Could my honey porter be done fermenting after 5 days?

Hi buddies, I have 8 pounds of liquid extract and 1 pound of honey with white labs european ale WLP011 and it was bubbling violently for a few days and it seems to have suddenly stopped.

The temp is ok, could it really be done already??

thanks!

Yep . . . it could be. Give it a few more days - it won't hurt it. Then, do a hydro reading to see where you are.

RDWHAHB

Certainly, but since hydrometers are evil and only make you worry, you'll never be certain. I suggest you keg it and ship it to Oregon where it can be evaluated properly.

I've had 18 hour ferments. 2-5 days is nominal.

i participated in a group brew in september ... a robust porter. we dosed it at about 7 pm on a saturday and mine was finished by monday night. i heard the same from many other participants who took wort home.

Beer is good said:

Hi buddies, I have 8 pounds of liquid extract and 1 pound of honey with white labs european ale WLP011 and it was bubbling violently for a few days and it seems to have suddenly stopped.

The temp is ok, could it really be done already??

thanks!

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Don't rely on airlock activity or flocculation to determine this. It's a bad indicator. I've had krausen fall after 3 hours, but airlock activity continue for a week.

According to ProMash, your OG should have been around 1.064, which is not that high, but I'd still wait at least a week before racking into secondary. The vigorous portion of the fermentation may be done, but it won't hurt to just wait. Or you could take a hydrometer reading and see where it is. Your attenuation for WLP011 should be 65-70%, so do the calcs and compare them to your hydro reading. Or, just do like I said, which is less work, and wait a full 7 days before racking to secondary.

While it might be done in primary, it still will need a little aging, but ales should turn around fast. I remember when I first started brewing we always thought it took 2 months to be ready. Now I think it takes 2 months to be gone.

Cool, I am going to rack it to the secondary this friday and fill the primary with a batch of irish red ale! hooray!

thanks for easing my fears... I'm still learning to relax and not worry

:cross:

Brewpastor said:

I remember when I first started brewing we always thought it took 2 months to be ready. Now I think it takes 2 months to be gone.

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No mutual excusion there- that's the way most of my batchs work out!