Secondary? First Fermentation

[Mizzoubrewer]

I have several questions. I brewed an amber ale and it's my first time. I put it straight into the carboy and don't plan on using a secondary right now. It's been sitting in the Carboy for about 6 days and it looks like the fermentation has died down, so how much longer should I let it sit before bottling? How will I know its done? Would it be best to go to a secondary?

Thanks for the help, I know the BN Army always comes through

MizzouBrewer

[Sent From My iPhone]

[BDawg]

Welcome to the hobby-

+1 -- the yeast work on their schedule, not yours.
Also, even though the krausen (yeast foam) falls, the yeast is still hard at work cleaning up byproducts and generally improving the beer.

I suggest you leave it alone for a good full 2 weeks from pitching yeast to bottling (of course, test it on day 12 and day 14 to be sure).

HTH-