commercial vs. homebrew

So I have seen a few commercial brewery tours on YouTube and it seems like their fermentation and carbonation times are a lot shorter than what we use as homebrewers. Any thoughts or am I misunderstanding?

Thanks.

Homebrewers can do it to, they just don't have to. I've served good in as little at 10 days, 14 out of a bottle. It could be dangerous for noobs but when you know what your doing it's not difficult.

dukes7779 said:

So I have seen a few commercial brewery tours on YouTube and it seems like their fermentation and carbonation times are a lot shorter than what we use as homebrewers. Any thoughts or am I misunderstanding?

Thanks.

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One reason commercial fermentation times are shorter is because those brewers are not under-pitching yeast as many homebrewers are. Carbonation is also done with slightly more sophisticated equipment than the typical homebrewer has.

Definitely what BigEd says - one thing I was told when touring one local brewery is that they actually carbonate the beer while fermenting, which also cuts down on times. Since they're not underpitching and they're not treating carbonation as a separate step that takes place after fermentation, they're able to get their product ready a whole lot more quickly than most of us do.

I think pitch rates are a small part of it. It's maintaining a healthy culture start to finish. It limits off flavors homebrewers age out.

BigEd said:

One reason commercial fermentation times are shorter is because those brewers are not under-pitching yeast as many homebrewers are. Carbonation is also done with slightly more sophisticated equipment than the typical homebrewer has.

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This.

If you tour Stone, they will tell you their pale ale is in the bottle 4 days after brewing. They pitch the right amount of yeast and ferment in the mid-70s.

is there such a thing as OVER pitching yeast? so they are force carbing with CO2?

Commercial brewers have their process down so they can produce a consistent product as quick as possible. The more time it takes, the more it costs them.

While I am sure they care about the taste of their product going out the door, they are driven by costs, and the quicker you can produce the product, the less inventory you have to keep, and the less equipment you have to have. I'll bet, even JP keep looking for ways to reduce their turn times ... and they have a long process.

It's all about profit.

dukes7779 said:

is there such a thing as OVER pitching yeast? so they are force carbing with CO2?

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Oh yeah. Over pitching can be worse. Under pitching can be desirable. With weizen for example.

One of the keys to a quick turn around seems to be cold crashing. It can take weeks for the yeast to drop at fermentation temp. Cold crashing does the same thing in a day or two.

I have seen some even dry hop for only 2 days. You may need more hops but time is money. Especially with IPA I think the sooner you drink the better.

Don't forget filtering. Strip all still in suspension and get a cleaner beer without waiting for it to drop on a its own.

BulldogBrewer said:

This.

If you tour Stone, they will tell you their pale ale is in the bottle 4 days after brewing. They pitch the right amount of yeast and ferment in the mid-70s.

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Bingo, you beat me to it.

This, I think, is the biggest reason why "grain to glass time" is reduced with the pros.

I remember someone here saying that Bells ferments some of their beers at 76 or so. I wouldnt dare do that and be able to not worry about off flavors.