Question - To bottle or not to bottle?

by **ozcah** » Sunday Jul 10, 2011 5:51 pm

Hi,

I've had a beer in teh fermenter for about 12 weeks.
I know it should have been bottled ages ago but a few things caught up with me and here I am about 12 weeks later with a happily fermented LCPA clone (hopefully) sitting in the fermenter.

Should I bottle it?
Is there anything I should do prior to bottling?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Osc

by **Sonny** » Sunday Jul 10, 2011 6:23 pm

Mate, I'm not a guru by any means. But lift the lid and smell it. If it smells and looks fine and nothing jumps at you and bites you on the nose.

Then bottle it!
It's beer, and may just be a damn fine one too.

by **Oliver** » Sunday Jul 10, 2011 6:52 pm

Yep, I'd bottle it. If it's been sealed up the whole time there's no added chance of infection. But +1 to what Sonny said: If it smells OK, bottle it. You could even draw off a bit and taste it.

I've left beers for a few months before, and they've been fine.

Cheers,

Oliver

by **jello** » Sunday Jul 10, 2011 7:08 pm

I'd bottle it. It's heart breaking to dump a beer. And you never know, it could be a good one.

by **SimonG** » Wednesday Jul 13, 2011 12:19 pm

As long as the fermenter was sealed, then I'm sure it will be fine, earlier this year I left a beer in the fermenter for 8 weeks and it came out great. Give it a taste before you bottle it and if it tastes ok then bottle it.

Since LCPA is a hop driven beer, you might find it has lost some of the hop aroma from sitting for a while, so you might want to dry hop with 10-20g of cascade and 10-20g ofchinook and bottle after 2 or 3 days if it is lacking a bit of aroma.

Cheers
Simon

by **earle** » Wednesday Jul 13, 2011 1:15 pm

Also, what temp has it been at. The better your temp control, the longer it can be left without ill effect, barring infection. If you leave it on the yeast cake for longer periods at higher temps it can take on 'off' flavours. The best way to tell would be to take a sample, sniff and then taste. You will know straight away if an infection has taken hold.

by **ozcah** » Tuesday Jul 19, 2011 2:33 pm

Hi,

Thanks to all for the suggestions, seems like a big yes for bottling as long as an infection hasn't set in.
Will give it a go on the weekend.

Ta.

Osc

Question - To bottle or not to bottle?

Question - To bottle or not to bottle?

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