Knowing when to bottle my first brew...

[magictorch]

I started my first brew almost 3 weeks ago and have kept it in it's own fridge at about 10 degrees centigrade since. As I used Saflager yeast it's been bubbling away quite happily, and the SG has reduced from 1070 to about 1010, the last measurement taken a couple of days ago. I'm gonna measure it again today.

If the SG is 1010 again, do you reckon that'll mean that the fermentation has finished? I'm a little concerned that the low temperature might hamper the final fermentation of the sugars, or that it'll be too slow to measure accurately over a couple of days.

Should I take it out of the fridge for the next few days and monitor it's progress at a warmer temperature? Or am I being overly anxious?

[thehipone]

Hi,

Well, with lagers patience is a virtue. That said, at around 1010 you're getting to the point where fermentation is probably close to finished. If the hydrometer reading is the same over a 4 day period its almost certainly done, go ahead and bottle it. With the high OG, I'd say there will probably be a decent amount of unfermentables in the mix, so 1010 seems like a reasonable FG.

A day or 2 at a warmer temperature may help the yeast eat up some of the off-flavors that they have made, in addition to putting your mind at ease if you decide that you want to wait a bit before botlting.

Congratulations on your first batch. And be patient while it sits and matures...

[Gough]

Yep, what thehipone says. Give it a day or so sitting at 18-20 degrees and then bottle away. 1070! A Doppelbock? Nice big lager either way. You've done well to get it to attenuate to 1010 with saflager. Should be great.

Shawn.

[Dogger Dan]

Concur, enjoy

Dogger