Another noob question. I've taken hydrometer readings on three successive
days and they are all giving me a gravity of 1.017. The airlock bubbles once
every 3-4 minutes. It appears to be bottling time.

Trouble is, I haven't the time to do it right during the week so it looks
like my beer will have been in the fermenter for two weeks once I finally
get to it on Friday night.

Is this OK?

Also, any downside to using an empty dishwasher to air dry (but *not* using
the heating element in the dishwasher itself) sanitized bottles?

The newbie questions continue, but you've all been very kind. Thanks.

"Joe Murphy" <SPAMTHIS@SPAMTHIS.com> wrote in message
news:41464737$0$2656$61fed72c@news.rcn.com...[color=blue]
> Another noob question. I've taken hydrometer readings on three successive
> days and they are all giving me a gravity of 1.017. The airlock bubbles[/color]
once[color=blue]
> every 3-4 minutes. It appears to be bottling time.
>
> Trouble is, I haven't the time to do it right during the week so it looks
> like my beer will have been in the fermenter for two weeks once I finally
> get to it on Friday night.
>
> Is this OK?[/color]

Yep, it's fine. In fact, it's probably better to wait than to bottle too
early. If the airlock is still making bubbles, even every 3-4 minutes, it's
still fermenting a little bit, but Friday will probably be a good time to
bottle. No worries.
[color=blue]
> Also, any downside to using an empty dishwasher to air dry (but *not*[/color]
using[color=blue]
> the heating element in the dishwasher itself) sanitized bottles?[/color]

Who says your bottles need to be dry before bottling? Don't bother, it's
not worth the wait. So the bottles are a little wet? Who cares. The beer
will taste the same with a couple of extra drops of water mixed into it.

At first glance, it might seem like the dishwasher would be a really nice
place for bottles to dry out, but on second thought, it seems risky, or at
least it seems that way to me. The dishwasher is a moist environment to
begin with, and if you've got any microscopic food particles at all in the
drain or stuck to the walls or racks, bacteria and yeast are likely to grow
there, and it seems conceivable that bacteria or wild yeast could get into
your bottles. If you are thinking about doing it anyway, make darn sure it
doesn't smell bad in there at all, and there isn't any food or dirty stuff,
and if I were you, I'd leave the door propped open a bit to let any
drippings evaporate out more freely. Of course, if your goal is to
sanitize, but then you wait a day or two to allow time for the bottles to
dry, then your bottles really aren't sanitized anymore, are they? I always
clean my bottles on the same night as I bottle. No worries that way.
[color=blue]
> The newbie questions continue, but you've all been very kind. Thanks.[/color]

We all learn as we go.

--
Dave
"Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" --
Genesis, 1973-ish

Joe Murphy wrote:[color=blue]
> Another noob question. I've taken hydrometer readings on three successive
> days and they are all giving me a gravity of 1.017. The airlock bubbles once
> every 3-4 minutes. It appears to be bottling time.
>
> Trouble is, I haven't the time to do it right during the week so it looks
> like my beer will have been in the fermenter for two weeks once I finally
> get to it on Friday night.[/color]
no prob, especially if it is a glass carboy.
[color=blue]
> Also, any downside to using an empty dishwasher to air dry (but *not* using
> the heating element in the dishwasher itself) sanitized bottles?[/color]

so that is where you are going to leave them to drip dry after you've
sanited them? If you mean, spray 'em with iodophore or let em sit in
bleach water for a longish period of time (or some other sanitation
method) and use the dishwasher as a bottle drying rack, sure sounds
great. If you mean washing them in the dishwasher and letting them
airdry to sanitise them.. no that is not satifactory.

sometimes i just put my bottles upside-down in boxes with paper-towel to
catch the excess sanitiser (i use no rinse sanitisers for bottling). My
bottle rack is at my gf's right now so that was my quick solution, the
dishwasher would have been better when i was bottling in the kitchen
though, some people are just a little more creative i guess :D.

Thanks David and Stephen,

I wasn't going to run the dishwasher, just use the rack as a storage place
for the bottles after their C-Brite as I begin to bottle. It's more of a
convenience thing, I guess. The upside-down in a case of beer with a paper
towel on the bottom seems like a fine idea, too.


"David M. Taylor" <dmtaylor@SPAM.geocities.SUCKS.com> wrote in message
news:10kcq9ugb7av2f1@corp.supernews.com...[color=blue]
> "Joe Murphy" <SPAMTHIS@SPAMTHIS.com> wrote in message
> news:41464737$0$2656$61fed72c@news.rcn.com...[color=green]
> > Another noob question. I've taken hydrometer readings on three[/color][/color]
successive[color=blue][color=green]
> > days and they are all giving me a gravity of 1.017. The airlock bubbles[/color]
> once[color=green]
> > every 3-4 minutes. It appears to be bottling time.
> >
> > Trouble is, I haven't the time to do it right during the week so it[/color][/color]
looks[color=blue][color=green]
> > like my beer will have been in the fermenter for two weeks once I[/color][/color]
finally[color=blue][color=green]
> > get to it on Friday night.
> >
> > Is this OK?[/color]
>
> Yep, it's fine. In fact, it's probably better to wait than to bottle too
> early. If the airlock is still making bubbles, even every 3-4 minutes,[/color]
it's[color=blue]
> still fermenting a little bit, but Friday will probably be a good time to
> bottle. No worries.
>[color=green]
> > Also, any downside to using an empty dishwasher to air dry (but *not*[/color]
> using[color=green]
> > the heating element in the dishwasher itself) sanitized bottles?[/color]
>
> Who says your bottles need to be dry before bottling? Don't bother, it's
> not worth the wait. So the bottles are a little wet? Who cares. The[/color]
beer[color=blue]
> will taste the same with a couple of extra drops of water mixed into it.
>
> At first glance, it might seem like the dishwasher would be a really nice
> place for bottles to dry out, but on second thought, it seems risky, or at
> least it seems that way to me. The dishwasher is a moist environment to
> begin with, and if you've got any microscopic food particles at all in the
> drain or stuck to the walls or racks, bacteria and yeast are likely to[/color]
grow[color=blue]
> there, and it seems conceivable that bacteria or wild yeast could get into
> your bottles. If you are thinking about doing it anyway, make darn sure[/color]
it[color=blue]
> doesn't smell bad in there at all, and there isn't any food or dirty[/color]
stuff,[color=blue]
> and if I were you, I'd leave the door propped open a bit to let any
> drippings evaporate out more freely. Of course, if your goal is to
> sanitize, but then you wait a day or two to allow time for the bottles to
> dry, then your bottles really aren't sanitized anymore, are they? I[/color]
always[color=blue]
> clean my bottles on the same night as I bottle. No worries that way.
>[color=green]
> > The newbie questions continue, but you've all been very kind. Thanks.[/color]
>
> We all learn as we go.
>
> --
> Dave
> "Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" --
> Genesis, 1973-ish
>
>[/color]

Joe Murphy wrote:
[color=blue]
> Thanks David and Stephen,
>
> I wasn't going to run the dishwasher, just use the rack as a storage place
> for the bottles after their C-Brite as I begin to bottle. It's more of a
> convenience thing, I guess. The upside-down in a case of beer with a paper
> towel on the bottom seems like a fine idea, too.
>[/color]
I like your idea more. It definitely shows you can think outside of the
box (ok horrible pun, i apologize). Bottles will definely drain better
in the 'washer.