Two questions - primary fermentation and off-smell

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frtrey

frtrey

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So, my first batch of beer, I used a yeast starter (kit came with a smack-pack, not dry yeast) The first two days it bubbled like mad. Today it is down to a gurgle every 45 seconds or so- is it ever the case that primary fermenation will take less than a week?

Secondly - there is an off smell in the bubbler (vodka in the bubbler) but when it does gurgle there is a decidedly sweet beer-y smell. Is this cause for concern or do I just go with it?

Thanks!
 
Read the sticky on "Ruined Beer"

It helped me with a lot of my anxieties :)
I would say yours is probably fine. What kind of beer is it? What makes you think the sweet "beer-y" smell is bad? I love sniffing airlocks.
 
Euripidez said:
Read the sticky on "Ruined Beer"

It helped me with a lot of my anxieties :)
I would say yours is probably fine. What kind of beer is it? What makes you think the sweet "beer-y" smell is bad? I love sniffing airlocks.
Click to expand...

No the air lock has a decidedly bad smell. Not sure how to describe it. But when it does gurgle the bad smell is displaced by the sweet beery smell.
 
I don't know what an airlock smells like, I've never done that. The bubbling is not an indication of anything but excess CO2, your fermentation continues long past any bubbling you will see. Monitoring your gravity is the only way to monitor your fermentation. The only reasonable visual sign of the end of fermentation is when the yeast flocs out and the beer clears. Even then, the yeast will continue to cleanup for another 48 hours or so.
 
Most of my beers ferment out in 3 days or less, but I still leave them in the fermenter for at least 3 days after they are finished. With cooler fermentation temperatures, it takes a bit longer so often a 62 degree fermentation will take 5 days or thereabouts. I normally package my beers at about day 10-14, even if fermentation ends much sooner.
 
Maybe it's the beers' aromas mixing with the vodka that smells bad. Then the co2 bubbles through,& you smell fermenting beer. It also sounds like it's just initial fermentation getting done. It'll uneventfully,slowly creep down to FG from there.
 
Also, what was your OG? Your yeasties will handle an ordinary bitter differently than they will a barley wine.
 
I don't fear many things, but the hydrometer is something I didn't use. I don't even have a beer thief. I've got to pick up some PBW and starsan at Austin Brewing supply- I suppose i'll add a hydrometer and thief for the next go around.

Essentially it is a scottish brown ale with additions of mulling spices and orange peel. I'm planning on letting it sit tomorrow and moving to secondary on Tuesday. The beer has cleared out as of late last night. (It is in the guest bathroom and I pass it everytime I go to the computer room...)
 
There is really no reason to move it to secondary unless you are looking for better odds of getting an infection or oxidizing your beer.
 
frtrey said:
I don't fear many things, but the hydrometer is something I didn't use. I don't even have a beer thief. I've got to pick up some PBW and starsan at Austin Brewing supply- I suppose i'll add a hydrometer and thief for the next go around.

Essentially it is a scottish brown ale with additions of mulling spices and orange peel. I'm planning on letting it sit tomorrow and moving to secondary on Tuesday. The beer has cleared out as of late last night. (It is in the guest bathroom and I pass it everytime I go to the computer room...)
Click to expand...

You can save money and use oxyclean instead of PBW. (edit: corrected autocomplete)
 
buttcord said:
There is really no reason to move it to secondary unless you are looking for better odds of getting an infection or oxidizing your beer.
Click to expand...

Even if the instructions call for a secondary?
 
Unless you're adding fruit,oaking,or maybe the zest & spices like a dry hop. I do stuff like that in secondary. But I dry hop in primary after it settles out clear.
 
frtrey said:
Even if the instructions call for a secondary?
Click to expand...

A "secondary" is a misnomer, and it comes from winemaking techniques. It's better called a "clearing vessel", or in breweries it's called a "bright tank".

In some cases a true secondary fermentation occurs- say, when adding fruit, or more fermentables. But it most cases when brewing, a "secondary" is a clearing vessel.

It used to be though that it was important to get the beer off of the spent yeast ASAP, to prevent off-flavors. But through many years of homebrewers and others getting better quality yeast, and changing up some of the techniques, moving to a clearing vessel is something that is less commonly done.

I almost never use a clearing vessel, instructions or not. The beer is fine in the fermenter, until packaging. I normally even dryhop right in the fermenter ("primary").
 
frtrey said:
Right. Will rack and bottle on Tuesday and pray like a madman!
Click to expand...

A couple of things that may be worth mentioning-

There are several phases of fermentation. One is the lag phase. That's when you pitch the yeast and it seems that nothing is happening. But inside the fermenter, the yeast are using oxygen and then reproducing. Then comes active fermentation, when the bulk of the fermentation happens. After that, the yeast finish up the fermentation by slowing consuming the rest of the fermentable sugars. They are still active, and still scrounging around for consumables and that is when they go back and "clean up" some things they normally don't eat- like their own waste products (like diacetyl).

After that time, then they will start to clump together and fall out of the beer ("flocculate"). The beer will start to clear, as gravity does it's work. That's the point at which it's ok to bottle, which could be at day 10 or day 25 in fermentation.

The reason I mention all that is that you want to make sure to get to that point before bottling. What I use as a rule of thumb is to let the beer sit at fermentation temperature for at least three days after FG has been reached. That means the beer is done, and the diacetyl "clean up" phase is done, and the beer is starting to clear.

If the beer isn't fairly clear when you go to bottle (no suspended solids or floaties), then it's just not ready to bottle.

If you bottle too early, before fermentation ends, you risk bottle bombs. But even bottling after the bulk of fermentation is over may mean that you get more crud in your bottles, or the yeast haven't finished the clean up phase.

I know it is hard, but if Tuesday is less than two weeks after brewday, I'd really encourage you to wait a bit.
 
Yooper said:
A couple of things that may be worth mentioning-

There are several phases of fermentation. One is the lag phase. That's when you pitch the yeast and it seems that nothing is happening. But inside the fermenter, the yeast are using oxygen and then reproducing. Then comes active fermentation, when the bulk of the fermentation happens. After that, the yeast finish up the fermentation by slowing consuming the rest of the fermentable sugars. They are still active, and still scrounging around for consumables and that is when they go back and "clean up" some things they normally don't eat- like their own waste products (like diacetyl).

After that time, then they will start to clump together and fall out of the beer ("flocculate"). The beer will start to clear, as gravity does it's work. That's the point at which it's ok to bottle, which could be at day 10 or day 25 in fermentation.

The reason I mention all that is that you want to make sure to get to that point before bottling. What I use as a rule of thumb is to let the beer sit at fermentation temperature for at least three days after FG has been reached. That means the beer is done, and the diacetyl "clean up" phase is done, and the beer is starting to clear.

If the beer isn't fairly clear when you go to bottle (no suspended solids or floaties), then it's just not ready to bottle.

If you bottle too early, before fermentation ends, you risk bottle bombs. But even bottling after the bulk of fermentation is over may mean that you get more crud in your bottles, or the yeast haven't finished the clean up phase.

I know it is hard, but if Tuesday is less than two weeks after brewday, I'd really encourage you to wait a bit.
Click to expand...

Yooper speaks truth. Patience is a virtue of the gods, who have nothing but time
 
Aside from some spices that are floating on the top - the brew is clear at this point. no floaties, nothing moving. I have no issue waiting a bit longer - this all just seemed to go by so quick.
 
I wanted to report that both batches of beer came off without a hitch. I have learned a great theological lesson. Beer is more forgiving than some people. Perhaps we should strive to be like beer?
 

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