Dangers of fermenting for too short of time?

[Kincaide]

I am brewing an IPA from "Brewing Classic Styles". Again, it doesn't really say how long I am suppose to ferment it for. I've fermented for 6 days and already reached the desired finishing gravity. How much longer should I wait before I bottle this (keep in mind that I am thirsty and impatient)? What are the negative aspects of bottling too early?

Oh, also, maybe I was thinking of changing up the recipe and adding some dry hops in a secondary. Should I throw the hops in the bottom of the carboy before I transfer, or after I transfer? I would use an ounce of Cascade pellet hops.

[EagleDude]

Your biggest danger of bottling too quick is not letting the yeast clean everything up, especially the diacetyl. Beyond that, I would transfer and then dry hop so that the hops have a chance to settle through the entire column of beer and infuse the dry hop goodness. Transfering on top of the hops won't allow them to infuse the efficiently into the entire batch.

[EL TIZZO]

if you are at your terminal gravity I would wait another couple days and raise the temp 5 or so degrees if possible (move to a warmer part of the house for example) then go ahead and bottle it up...give it at least two weeks in the bottle as you will thank your self later...beer is always better if you can wait a little longer...I once heard (I think it was Doc actually) that the last few pints of a batch of beer are usually the best and I have to agree

as for dry hopping, yes you are correct, pour them into your secondary and rack onto them...I will generally swirl the carboy at least once a day to get the hops back into suspension...also I would use at least 2 ounces for it to make much of an impact...especially an IPA

cheers!

[fistwizard]

i'll just add that desired fg and terminal gravity are not always the same- recipes and software can't always predict what your yeast may do.

maybe i just got caught up in your phrasing but i'd say confirm gravity readings a few days apart. other than that dry hop that sucker and start enjoying (in about 2-3 weeks)

[Stinkfist]

Think about it this way.....the yeast just had a giant rave party in your beer....now they need to clean up from it....don't be the paranoid parents that come home too soon and find a huge mess in their house

give them time to clean up

[spiderwrangler]

Bad things that can happen:
Yeast leave diacetyl, acetylaldehyde behind
Some sugars not finished, overcarbonate in the bottle
-- Bottles are gushers
-- Exploding bottles
Lots of yeast in suspension
-- Flavor impacts
-- Lots of sediment, hard to get clear pour
-- Reduce shelf life (though that doesn't sound like a problem for you)

Downside to letting it sit another week or two:
You have to buy some commercial beer to tide you over


Be patient, let it go.

[brewinhard]

+1 to all the above. If I were you, i would add my dry hops (preferably at least 3-4 oz) directly to your primary once the fermentation starts to slow, which it sounds like it already has. Give your fermenter a good swirl to disperse the hops (every other day as well), and let the hops sit for 5-7 days before packaging. If you can cold crash the fermenter for 48 hrs before packaging this will help to clear up some haze from the hops and yeast.

Why add them to your primary?

1. No need to clean/sanitize another fermenter (reduces chance of oxidation/infection)
2. The slightly active fermentation still going on will push any introduced oxygen out of your fermenter keeping a nice blanket of CO2 above your beer for protection from staling.

[Abouttreefiddy]

Every time I have left my beer for longer than I wanted to I was pleased with the results. You can't rush excellence. Generally what I've found is that if you try to drink your beer before it's ready is that you will end up drinking $hitty beer. Let the beer tell you when it's ready and drink it then. If you feel like you need to have more beer ready, brew more! Get a nice pipeline going and you will be happy with the results.