Done fermenting already?

Hi,

I am brand new here and to brewing. I brewed my first batch a few days ago and had a question for you. It took about 24 hrs to get going, got a nice layer of foam and was bubbling like a clock. It is now approaching 48hrs since pitching and the fermenting appears to have stopped. No activity I can see in the airlock and the foam basically fell flat.

It is an amber ale, and has been at a steady 69-72 degrees in a 6.5g carboy.

I took a sample today to see progress, here are what my numbers look like:
OG: 1.05 and gravity for today: 1.02. I see it made progress, which is good, it seems to be at about 3.1%ABW. About normal?

Is it really done? I plan on just keeping it in for a week total, maybe check gravity in a few days, see if it's still going, just slow?

BTW it tasted great, no funny taste yet, just warm and flat. Thanks

It is very possible for the bulk of fermentation to have finished that fast, however it is still beneficial to leave it in the primary for at least a few more days if not longer.

When I was extract brewing I often had beers that finished at the 1.018-1.020 range. Nothing to worry about.

Since you are just starting out, you are anxious to get the first beer in bottles and eventually in your stomach where it belongs. Once you get the first batch out of the way, do some reading on keeping beer in primary for two weeks or more. It's a technique many of us are using with good results. (Clearer beer, more flavor development, etc...)

It may be over, but the only way to know would be to take samples and get the exact same reading for 3 consecutive days.

That being said. Alot of people will tell you to leave it on the yeast cake for up to 4 weeks. This allows the yeast to go back and clean up after themselves.

McKBrew said:

It is very possible for the bulk of fermentation to have finished that fast, however it is still beneficial to leave it in the primary for at least a few more days if not longer.

When I was extract brewing I often had beers that finished at the 1.018-1.020 range. Nothing to worry about.

Since you are just starting out, you are anxious to get the first beer in bottles and eventually in your stomach where it belongs. Once you get the first batch out of the way, do some reading on keeping beer in primary for two weeks or more. It's a technique many of us are using with good results. (Clearer beer, more flavor development, etc...)

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Thanks, I will just leave it in there longer then. No change to the procedure if you plan on leaving it in the primary fermenter for that long? I can just leave as it is for longer? If so, I can wait...getting bottles still. Thank you

greeneyed said:

It may be over, but the only way to know would be to take samples and get the exact same reading for 3 consecutive days.

That being said. Alot of people will tell you to leave it on the yeast cake for up to 4 weeks. This allows the yeast to go back and clean up after themselves.

Click to expand...

Sounds like I will just let it develop, so when you say they clean up after themselves, do you mean convert the last little bits of sugar?

Right now it is around 3.9%. The formula is (OG-FG)*0.13, where the gravities are the last two figures on the hydrometer. (50-20)*1.3

Yeast will make other chemicals (intermediaries) during the ferment and then when the sugars are gone, work on the intermediaries.

david_42 said:

Right now it is around 3.9%. The formula is (OG-FG)*0.13, where the gravities are the last two figures on the hydrometer. (50-20)*1.3

Yeast will make other chemicals (intermediaries) during the ferment and then when the sugars are gone, work on the intermediaries.

Click to expand...

That makes sense, thanks!

ok - I too just brewed my first batch two days ago(Sunday 6/23/13) I just went to take a look to see any progress and noticed the process seems to be taking place as the lid to the pale has bowed, telling me gas is building up. However, the airlock does not appear to have any colored liquid in it, only the water i put in it when sealing the pale. My concern is that it will blow up! Any helpful insight most appreciated

rcrosbyusss said:

ok - I too just brewed my first batch two days ago(Sunday 6/23/13) I just went to take a look to see any progress and noticed the process seems to be taking place as the lid to the pale has bowed, telling me gas is building up. However, the airlock does not appear to have any colored liquid in it, only the water i put in it when sealing the pale. My concern is that it will blow up! Any helpful insight most appreciated

Click to expand...

What kind of airlock are you using and are you positive that the gas can flow out (IE: nothing was blocking the airlock)?

i am using the airlock that came with the Brewer's best kit. after sanitizing it, i filled it to the water line. it then goes thru the rubber stopper into the pale. Is there a way to test the airlock without ruining the batch?