bruceb07

Recipes 

I have a newbe question: I have made a few beers using kits, they have come out well. I currently have a batch in the primary of a beer that I have brewed from a recipe using individual ingredients. The kits fermented quickly and were finished, at FG within 1 week. The recipe version i have has been in the fermenter for 10 days and still bubbling quite vigoursly. My question is; is this normal? How long should I expect for the bubbling to continue? I was expecting to leave it in the fermenter for three to four weeks?

atom

Recipes 

sounds good...

NordeastBrewer77

Recipes 

sure does. kits are just recipes with all the ingredients in one box. as far as how long till the bubbling airlock stops, who knows, could just keep on bubbling. it's just a vent for co2. you're hydrometer will tell you when the beer's done fermenting. leave it be for several days or longer after you have stable FG readings.

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The Polk Street Brewery
Brew Blog
Primary: Triple B, Honey Weizen (a ,Midwest kit), Columbus IPA
Secondary: No. 3 Burton, RIS
Bottled: Simcoe IPA, Northern English Brown
Kegged: German Alt, Octane IPA

Give a man beer and his thirst is quenched. Teach a man to brew and it will never be again.

ak-71

Recipes 

I'm newbier than you, but I think slow fermentation doesn't mean bad or that it will quit later.

Here is a long story why:
My first "Brew House" kit (still in the fermentor)- Red Ale mixed to 5 US gal (instead of 6 by sloppy SG reading) was somewhat activly bubbling for 6 days and then slowing down. a bit At day12 it went to 1.016 (1.06 OG) and I think it is still finishing. wyeast 1272 liquid pack with no starter and probably poor aeration. Tastes great though. Temperatures 64F for 7 days and then 68F for the second beer in the room
Second batch - Prairie Wheat from "Brew House" started bubbling in < 1 hour and slowed down after 2 days going from 1.062 to 1.02 (I know that 1.062 is way too high, but I wanted to have some headroom in a carboy). Temps - 68F to 77F in a day and then cooled to 72F by water bath when I saw it. After active fermentation slowed it stays at 68F. T58 dry yeast and as good aeration as I could get by shaking.

So first one went slower, but got into the proper range for the yeast (tastes clean too). The second one I hope will get there too (and clean up some off-tastes).
Guess I need separate temp controls (or at least one) to control different beers, but this time it worked out close to what I wanted 64-66F for the Red Ale and 72-75F for wheat.

Jayhem

Recipes 

My first beer fermented out completely in 1 week. My second beer took 3 weeks to reach Final Gravity! No clue why, same temperatures and yeast but the darker beers seem to take longer from what I've witnessed and read.

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Next up: Vanilla-Bourbon-Oak Stout
Primary #1: Harvest Cream Ale
Primary #2: Empty
Secondary: Empty
Bottle Conditioning: Aximus Brown Ale
Drinking: Bradford IPA, Diesel Chocolate Porter, Honeybee Wheat

Grinder12000

Recipes 

Very very few beers will ferment completely in one week. I would say MAYBE. 1% but that could be high.

I have never had one done in one week and will wait 3 weeks at the very least.

The recipes in kits are HORRABLY wrong for the most part. They are made for people in a hurry. Any beer will taste much better if after its done ( normally 2 weeks) it's allowed to clean up its own waste for at least w a week.

Just because a beer is done fermenting does not mean it is done processing the favors. Yeast will clean up their waste after they are finished making alchole.

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Grinders Island Brewery - Pipeline (Batch #)

Secondary Kentucky Common(83)
Primary #1 Scottish Ale 70(84)
Primary #2 The Black Pearl Porter(85)

beergolf

Recipes 

Everyfermentation is different. Some justtake off quickly and reach FG in a few days. Some just chug along for weeks.

Let it sit for 3-4 weeks and you are good to go.

NordeastBrewer77

Recipes 

i quite often reach FG in under a week. it all depends on a lot of things, but a healthy fermentation should reach FG in 5-7 days. leaving it in primary longer is to aide in clearing and conditioning, not because fermentation takes that long. mind you, some beers will take a couple weeks to come to FG, but the avg ale should be at FG within a week or so.

__________________
The Polk Street Brewery
Brew Blog
Primary: Triple B, Honey Weizen (a ,Midwest kit), Columbus IPA
Secondary: No. 3 Burton, RIS
Bottled: Simcoe IPA, Northern English Brown
Kegged: German Alt, Octane IPA

Give a man beer and his thirst is quenched. Teach a man to brew and it will never be again.

acuenca

Recipes 

Yup me too... 5 days for most of my 1.04~1.07 brews....doesn't mean I don't leave it alone for 2~4.weeks....

TaylorInOK

Recipes 

What Grinder said.

3 Phases of fermentation and the last is the conditioning phase which starts just after the krausen drops. So many people here have said "Don't trust your eyes so much." and they're right. The yeasties still have work to do even though you can't see it as well as when the krausen starts going all "look at me i'm a krausen!"

I give all beers two weeks at a minimum (because i havnt started using secondary fermenters yet) to make sure all three phases are either complete, or close to it before i bottle.

Hope that helps and good luck!