First time brewer, might be in trouble

[switchy]

Doing my first batch of beer from a brewdemon kit. Followed the directions as they were simple enough, bottled the beer after 10 days. I'm growing concerned that that may have been a wee mistake and fermentation may not have been finished. According to the kits instructions carbonation should take about 7 days but two days in my bottles feel extremely firm already. I do not have a hydrometer so determining if fermentation was finished was based off what it looked like in the fermenter and a small taste test to see if it tasted like flat beer.

So my question is, have I messed up my batch and should i be concerned about over carbonation & bottle bombs or am I just being paranoid? Is there anything I can do to save this batch if it is in danger of over carbonation?

Purchasing a hydrometer tomorrow so I don't repeat this for my next batch.

[The_Professor]

The plastic bottles should be really firm when the beer is carbing good.

How your bottles are doing depends on a few things. A unknown, how well the beer had fermented before you bottled it. How much bottling sugar was added (you don't mention this).

What would I suggest? I'm afraid you might have to QC test a bottle early. Stick one in the fridge in the morning and open it in the evening. When you open it, when you pour it, does the carb level seem normal or way too much? How's it taste?

[RickBeer]

Your beer may be carbonated in 7 days, but it won't be conditioned in 7 days. Many of us follow the 3-4 rule. 3 weeks fermenting at mid 60s (wort temp), then 4 weeks in bottles at 70 or above. Then refrigerate for at least 3 days ONLY what you are ready to drink, let the rest stay warm.

Firm bottles can happen in 2 or 3 days, or take a week or more. If they are not distended they are fine. PET bottle bombs are very, very, very rare.

I would wait 4 weeks. RDWHAHB.

[Dawg LB Steve]

You will have a decent beer but it may have some off flavors, don't be discouraged. If you follow the Borgs direction for using a Brewdemon or Mr Beer kit, it will come out much better. I still don't understand why these two continue to put out instruction like this. It is always best to let the yeast do its job completely, from fermenting the wort to cleaning up after itself, these kits benefit from 3 weeks fermenting and 4 weeks at room temp bottle conditioning.
and enjoy this hobby/obsession!!!!

[Bluejaye]

You are being paranoid. Sometimes the bottles firm up in 2 days, sometimes it takes a week. Yeast are living creatures and don't necessarily play by your rules all of the time.

But, on the slim to none chance you did bottle too soon, it's a good thing you are in PET bottles. The first sign of trouble will be if the bottom of the bottle "puffs" out. Not sure how to describe it in text (bulge).

[John Sand]

Welcome to the Borg, and to brewing. This is great group, and a great craft. I suspect your bottles will be fine. But you can put them in a tupperware tote or a bucket in case one leaks. I would leave them for a couple of weeks, then chill one for three days. If you are still worried, open it outdoors, or in the shower (not running) .
We all make mistakes, we all had to learn to brew by practice and study. You will too. Most likely your first beer will be good, but if it isn't, or the next batch isn't, you can figure out why. In time you can make great beer. Keep us posted.

[BlackDuck]

switchy....I really can't add anymore comments than what has been posted already. So, I'll just say Welcome to the Borg. You're in for a great hobby!!

[Beer-lord]

Welcome switchy. Keep on brewing and sharing what you brew.

[Gymrat]

10 days should be plenty in the fermenter. Primary fermentation is completed in 3 to 4 days. After that it is just clean up. I rarely go over 2 weeks in the fermenter. After a full week your beer should be fully carbonated. One week in go ahead and chill one and try it. Each week just chill as much as you want to drink and no more. Some say you should chill 3 days before drinking, I never did and never could tell a difference between the beers that were chilled the morning I drank them and the ones I put in at the same time but drank a week later. Since I started filling one or two bottles from the keg right after filling it (to sample before my keg gets tapped), then letting those carb naturally, my beers have been going grain to glass in 3 weeks.

[bpgreen]

Those PET bottles can take a lot of over carbonation before bottle bombs become a concern.

Bottle bombs are more of a concern with glass. For a couple of reasons. For one thing, you can't tell when they're over carbonated. For another, if a PET bottle burst, it'll spew beer. If a glass bottle bursts, it'll spew beer and sling shards of glass as far as it can.

Firm is one thing. PET bottles will actually start to bulge long before they're ready to burst, so if they're not changing shape, you're fine.

[Jon]

Everyone here has you covered--you probably won't have the best tasting beer ever, but you will certainly have beer! And it should even be pretty good!

Now, everyone who has been saying you should wait X weeks before trying your beer, because it will be much better if you give it more time is right--it will be much better if you give it more time.

But as the Prof said, there's nothing wrong with trying a sample early for QA testing! And since it's your first time brewing, it'll actually help you to have an idea of what beer that needs more conditioning time tastes like.

Later on, you'll just be telling yourself you want to see how the beer develops, so use the good excuse while you have it!

[The_Professor]

...as the Prof said, there's nothing wrong with trying a sample early for QA testing! And since it's your first time brewing, it'll actually help you to have an idea of what beer that needs more conditioning time tastes like...

Yes, that's it. If you really have questions on how your beer is doing then do a QA sample.
I usually try a 12oz bottle a week after bottling to check the carb and confirm it tastes fine.

[switchy]

Thanks for the welcomes and responses everyone they are much appreciated. Going to let it play out over the next few weeks and keep my eyes on the bottles to make sure they don't start to bulge out on me. I've moved them to a different location in the basement which is a bit more confined just to make sure if anything happens damage will be minimal.

I used the recommended 2 1/2 teaspoons for each bottle as the brewdemon's instructions say, I may cut it back next time a bit but we'll see how this batch goes.

On the topic of priming sugar's how much should I use for an 8oz glass coke bottle?

[Kealia]

There are a number of tools around, so I'll plug our own Screwy Brewer's.

You can input the volume, type of priming agent being used and temperature. Make sure you list the highest temperature reached during fermentation - not the temperature that you are bottling at. For example if you fermented at 68 then cold crashed at 36, you would enter 68.

[Bluejaye]

On the topic of priming sugar's how much should I use for an 8oz glass coke bottle?

About 1/3 of a teaspoon.