MasterWan

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So I was watching the new Brew Masters show on TV and they were talking about how long it takes to make a beer from start to finish. For regular strength beers, it takes them around 2 to 3 weeks. Higher gravity beers 4 to 5 weeks. Why does it take me so much longer?

For instance, I made an American Cream Ale the last week of August that I started drinking last week. So what, 10 weeks total that I let it sit. I did 2 weeks in the primary, 4 weeks in secondary and then kegged it in a brew keg, put some co2 on it and let it sit at around 70 degrees for another 4 weeks at least and then hooked it up in the kegerator and let it sit for 48 more hours to ensure proper carbonation. 5.9% ABV, good clarity, good flavor, but, it still seems somewhat green. SLight bananna smell and aftertaste.

I started waiting so long before i drink my brews to let them condition appropriately so I have a great beer. It never seems to fail, I always feel my beers turn out kinda green. After I saw brewmasters on TV and they talked about the time it takes to get a beer ready I was like WFT man!

What am I missing here?

Revvy

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You might find the discussion folks are ALREADY having about this very topic, interesting

Dogfish Head on Brewmasters: 2 Weeks to Ship??

It also was talked about while the show was airing on the thread where all the other threads about this show were merged. Brew Masters on Discovery w/ Sam Calagione

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PVH

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Sounds like fermentation issues to me, not green beer. What yeast, what temp, and how did you control temp?

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Kegged: IIPA, Vanilla Porter, Herbitude 3, Berliner Weisse, West Coast Red (Red IPA?), 80/-, Trippel, IPA
Bottled: RIS II
Primary: Robust Porter, India Brown Ale

BendBrewer

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They say "out the door" in two weeks but some breweries require their distributor to sit on the beer for a length of time before distributing.

Desert_Sky

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many brewery owners start complaining if beer isnt on packaged and out the door or on tap @ 15-21 days

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Desert Sky Brewing Co.
Sierra Vista, AZ

bernerbrau

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Excellent thread on making great beer fast:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/aging-beer-facts-myths-discussion-84005/

bknifefight

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I know it's all personal preference but for a 5.9% beer I would only do 3 weeks primary and bottle it up. Then crack the first one after 3 more weeks. I think your 6 week total fermentation may be unnecessary for lower gravity beers.

MasterWan

Recipes 

So I guess this post was more about my results than about the show. That just what got me thinking about my issues.

So the American cream ale was a kit, however I used wyeast for American ale, and I ferment right at 68 to 70 degrees or room temp in my house. After reading some more on the boards I think what I may be doing wrong is fermenting at too high a temp as the beer is 8 to 10 degrees warmer in the bucket correct? I'm fermenting too hot and releasing fruity esters. Does that sound right?

What's the way to go here? I don't have a basement to get colder temps. Should I just brew lagers and stick them in the fridge during the warmer months?

PVH

Recipes 

yeah, you could easily be at 75-80 degrees in the fermenter, which will produce the flavors you described. look for threads on making a simple swamp cooler. that should work fine for your room temps.

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Kegged: IIPA, Vanilla Porter, Herbitude 3, Berliner Weisse, West Coast Red (Red IPA?), 80/-, Trippel, IPA
Bottled: RIS II
Primary: Robust Porter, India Brown Ale

JonK331

Recipes 

So some people say that fermentation can increase temperatures by 10 degrees but 3-5 is more realistic. A warmer fermentation will make your beer ferment faster, not slower. What I do for temp control is use a swamp cooler. Just a cube cooler large enough to hold a carboy filled with water. I, as do many others, just rotate frozen water bottles in and out to maintain proper temp. You can speed up fermentation by pitching plenty of yeast (make a starter or use dry yeast) and oxygenate. This will make fermentation start and finish faster. You can also cold crash and add gelatin when fermentation is finished to make the beer ready sooner. It's hard to tell where your off flavors are coming from, but yes, if you are fermenting around 75F, you will be getting more esters than are desired. I usually ferment my ales around 65F.