Is my stout ready to bottle?

[a1anm]

Hi everyone!

I am in the process of making my first home brew. I used the Coopers DIY kit with a stout mix.

Things seemed to have went well. One day 2 I got loadsof foam/bubbles. On day 3 the bubbles had died down and I took the Krausen Kollar out.

The brew has been at a steady 23-25 degrees with the help of a heat belt.

Following the instructions I took a hydrometer reading and it was 1.013. I took another today and it was the same. If I go by the instructions this means it is ready to bottle.

My only concern is that my original gravity reading was 1.040 which means my ABV is 3.6 (I think). The kit said the stouts ABV should be 5.3.

Should I leave it to ferment longer or should I go ahead and bottle it and not worry about the ABV too much?

I have tasted it and it does taste like a flat stout with quite a strong yeast taste which I guess should be normal at this stage.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome. : Your SG seems about right for that kit. The FG depends on what extra fermentables you put in. I would leave it another week and if still the same go ahead and bottle. But I would try and reduce your temp to nearer 20c if you can.

 

[mmaguy41]

it may well have finished but id leave it a few more days to let the yeast clean up after themselves and to make sure its totally done, also thats a bit on the warm side for fermenting temps, could have done without the heat belt really, 18-21degrees is usually better for ales. It will take a little longer to ferment but you will get a better beer.

 

[a1anm]

Thanks for the speedy replies! It's reassuring as I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of questions :)

So, it isn't a bad thing to leave it in there even if it may have stopped fermenting? I'm totally fine with leaving it in there if it won't cause problems.

The instructions with my kit said that anything between 18 and 27 degrees would work but they said optimally it should be 21 to 27 so I was trying to get around the middle of those 2 figures.

My belt is close to the bottom of my fermenting vessel so I can raise it up to reduce the temperature if you still thing it would be better to be cooler.

 

[PD]

this time of the year inside a house you will not need the heat belt, put it away till autumn and get some patience instead.
Kit manufacturers are very OTT when it comes to time and temps, one of their big selling points is " Beer in a Week " etc.
Aim for 20C fermentation and allow plenty of time whatever the instructions say for the yeasts to eat through the sugars and make GOOD beer. then a week cooler to help them clean their act up and to drop to the bottom.
Then you can bottle or keg.
But learn to use, and be guided by your hydrometer, its
much more accurate than watching bubbles, however absorbing that is...

and soon as you can....get another brew on.

 

[cwiseman77]

Yeah you're fine to leave it in there, it won't cause any problems, in fact it'll be beneficial to the beer. How long has it been in the FV for? If your hydrometer reading is stable over the next few days and its been in the FV at least a week, I'd turn the heat belt off all together leave at quite a cool temp until its been in the FV for a total of 3 weeks and then bottle. :thumb:

Once bottled put them somewhere warm for a week then somewhere cool for a couple of weeks. I know it seems like a long time to wait, it certainly is longer than kit instructions but by then you should have a cracking pint!


p.s. Instructions that come with kits give notoriously bad advice. My beers improved greatly once I started ignoring them and listening to the guys on here.

 

[a1anm]

Ok, sounds good. I'm fine with leaving for whatever length of time it takes. I was trying to follow the instructions meticulously but I won't worry about them so much now.

It has been in the fermenting vessel for 6 days now. The room it is in is quite chilly (about 16 degrees) so I have left the belt on for now but moved it further up so that will lower the temp.

I will leave it for at least another 7-10 days before bottling.

 

[PD]

take the belt off altogether in around 4 days.

 

[a1anm]

take the belt off altogether in around 4 days.

Roger that.

 

[cwiseman77]

take the belt off altogether in around 4 days.

:thumb:

16c will do nicely for the last week.