Ready to bottle? I think?

[Slopdog]

Hey everyone, very new to home brew, i purchased a kit on Tuesday and have had my lager that came with it fermenting since then. In my apartment its kind of hard to control the temp of the ferment especially when I'm not here, so its mainly been at around 30 degrees (Which i know it a little too warm)

Its now almost the 5th day its been fermenting and I've taken 2 readings over the past couple days and the SG has been the same at 1006, i have also tasted it and it tastes pretty good, a flat beer as the instructional video says. I was wondering if its time to bottle? Or if I'm jumping the gun and should hold back for a bit.

Any suggestions?

[ozdevil]

1 hour ago, Slopdog said:

Hey everyone, very new to home brew, i purchased a kit on Tuesday and have had my lager that came with it fermenting since then. In my apartment its kind of hard to control the temp of the ferment especially when I'm not here, so its mainly been at around 30 degrees (Which i know it a little too warm)

Its now almost the 5th day its been fermenting and I've taken 2 readings over the past couple days and the SG has been the same at 1006, i have also tasted it and it tastes pretty good, a flat beer as the instructional video says. I was wondering if its time to bottle? Or if I'm jumping the gun and should hold back for a bit.

Any suggestions?

leave it for a  few more days  to allow the yeast to clean it self up   

@30°c  pretty high  fermentation  for the yeast you most likely used even though it may have been an ale yeast 
how to combat  that without fermentation control   is place Fermenter in your bath full of water so that the fermenter is not floating and wrap in towels and have the towel end in the water
to soak the water up th towels and you may want to add ice bricks or ice to the water to keep the temps down to around 20°c

or next time do an ale kit   and purchase Kveik yeast  . the reason i say this  Kveik  can handle high temps upto 40°c   the only issue is it ferments verry quick  at these high temps
which will seem to be perfect for you in an apartment  and no temp control  through warm periods

come April through to spring approx where the temps are cooler depending on where you live  the yeasts that are provided with the tins or what you purchase individually will handle the coolness and your temps wont fluctuate to much like they will now   

considering your beer has finished the fermentation cycle at 1.006 you can bottle now   or you could leave it till the end of the week to allow the yeast to clean  it self up  like i have said

welcome to the world of brewing  and ask as many questions as possible no matter how silly they are. there is alot of good brewers here to help you from extract brewers to all grain brewers that  enjoy the end result 

 

[Malter White]

@Slopdog As it appears you've reached final gravity (FG) and if you can't wait to bottle it, go ahead and bottle it. It will be fine to do so but as Oz has mentioned if you let it sit a few more days you'll notice more of the murkiness will drop out and you'll get a clearer final beer with a bit less sediment in the bottles.

It's not unusual for fermentation to be done in 5 days, especially in warmer conditions. The yeast are more active at higher temperatures but they can also give off flavours that aren't to the liking of most palates. Getting your temps closer to the 20C mark will improve your beer. Being in an apartment you might not have a bath. The laundry tub is another option or large tray. Good luck with the brew.

[jennyss]

@Slopdog, I am a new brewer too. My second brew, a Coopers Pale Ale is on day 7 now and has a SG of 1004. Will wait and see what it measures today and tomorrow. It is quite hot here in Central West NSW - 35deg most days recently. I have my vessel set up in the laundry and I'm using a floor fan and wet towel and esky ice-bricks to keep the temp.  down. I'm brewing out of interest; but mainly for cost reasons. So I'm going nowhere near that rabbit hole that some brewers warn you about!

[ozdevil]

16 minutes ago, jennyss said:

@Slopdog, I am a new brewer too. My second brew, a Coopers Pale Ale is on day 7 now and has a SG of 1004. Will wait and see what it measures today and tomorrow. It is quite hot here in Central West NSW - 35deg most days recently. I have my vessel set up in the laundry and I'm using a floor fan and wet towel and esky ice-bricks to keep the temp.  down. I'm brewing out of interest; but mainly for cost reasons. So I'm going nowhere near that rabbit hole that some brewers warn you about!

just you wait and see   about that rabbit hole,  you may not take that direct route  but at some point in the journey  you will end up at the same rabbit hole  
you just wont realise how you got there  

[Classic Brewing Co]

3 hours ago, Slopdog said:

Hey everyone, very new to home brew, i purchased a kit on Tuesday and have had my lager that came with it fermenting since then. In my apartment its kind of hard to control the temp of the ferment especially when I'm not here, so its mainly been at around 30 degrees (Which i know it a little too warm)

Its now almost the 5th day its been fermenting and I've taken 2 readings over the past couple days and the SG has been the same at 1006, i have also tasted it and it tastes pretty good, a flat beer as the instructional video says. I was wondering if its time to bottle? Or if I'm jumping the gun and should hold back for a bit.

Any suggestions?

I agree with all of the other comments/suggestions & also that 30 degrees is too high unless you use a specific yeast as pointed out.

Leaving it for longer will clear up your beer otherwise it will be murky & a lot of sediment also pointed out.

Years ago when I was travelling full time I was living in an apartment, without a bath, only a small sink in the bathroom I had to do the same thing wrap the FV in wet towels, darken the room with towels over the windows, use fans, ice blocks etc but it is a PITA if you can't be home all day to maintain the temperature.

You can buy large storage tubs from most department stores quite cheap 50-100 litres & they are useful for lot's of home brewing activities. If you freeze as many cool drink bottles as you can & place them in the tub with the FV & water they will help to cool it down & last a long time too.

Finally the only other option would be to look out for a secondhand fridge on Gumtree, FB, Garage Sales etc & get some form of temp control.

Good Luck with your brewing.

 

[jennyss]

@ozdevil, In my laundry/brew room I need a new mixer tap set - should come in at under $200. This will make washing brew gear a lot easier and I'll be able to fit the FV in the sink. Nothing to do with rabbit holes!

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, jennyss said:

@ozdevil, In my laundry/brew room I need a new mixer tap set - should come in at under $200. This will make washing brew gear a lot easier and I'll be able to fit the FV in the sink. Nothing to do with rabbit holes!

Ouch !! when you fork out money for things around the house ( I know they are necessary )  you think of all of the other things you could have bought, 2nd hand fridge, Fermenters, Brew gear etc but we do what we have to do.

[ozdevil]

13 hours ago, jennyss said:

@ozdevil, In my laundry/brew room I need a new mixer tap set - should come in at under $200. This will make washing brew gear a lot easier and I'll be able to fit the FV in the sink. Nothing to do with rabbit holes!

the rabbit holes snael up on ya before you even know your in the rabbit hole they are sneaky

[Aussiekraut]

14 hours ago, jennyss said:

@ozdevil, In my laundry/brew room I need a new mixer tap set - should come in at under $200. This will make washing brew gear a lot easier and I'll be able to fit the FV in the sink. Nothing to do with rabbit holes!

Yeah, I heard that before  

I just want to see how I go with this.
Oh maybe another fermentor would be handy.
This two handed capper is dangerous. I should get a bench capper.
Hmm maybe I really should go for this ferment fridge.
Wow this is good but if I had another ferment fridge, I could save even more money making more beer.
Let's get bigger fermentors, so I can make more beer.
Some dude on my brewing forum just bought this brewing system and it is currently on special. I saw a YouTube video showcasing it and it seems like something even I can do.
Buying grains for a batch at a time so annoying. I should get a grain mill and buy grains unmilled and in bulk, then mill my own. That way I can save on grains.
Wow, my beers are so much better but this bottling is a pain in the neck. Maybe I can use my tax return to get a Kegerator. They aren't that expensive. Of course I need a gas bottle and a few kegs too.
I should have gotten the big gas bottle. Those little ones don't last long.
If I had a gas manifold, I could turn individual taps on and off as I need it.
Some inline regulators would allow me to fast carb a keg, while keeping the others on serving pressure.
I should get a better regulator and then I can use the old one for other things
That Kegerator was a great investment. I really love it but I need more kegs.
And the story continues...
So much for "nothing to do with rabbit holes" 

[Popo the Reprobate]

12 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

Yeah, I heard that before  

 

That is good @Aussiekraut! Haha. You have captured the progression very well.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Popo

[Classic Brewing Co]

20 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

Yeah, I heard that before  

How very true, there is always something to make brew day better. 

[Space]

Congrats on your first brew.

Temperature control is king.   You will soon find that you need an Inkbird controller, a heat belt or heat pad, and a working fridge you pick up cheap from facebook.  I picked up all three for about £100 GB.  You put it together in a few minutes with items you find around the house and away you go - accurately controlling temperature with a phone app.