When to bottle?

HMD

I put on a Coopers Pilsener 8 days ago. It's been bubbling for the last week, for the first couple of days it was every 30 secs and slowed over the days . Now it's only bubbling every 5 min or so. Is it time to bottle it?

I've kept it in a press with a duvet wrapped around the bucket.

thanks

mayto

You really want to use a hydrometer to check the final gravity of the beer before bottling. The reading should be in the 1010 to 1014 range for a regular kit beer and give a constant reading over a few days. I usually bottle after two weeks assuming fermentation is finished. Good luck with the brewing

HMD

i don't have a fermenter with a tap so i'm afraid to open the bucket to get a reading. I might just wait a few days.

mayto

You can gently drop a sanitised hydrometer into the beer with your sanitised hand . We have been doing this for a few years now with no problem. You can then easily get your reading assuming you do not have loads of foam still in the way. I spray my hand and hydrometer with a starsan solution which is a non rinse sanitiser and great stuff. If you are using youngs or wmp steriliser make sure to rinse after dipping your hand and hydrometer in the steriliser as these are not non rinse sterilisers.You can leave the hydrometer in the beer to get readings until fermentation is complete.

HMD

I got a reading of 1006 so i bottled them. Here's hoping it's drinkable in a couple of weeks.

thanks for the help.