1 day fermentation - too quick?

I know, I know - RDWHAHB, right? But I just want to ask.

I brewed a brown ale for my first batch - http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=3365

i pitched the yeast at about 10pm on thursday night. It was bubbling about 1 bubble per second on friday morning when I woke up. Same when i checked it friday evening. By saturday morning, the bubbling seemed to have stopped, and I haven't seen it bubble since. Most of what I have read said that fermentation should start within 24-48 hours, and last 2-4 days. Oh and the thermometer on the fermenter read about 73F on friday, and 70F since then.

Normal?

What you have read is correct...that you should expect at least that much time in the primary. Depending on the yeast, OG and temperature it will go faster or slower. You can almost never go wrong waiting. Bubble formation is *one* indicator of yeast activity but it is not foolproof.

The "correct" answer is: Check your gravity, and if it doesn't change from day to day, it's done.

Now, I've made a couple of browns and they went pretty quick, but I still let 'em in the primary for a week. Unless I was in a hurry for some reason or was leaving town (etc.) I'd never primary less than 7 days. Even if the CO2 production slows, the yeast are still working and adding flavor to the beer. Yum!

Did you use a hydrometer and check your gravity when you started

Big River​

​

Brown Ale​

Recipe For 5 Gallons​

SG: 1.044-1.048
FG: 1.010-1.012​

IBUs ≈ 36

this is directly form the instructions that came with your kit
the muntons ale yeast, has been known to not be a great performer
I would test the gravity of that brew on thursday one week after you brewed

there is a good chance that your fermentation is done, but the yeast need time to "clean-up" all of the mess they made during fermentation


Congrats on your first brew

and welcome to HBT

you should wait about a week in the primary, did you take OG reading?
after about a week check your gravity again, and see if you hit the FG reading

the rule of thumb is
1 week primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 weeks in bottles

or 3 weeks in primary
3 weeks in bottles

Wow is this nuts or what? I came on this forum to ask pretty much the exact question for the exact recipe brewed but mine was pitched on 11:00 on FRIDAY night. Small world. I pitched my yeast on friday night and by sat morning it had started to bubble. I left town for the night and came back and checked on it sunday at about 3 pm and there is one bubble every couple minutes and the krausen is all gone (it did leave a ring about 1" up from the beer). Seems fast but I guess stranger things have happened.

Since your in the same boat as me bringitonhome, does yours have a fairly strong hop aroma to it? I was surprised on how much hops I can smell in the airlock.

MN_Jay said:

Wow is this nuts or what? I came on this forum to ask pretty much the exact question for the exact recipe brewed but mine was pitched on 11:00 on FRIDAY night. Small world. I pitched my yeast on friday night and by sat morning it had started to bubble. I left town for the night and came back and checked on it sunday at about 3 pm and there is one bubble every couple minutes and the krausen is all gone (it did leave a ring about 1" up from the beer). Seems fast but I guess stranger things have happened.

Since your in the same boat as me bringitonhome, does yours have a fairly strong hop aroma to it? I was surprised on how much hops I can smell in the airlock.

Click to expand...

Haha, so weird.
Yeah, mine smells pretty strong of hops. A nice fresh smell to it. I filled my airlock w/ vodka, though, so I have to try an discern what is coming from the vodka, and what is coming from the beer.

My OG was 1.051 - slightly higher than then official target of 1.044-1.048. I've been a good boy and not opened the fermenter. I was planning on waiting at least a week, if not 9 days until saturday before i open it and rack to secondary. So my questions are:
Do I start opening the lid periodically to get more gravity readings, or do a just take one when I go to secondary?
Also, since my OG is slightly higher - do I still shoot for the target FG, or do I expect that to also be higher?

You can just take a reading before you rack to the clearing tank. If it's where you expect, rack away! Your OG may be just a bit higher because maybe you used a little less water than the recipe did- extract brews can't really miss the OG because the sugars are all in there, they can't be "lost". You can add a bit too much water, or a little less, and that will cause some variation, though. So, your FG should be at the expected FG range.

As someone else said, though, Muntons is kind of infamous for not finishing up. So, if it's high when you check it, you may want to consider some fresh better attenuating yeast. Don't worry, though, it sounds like it's fine. Just something to keep in mind if it's higher than you expect.

bringitonhome said:

Haha, so weird.
Yeah, mine smells pretty strong of hops. A nice fresh smell to it. I filled my airlock w/ vodka, though, so I have to try an discern what is coming from the vodka, and what is coming from the beer.

My OG was 1.051 - slightly higher than then official target of 1.044-1.048.

Click to expand...

I use vodka as well, but since I was going to be out of town for the beginning of the fermentation, then I put on a blowoff just in case. I used a gallon water jug filled half full with one-step so the inside of the jug has a strong hop smell. My OG was actually lower than the target. Mine was 1.042, but I ended up a little over 5 gallons so I hope that's what did it. I'll leave it for 3 or 4 more days and then take some more hydro readings.

I've had beers ferment out in less than 36 hours.

Regardless, sit on the primary for another week or so, then to secondary for 2-3 weeks.

Leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks (forgoing the secondary) is another option and growing in popularity.

Same thing happened with my weizenbier. I started seeing airlock activity with 2-3 hours after to pitching my yeast. After about 6 hours I had a constant stream of bubbles. I heard it going in the other room all last night and when I got home today it pretty much had stopped. Its been in the fermenter for roughly 32 hours. I got a nice build up of krausen so I know its working but I will leave it in the for a week before I switch it to my secondary.

Cheers
Brian