I've gotten a deal of mixed information on primary and secondary fermentation. Some sources say primary fermentation takes 8 days. Some sources say it takes 3 weeks. If I had to guess, it probly varies on a number of different factors, and the most important factors are probly size of brew and amount of yeast used to start it.
I might be making things more complicated on myself here because while I know I use one gallon jugs, I've been using about a cup from a fermenting brew to start a new brew fermenting instead of adding new yeast packets. So I don't even know how to calculate how long primary fermentation should take.
Is there a specific gravity I can measure for that pretty much determines when primary fermentation is over? I've been told if I want to add spices, it's best to wait for secondary fermentation, but I can't currently tell when that is.
And if the specific gravity gets down to around 1, is it safe to put a cap on the bottle even if it's still producing gas without fear of the bottle exploding? Or should I just wait till it stops producing any gas?
I might be making things more complicated on myself here because while I know I use one gallon jugs, I've been using about a cup from a fermenting brew to start a new brew fermenting instead of adding new yeast packets. So I don't even know how to calculate how long primary fermentation should take.
Is there a specific gravity I can measure for that pretty much determines when primary fermentation is over? I've been told if I want to add spices, it's best to wait for secondary fermentation, but I can't currently tell when that is.
And if the specific gravity gets down to around 1, is it safe to put a cap on the bottle even if it's still producing gas without fear of the bottle exploding? Or should I just wait till it stops producing any gas?