity reading, as I didn't have a hydrometer. However, I have now purchased one and plan on using it to see if fermentation is complete. What gravity reading should I be looking for, that confirms fermentation has finished? All being well, I was thinking leaving it for a total of 10 days in the fermenter, before bottling.

When I emptied the wort into the fermenter, I tried to hold back lots of the hops and other thick stuff at the bottom of the pot. However, a fair amount got in. What can I do to clear up my brew before I bottle it? Should I leave it in the garage for a few days, to chill it a bit? Or should I just leave it in my kitchen, and bottle it?

And finally, how much priming sugar should I use per pint? I was thinking about leaving the bottles at room temperature for a week, then moving them to somewhere cooler.

Would be grateful for any help or advice.

Thanks.

 

[obscure]

This is purely based on my own experience, I track my batches with a Tilt hydrometer and generally I see a build up over about 12-36 hours, then It can go extremely rapidly, I’ve have had batches drop from 1.045 to 1.008 in 72 hours from start to finish. However I still tend to go for two weeks in primary, this gives time for the beer to clear and the trub to settle. Time is as always your friend when it comes to brewing.

I generally brew fairly low gravity beers, I rarely go above 1.045 and using a yeast know for fairly rapid fermentation in my case S-04. Final gravity varies depending on style my experience is mostly with bitters and milds for which 1.008 - 1.010 is generally my final gravity, the key thing is a steady gravity reading over several days.

 

[cockerhoop]

Everyone does things differently. Personally, I now leave mine for 2 weeks. Everything ferments out, the yeast cleans up the beer and the bits tend to settle out. I usually keg, but if I bottle, I dissolve the sugar in some boiling water and add it to the bucket immediately before I bottle. something like 80g for a 5 gallon batch I find works fine.

 

[Covrich]

depends on your strating gravity and your yeast

I would leave it a week and take a gravity I'd expect something around 1010-1016 roughly

how exactly do you intent to bottle straight from FV or transfer to bottling bucket

 

[labrewski]

2 to 3 weeks minimum no matter what beer or ale in primary dont touch it move it just leave it longer the better if like transfer to another bucket and leave for 2 days before bottling to help clear and lower your sediment in bottles then half a tea spoon of sugar in each bottle fill 14 days in 20 degrees and u got yourself one fine bottle of beer well worth waiting 5 weeks for thats my way works every time

 

[will4009]

depends on your strating gravity and your yeast

I would leave it a week and take a gravity I'd expect something around 1010-1016 roughly

how exactly do you intent to bottle straight from FV or transfer to bottling bucket

Yeast was US-05. For the reasons stated, unfortunately I coudn't get a starting gravity reading.

My plan was to bottle straight from the fermenter, using an auto syphon and bottler tool.

I have a bottling bucket, plus the majority of my brewing equipment at my parents house, due to the current circumstances I cant nip over and get it. So, I have bought the bare minimum, just enough equipment to make 8-ish litre batches BIAB brews.

 

[terrym]

Leave it untouched in the warm until 10 days is up. By then it should have completely finished. Take an SG reading. It is likely its somewhere around 1.010 but if its above 1.015 leave it a few days longer. When it gets to about 1.010 move it to your cool garage for another 4 days, to encourage it to clear. Then check the SG again. It should be more or less the same as the last reading before you moved it, if so go ahead and bottle
Siphon into your bottles avoiding the trub at the bottom of the FV. If you want a moderately carbed beer use half teaspoon sugar per 500ml bottle. Or 3/4 tsp for higher carbonation. Anything above that will be a bit too lively for the style imo. Leave your bottles two weeks in the warm to ensure carbing is complete then move to a cool place. Sample after two weeks is up.
Enjoy!