Muntons Autumn Blush

honeypot

Hi

Have my first brew going. On first fermentation now going for 12 days and reading around 1010. Room probably not as warm as it should be. How long should i wait?

HBO_Staff

12 days is quite a while but if it is a bit cooler it will slow it down a bit, the reading needs to be constant for 2 days in a row and all signs of any small bubbles rising to the surface of the liquid needs to have stopped too, which is a good sign it has finished fermenting. 1010 does sound like a nice low reading, so if it is constant you can then move on to bottling

honeypot

If i put it in a plastic keg for the second fermentation can I then put it in bottles once that has finished?

HBO_Staff

It's not really advisable, it is best to go straight from the fermenting vessel to where it will then stay. This is for several reasons, it is best not to move it more than needed to avoid the risk of contamination, and it reduces the amount of air that gets mixed up with the brew, which you don't really want. Once you prime the brew with sugar it will then start to secondary ferment and produce CO2. It needs to be in a sealed airtight container so that the pressure builds up and this is when the brew becomes carbonated too. Some people transfer the brew into a second vessel, leave the sediment behind, add the priming sugar and then transfer straight to bottles so the priming sugar is already mixed in, rather than prime each individual bottle

honeypot

Just checked the brew few bubbles still rising, I assume that there should be no bubbles at all so I'll give it a few more days.

honeypot

Day 15 still a few little bubbles rising, have moved it to warmer room, can I start second fermentation yet. just below 1010.

HBO_Staff

We would just give it a little longer to be sure the small bubbles have finished rising up through the liquid, especially if bottling. It shouldn't be much longer as the reading is nice and low, being somewhere a bit warmer will help it like you say, although try not to disrturb the sediment if moving it, if you do, leave it a day or two to settle again