Is it safe to bottle my brew?

[jcstockdale]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to this so please forgive my ignorance. I have a Festival Ales 'Pride of London Porter' kit on the go. My previous experience with these kits was very good but this one is causing me some anxiety! All was going well and then we had some cold weather and activity slowed down and possibly stopped altogether. I've tried giving it a stir (a couple of times) and also bringing it into a warmer part of the house. It gets going (by which I mean bubbling) for a little while but then stops again. The SG has been doggedly stuck on 1.016 for a couple of weeks now. The instructions say it should be stable at 1.009 before bottling. OG was 1.046 on 21st November (three weeks ago now).

Since we'll be going away ove the Christmas period, I have to decide whether to bottle before we go or after we come back. My fear is of returning to a pantry full of exploded bottles. But then it seems that leaving it until January is a bit excessive and could lead to other problems.

What do people suggest?

Thanks

James.

 

[Twostage]

What you could do is bottle it and put some in PET bottles which go stiff when they are carbonated. Check them a few days before you go and if they are really stiff then put all of the bottles somewhere cold which will stop further carbonation. You could do that anyway if you are at all concerned and then bring them back into the warmth when you get back and you can keep your eye on them.

Use pet bottles that had fizzy contents like sparkling water or coke or something.

 

[Clint]

As long as its got a lid on and a working airlock you can leave it. I've had brews fermenting for nearly a month.

 

[matt.]

Interesting comment. Thanks.
I may have to leave my brew for a while soon.

Out of interest, are there any benefits from leaving it so long?

Thanks

 

[Clint]

I've had a few that I've left 3+ weeks and they've all been fine. I've also left a few on cold crash for over a week.
Dunno on benefits as such but it's handy to know when things don't go to plan and you can't deal with your brew.

 

[Clint]

As an example this morning my Pipster Pale ale has had its 200g+ dry hop on day 19 mainly due to me losing track of time!
I've two night shifts to do,then off for 4 days so it should get bottled sometime on the days off.