[darkmorford]

Ah, okay. Good point. I guess my eagerness to get this first batch finished is getting the better of me.

Now that I think about it, I do recall reading somewhere that the krausen is supposed to settle back into the beer at some point; I should probably wait for that, at least. The tricky part is being able to tell when that's happened. All I have as far as fermentation equipment is the one bucket, so I'd have to keep opening it to see what the beer's doing. I have to imagine that's not good from a possible-contamination standpoint.

[tygo]

I wouldn't worry about opening it up again at this point.  Just follow the advice above and let it sit for an extra week then bottle it.

[euge]

You'll get the hang of it. Don't worry, just let it sit for another week (it still needs to be kept cool) without peeking. Then check and most likely it'll be time to bottle.

I would taste it first before racking to bottles. Since this was a warm ferment- if it tastes really solventy (nail-polish) or like bandaids the beer probably won't get much better with conditioning. Per your own tolerances if you don't like it start over armed with your new brewing knowledge. BTW I heartily recommend picking up a copy of John J. Palmer's How To Brew 3rd Ed.

There's truncated free version online. http://www.howtobrew.com/

[darkmorford]

Well, okay. Tomorrow is bottling day, and I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. Last night I stuck the fermenter out in my patio storage (which hits 45-50 degrees overnight) to cold crash it—at least, I think that's how it works. I haven't looked at, haven't taken a sample all week, so I don't know what's been going on in there, but it's been on average 10 degrees cooler this week than it was the first week.

I've got two cases of brand-new bottles, Star San, and the caps and equipment that came with my starter kit. Any last-minute tips before I take the next step?

(I know the usual advice here is RDWHAHB, but since this is my first batch there's no homebrew to be had. )

[dannyjed]

don't forget the priming sugar before you bottle

[jeffy]

don't forget the priming sugar before you bottle

And don't forget to mix it in thoroughly before you bottle.

[morticaixavier]

don't forget the priming sugar before you bottle

And don't forget to mix it in thoroughly before you bottle.

and don't forget to be GENTLE when mixing it!