avg fermentation time for dry yeast

Ok... u guys laughed at me on my last post so i went ahead and bought the basic kit at midwest supplies

i followed all the directions and brewed the bivarian wheat beer and its been about three days now

the air lock has come to pretty much a complete stop. Is this usually after just three days? Its the normal 5 gallon recipe, most things i'm reading recomend you let it sit for a few weeks (the basic kit is a single fermentation process).

i guess my question is, should i keep letting it sit even though thea irlock isn't moving? or is that a sign that something went wrong?

thanks,

will:
mug:

It's normal. Let it sit as fermentation is still occurring, it's just not off-gassing tons of CO2 like at first.

Let it sit for at least a week. If you are doing just a primary, give it two then bottle.

yeah, it's probably done, but let it sit 2 weeks then bottle. My last beer done with safale US-05 was done 48 hours after fermentation started, so it's not uncommon.

I have had beers reach final gravity in ~24 hours before

Reaching final gravity though is not "done". As others have said, if you are only doing a one step fermentation, give it two weeks and bottle it. This should be fine for a wheat beer. If you were making something stronger, or with more hops, I would recommend 3-4 weeks.

ahh ok, i feel more comforable now--thanks a lot guys.

I did a creme ale w/ US-56, uh, I mean 05 and a best bitter with Windsor last Saturday. I rehydrated both yeasts and they were both chugging along nicely 3 hours after pitching. By Tuesday there was very little airlock activity. Per my SOP I will pop the lids this weekend and check for FG then let them set another week then keg for conditioning. I really prefer to have beers that take off and finish quick.
AP

APendejo said:

I did a creme ale w/ US-56, uh, I mean 05 and a best bitter with Windsor last Saturday. I rehydrated both yeasts and they were both chugging along nicely 3 hours after pitching. By Tuesday there was very little airlock activity. Per my SOP I will pop the lids this weekend and check for FG then let them set another week then keg for conditioning. I really prefer to have beers that take off and finish quick.
AP

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you can pop the lid while its fermenting without risking contamination? i was never sure when its ok to do that and when its a risk.

Will95gt said:

Ok... u guys laughed at me on my last post so i went ahead and bought the basic kit at midwest supplies


will:
mug:

Click to expand...

Did your kit come with a hydrometer? If so, it is much better at letting you know where you beer is in the fermentation process than airlock activity.

As mentioned, even after co2 production ceases, there is still plenty of stuff going on in your bucket.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8.html

Will95gt said:

you can pop the lid while its fermenting without risking contamination? i was never sure when its ok to do that and when its a risk.

Click to expand...

Well, thats how it is done in my brewery, especially if there is any suspicion of stuck fermentation. I wait until there is no apparent activity in the ferment vessel, carefully remove the airlock, wipe everything down with iodophor, gently pop the lid and move it enough to draw a sample with the wine thief for hydrometer reading. The co2 layer sitting on top of the beer is is a good insulator and most likely the beer has all fermented out so there is not much in there for the nasties at this point.
Replace the lid, clean and refill the the airlock and put in place then wait another week. Sample the sample. It will give you a pretty good idea of where your beer is going.
AP

Atleast give it the 1-2-3. If you pull the stopper and look in you can also get a good feel of what is going on by whether the krausen has dropped back into the brew yet.