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So I was planning on bottling tomorrow, but I can't get an accurate reading from my hydrometer because it's covered in bubbles. In Thursday it was showing 0996, today it's 1003.

It's been in there 2 weeks today, so I assume it's safe to bottle anyway?
 
So I was planning on bottling tomorrow, but I can't get an accurate reading from my hydrometer because it's covered in bubbles. In Thursday it was showing 0996, today it's 1003.

It's been in there 2 weeks today, so I assume it's safe to bottle anyway?

Er .... if it's bubbling doesn't that indicate that it's still fermenting? :lol:

I kegged a Wilco Cerveza back in May on the basis that it MUST have finished fermenting and it became the ONLY keg I have ever had where I managed to remove a litre per day for three weeks without using a CO2 capsule! Lucky or what? :doh:

I would advise a definite SG before bottling. :thumb:
 
Is it bubbling, or just bubbly? :-/

Surely it must be done after two weeks! Today is 15 days after pitching!
 
So I checked the gravity again and it's still showing 1003. God knows how I got 0996 earlier this week, but on the basis that the SG has been steady over 3 days I bottled it. Should be about 3.6%. Used the carbonation drops that came with the kit, one per bottle. Let's see how it goes!
 
After 13 days conditioning and just 2 days in the fridge, I succumbed and tried a bottle.

The good news is, it's beer. Perfectly nice, drinkable, session strength beer. And it's cleared really nicely!

The bad news is it's flat as a pancake. Clearly one of those drops per 500ml bottle was not enough. I suspect I know the answer to this, but can I open the other bottles and add a second, or is it too late?
 
...
The bad news is it's flat as a pancake. Clearly one of those drops per 500ml bottle was not enough. ...

I'm also very new to this & have quickly found that one drop isn't enough. I tried batch priming for my latest brew which should be ready in a week.

Still think I prefer the drops so will try two per bottle next time round.
 
I got a **** load of them with the kit, so I'll use them next time just because I have them (though I'll be sure to use two per 500ml bottle, even though that's supposedly the dose for 750ml). But batch priming in a bottling bucket certainly seems the sensible long-term solution to me.
 
I've not used those drops, but I'm wondering if they just aren't dissolving quick enough? 2 weeks is definately long enough to prime with sugar, but maybe those drops take a bit longer, rather than needing more of them?

Worth persevering for another week or two? Too much CO2 and you may end up with gushers and/or disturbing the yeast at the bottom of the bottles.
 
They've fully dissolved, and certainly appeared to have fully dissolved by the first morning after being added. But adding more is a hassle at this stage and a flat beer isn't the worst thing in the world. I'll give them until the 5th, then crack open a few more, and if it's still flat then I'll try two per bottle next time. I'll still drink these ones, never fear!
 
It was my birthday yesterday, which means we had an awful lot of people over for a BBQ on Saturday. I drank my own beer rather than buying, and after two weeks cold conditioning this has turned into an incredibly session-able beer. It was one of those "What's the time? Huh? Christ, I've had five pints in less than 90 minutes" moments.

A couple of other people tried a pint or two, and enjoyed it. My parents were over yesterday, and both mum and dad sank a pint or two. It's not particularly special (it actually reminds me a lot of Greene King IPA) but it's perfectly pleasant and goes down easily. I'm pretty chuffed with it for a first attempt.

I've also decided that the carbonation is actually right. It's almost exactly as fizzy as a hand-pulled beer, I'm just used to bottled ales being over-carbonated.
 
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