Because of travel, I can do a kit only Thursday next week and will have to keg/bottle it Wednesday the following week before disappearing for 2 weeks... I'd like to have something conditioning while I am holiday.
Recent brews have been within a point of kegging gravity within 5 or 6 days - is it worth risking?
What are the consequences of kegging a little early? What can I do to get the first ferment done ASAP without spoiling the beer?
One week brewing window
-
AT
-
prodigal2
Moco, I spend alot of my time traveling for work, and I have learnt a few tricks for a better word 
1)You can leave a brew upto about 3 weeks(possibly more though I have never tried) in the primary with now ill effects
2)Bang it into the keg/secondry after 6 days, as long as it is within a handful(5-6) of points it will be fine, just make sure you get a bit of yeast into the secondry
3) Unless you have used more commercial methods eg crash cooling, DON'T bottle
4) its better to have beer waiting for you, than be waiting for beer
HTH
1)You can leave a brew upto about 3 weeks(possibly more though I have never tried) in the primary with now ill effects
2)Bang it into the keg/secondry after 6 days, as long as it is within a handful(5-6) of points it will be fine, just make sure you get a bit of yeast into the secondry
3) Unless you have used more commercial methods eg crash cooling, DON'T bottle
4) its better to have beer waiting for you, than be waiting for beer
HTH
-
moco
-
StevieR
I guess the main risk would be from bacterial infrection but I've read a lot of posts from brewers who have left their brew in primary for upto 4 weeks without any issues (make sure the lid is closed tightly though !).
If you are going to brew next Thrusday I would suggest adding half teaspoon of yeast vit to the wort when pitching the yeast. I did that to my Woodfordes Wherry and it fermented like mad - dropping from 1044 to 1014 within 2 days !!
hope this helps
Stephen
If you are going to brew next Thrusday I would suggest adding half teaspoon of yeast vit to the wort when pitching the yeast. I did that to my Woodfordes Wherry and it fermented like mad - dropping from 1044 to 1014 within 2 days !!
hope this helps
Stephen
-
Orkney_Rob
The first kit I did brewed really quick, probably due to the temperatures being on the higher side of ideal! The current one is sitting around 24 deg. and going like a good un! I had the Yorkshire Bitter in the keg after 6 days though, to clear the way for the next kit - which then didn't turn up for a while! But it seems okay - early tasting is showing it to be a reasonable beer... so I would think you could get a kit through and kegged just before you leave - and let it do it's think whilst you are away!
-
MJW
I think I may have kegged a little early, the wort was slightly off final gravity after 7 days fermenting but I was going away and needed to keg it. It's been in the keg for 2 weeks now and I just tried it, it tastes a litttle bitter and isn't clear. Other than that it's not nasty tasting, is it worth adding a bit of sugar into the keg or should I leave it another week?
-
prodigal2
No I think you are fine. Your beer probably needs another couple of weeks to mature, the bitterness will mellow out, and the yeast will slowly drop out of suspension.MJW wrote:I think I may have kegged a little early, the wort was slightly off final gravity after 7 days fermenting but I was going away and needed to keg it. It's been in the keg for 2 weeks now and I just tried it, it tastes a litttle bitter and isn't clear. Other than that it's not nasty tasting, is it worth adding a bit of sugar into the keg or should I leave it another week?
What was the OG and FG? the rule of thumb is for every 10 points above 1000 on your OG= 1 week of maturing with a ale.
-
prodigal2
-
prodigal2
