Fixed OG after only 5 days?

I made my first Brewers Best Weizenbier extract brew 5 days ago (sunday). I racked to my primary, put in the airlock half full with sanitizer, and let it sit in a my pantry. I anticipated problems given that it's my first attempt, but everything went very smoothly.

I started seeing air bubbles on monday, but then they stopped on Wed. If i tapped the lid, i would get bubbles so i figured it just slowed down. Today I didn't get bubbles even if i pushed on the lid.

Before you ask, I am 100% positive that the lid, grommet, and airlock were on properly.

I drew a sample with my thief and got an OG of 1.010 - perfectly in the range that this kit says it should be. I'm going to check the OG again tomorrow, but with all the talk on here about leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks, I wanted to see what the odds are that it has completed fermenting after only 5 days. The sample looked like it had good even color and besides being 70 degrees and flat, had a very good flavor. (yes i drank the sample. If they really wanted me to return it to the primary like their directions suggest, they wouldn't have named their device a 'thief'

Also, I have a 5 gallon glass carboy that I plan on using as a secondary. I know this is heavily debated, but I want to use if not for the only reason that this is my first batch and i'd like to be able to see it.

I'll give it a week or two in the carboy, then rack it to my bottling bucket with my priming sugar and start filling bottles, which will sit in a dark room for a few weeks.

"Done fermenting" and "as good as it will be" aren't the same thing. I've had complete fermentation in as little as two days, but after fermentation the yeast will go to work "cleaning up" the byproducts of fermentation. The finished beer will be better than if you had rushed it. The best technique to make good beer is to have patience.

For that reason, I leave my beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, and skip secondary, unless I have a compelling reason to secondary (like oaking/dry hopping).

I never return a sample to the fermenter. QA and all that. Comparing a beer's flavor as it ferments to the final product is an important part of your education.

Five days isn't unusual for a modest gravity beer.

Jota21 said:

I made my first Brewers Best Weizenbier extract brew 5 days ago (sunday). I racked to my primary, put in the airlock half full with sanitizer, and let it sit in a my pantry. I anticipated problems given that it's my first attempt, but everything went very smoothly.

I started seeing air bubbles on monday, but then they stopped on Wed. If i tapped the lid, i would get bubbles so i figured it just slowed down. Today I didn't get bubbles even if i pushed on the lid.

Before you ask, I am 100% positive that the lid, grommet, and airlock were on properly.

I drew a sample with my thief and got an OG of 1.010 - perfectly in the range that this kit says it should be. I'm going to check the OG again tomorrow, but with all the talk on here about leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks, I wanted to see what the odds are that it has completed fermenting after only 5 days. .

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Sounds like it is done fermenting. (BTW, OG = original gravity, as in the gravity the beer starts at. FG = final gravity. I think that's what you were measuring.)

5 days is reasonable. But the argument is that the longer you keep it in the fermenter the better the beer will taste. It's ready to drink now - but it will be much better beer in a month or two (or 8!) :rockin:

monty3777 said:

Sounds like it is done fermenting. (BTW, OG = original gravity, as in the gravity the beer starts at. FG = final gravity. I think that's what you were measuring.)

Click to expand...

Yes, I meant to type FG. Like i said, i want this batch to be in the carboy for a week or two so that i can actually see some of the process, but i'm glad to hear that 5 days isn't out of the question for fermentation.

I plan on letting it sit in the primary for another week, then the secondary for a week or two, then bottle the beer and let it condition for 3 weeks. That sounds like what i should do, but with new years around the corner, I would love to show off my fist batch. However, I have heard enough stories about people rushing their beers that I am going to try to hold off until i've let it condition properly, i just wish i started this batch a month ago!

If you ferment on the warm side, it can finish very quickly indeed.