When is the earliest you can bottle your beer?

When you're brewing up that first batch of beer, the hardest part is the waiting. Actually, I think that is the hardest part of any batch your brewing is just the wait. So we wanted to break down what is the earliest you can bottle your beer.

Now, this is going to depend on if you have a Hydrometer or not. The hydrometer helps you know exactly when your beer is done and we will get into how that works later.

So if you don’t have a hydrometer the way to know your beer is done is to give it the old taste test. If it tastes like flat beer then you are pretty much good to bottle. With our basic Refill instructions, we tell you to taste test at 10 days then bottle if it is flat. That is a good rule of thumb. I would not push it any quicker than that.

But, if you just cant wait you might be able to bottle on day 7.

The majority of fermentation is done in the first 72 hours. So if your temperatures are spot on and you have healthy yeast there is a chance your beer could be done on day 7 of fermentation.

The best way to know again is the taste test, so if you get sweetness on day 7 then let it go to day 10 and try it again. Once it is flat then bottle.

Now, if you have a hydrometer that will help you know exactly when your beer is done. I think the only downside to using a hydrometer is that you do lose beer. Every time you take a reading that is beer out of the keg. After a couple of readings, you could wind of bottling one less bottle of beer than you normally would.

When using a hydrometer to know if your beer is done, you are looking for the final gravity. So what you would do is take a reading on day 7 and then take another reading 24 hours later. If the gravity has not changed then you are ready to bottle. If it has changed then you need to wait 10 days and check it again.

So you can bottle your beer in just 7 days. This applies to our refills, if you are brewing one of our Recipes follow the brewing time that is associated with that recipe. However, if you are using a hydrometer then you can always check your beer and find the exact moment when it is done. Who knows it may knock off a few days in the brewing process.

Cheers,

Robert