So, am I screwing up?

[gbob]

I just read "How to Brew" (went to go buy a copy when it turns out a friend of mine already has it despite never brewing in his god forsaken lazy ass life) and I'm now wondering about my brews.

Here's the thing. I've been doing ales (2 IPAs, an Irish Red, and I just laid down the my first wheat beer yesterday) and I've been bottling after about a week or so in the fermenter. Everything I read says about two weeks of fermenting. Now, so far the beer has come out great, and I let it hit a SG of 1.01 before bottling, but am I missing something by not letting it ferment longer?

Is it just a matter of warmer temps fermenting the beer faster, or am I just jumping the gun and bottling too soon?

I'm such a fucking newb at this. Every article I read shows me just how little of the craft I've picked up so far.

On the other hand, I've now made 160 or 170 bottles of really tasty beer.

[ZZ]

How high are your temps? You will taste a difference if you keep the fermentation temps down to around the high 60's.

As long as your final gravity has remained stable for a few days, you should be fine. 1 week fermentations aren't unheard of but just make sure you don't bottle just because you reach a certain gravity. Make sure fermentation is complete first!

Can you say "bottle bombs"?

[oneal66]

Fermentation is done when you reach your final gravity. Some ales only take a few days to finish out. If you're fermenting at too high of a temperature then your beer will finish a little more quickly than expected. If you're beer isn't typically overcarbonated or your bottles aren't exploding then you're more than likely finished fermenting.

Don't worry about not knowing, you may not know very much right now, but even Jamil was a newb at one time. Keep reading and listening to the shows.

[PaulBeer]

I'm such a fucking newb at this. Every article I read shows me just how little of the craft I've picked up so far.

On the other hand, I've now made 160 or 170 bottles of really tasty beer.

There's always something new to learn about this craft. I've been brewing for about 2 years now and I also feel like a fucking newb.

It certainly doesn't hurt to heed the advice of brewers like John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff; these guys have a great understanding of how to brew quality beers. So don't get discouraged. Keep on brewing really tasty beer and don't be afraid to pick up some new tricks along the way.

[BrewTa2]

Don't be in a rush. Even though you've reached your final gravity and no more alcohol is being produced, the yeast are still alive and working doing such things as converting diacetyl.

[mexicanham]

Don't be in a rush. Even though you've reached your final gravity and no more alcohol is being produced, the yeast are still alive and working doing such things as converting diacetyl.

Right. What he said. Don't rush it. A good rule: Once the SG has been the same for 3 straight days, fermentation is complete. You can then bottle without fear of creating beer grenades. However, as BT2 said, the yeast continue to "clean themselves up" for about another week after fermentation is complete. Have patience, buy another carboy, brew another batch while you're waiting.

[gbob]

Damn. I was so pumped for bottling on Sunday.

Even worse, a quick count of remaining beer shows that I may face a week of either sobriety or poor quality beer due to the change in production level. Damn you all to hell, father time!

[mexicanham]

You're welcome.