I'm just on my second batch of single stage beer, and have run into the same question both times. After the wort ferments for about two weeks, it seems to slow down quite a bit, but a slight cap of bubbles hovers around the neck of my glass carboy. The fermentation lock bubbles about once every two minutes. My question is, should I wait until the bubbling ceases altogether, as advised in the pamphlet "easy beer?" As I understand it, you can get off- flavors by leaving the beer on the trub too long. I didn't take a specific gravity reading before pitching the yeast and am none too comfortable with using that method anyway. Are there any other options? What are the consequences of bottling when there's still a little bubbling/foaming, as in a ring of bubbles about 1/8 - 1/4 inch high around the neck, going on? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Single-stage bottling question
Aug 20, 2003
2 Replies
Why have you got a problem? It is easy and you will know when your brew is ready to bottle ie 2 or 3 days of about the same gravity
if fermentation is still going at best you will have very fizzy beer at worst bottle bombs
>
Why don't you want to take gravity readings? There's no other way to be _sure_ what's going on. Just because the bubbling has stopped doesn't mean fermetation is complete...it could be stuck.
Good possibility of exploding bottles.
----------->Denny
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