4 Day full fermentation???

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Booshman

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Sorry I'm pretty new to this, but please bear with me. Is it possible that my beer could ferment completely in 4 days. On the 20th I made my 5 gallon batch, then on the 22nd the airlock started bubbling, on the 23 it stopped and has not produced any bubbles since then. I did some readings and its reading 1.002 and had a starting grav. of 1.047 How did this happen so fast and what should I do next??? Should I let it sit longer or should I go ahead and keg it? I'm just shocked at a 3-4 day fermentation and something seems too good to be true.
 
It is possible to be done in 12 hours. 3-4 days is actually pretty common. I would still leave it alone for a while so the yeasties can clean up.
 
Mine are typically finished in that timeframe too. I have done a few of my own experiments (suggest doing the same) and it seems that the mouthfeel and clarity is better if you wait a few more weeks before kegging. I also feel that it continues to clear up in the keg during this period regardless of if you wait the extra week or two. My next move? Will be to move after quick fermentation (3-4 days of stable gravity readings) to a secondary/Let it sit until my desired clarity is achieved, then keg the batch. I think folks get stuck on routine/tradition and have not experimented for themselves.
 
I had a starting gravity of 1.047 and now I am reading 1.002 everything was fermented and measeured in a temp controlled 68 deg. room.
 
Did you degas your sample? Freshly fermented beer contains a ton of co2 which lightens the density of the sample and gives a false low reading. 1.002 is awfully low though, even for a light gravity beer
 
Degas? The beer is a cream ale, I brought the wort down to 70 deg in about 30min then transfered to my 6gal carboy. After I put it in the carboy I pitched my yeast rocked the carboy slightly for about 2 min, then installed bung and airlock and left it alone. What and how do you "degas"
 
I used a vacuum sealed ale yeast that my local store recommended. I don't remember exactly other than it was a ale yeast.
 
It taste and smells quite strong, Almost a slight liquor aroma. And I did not degas my beer, I just allowed to sit in tube 15 min. prior to my measurement.
 
I'm new to this homebrewing stuff too but I think they mean de-gas (to spell it a bit differently) - which I think means they are wondering if you made sure there were no bubbles in the sample you tested with the hydrometer. I've seen people spin it in the tube to get rid of bubbles. I'm not sure how else it would be done.
 
Booshman said:
It taste and smells quite strong, Almost a slight liquor aroma. And I did not degas my beer, I just allowed to sit in tube 15 min. prior to my measurement.

I am also weary of a 1.002 FG, that is awfully low... and would indicate your Cream Ale is nearing 6% ABV. I'm assuming this was an all extract batch? Even so, I'm stumped how you got it to attenuate so well. Did you ferment at 70°F+? This would at least account for the alcoholic flavors.

To answer your question, my beers regularly finish fermenting in 3-4 days, especially sub-1.050 OG.

Cheers!
 
Yes, even on our 7 BBL system it is usually done in four days, then I wait another 24 hours and check the gravity. If it hasn't changed that is my diacytal rest, then I chill and transfer it on the 6th day, and can brew back into the fermenter on the 7th. Some yeast strains take longer but most High floc english ale strains are super fast. You should be good.
Cheers,
Tom
 
Yes, even on our 7 BBL system it is usually done in four days, then I wait another 24 hours and check the gravity. If it hasn't changed that is my diacytal rest, then I chill and transfer it on the 6th day, and can brew back into the fermenter on the 7th. Some yeast strains take longer but most High floc english ale strains are super fast. You should be good.
Cheers,
Tom

This

I use Wyeast 1968 London Ale at 68 degrees and with 3 and 6bbl batches we are finished fermenting on average in 4-5 days. Wyeast 1007 German is similiar timeframes at similiar temperatures.
 
Thanks for all the help guys, I went down and pulled some of the product and did the de-gas process, and now my reading is at 1.010, so I'm going to let sit for another day then transfer to the keg...refridgerate for a day then start my force carbonation...Again thank for all the help and insight guys, I really appreciate it :)
 
Booshman said:
Thanks for all the help guys, I went down and pulled some of the product and did the de-gas process, and now my reading is at 1.010, so I'm going to let sit for another day then transfer to the keg...refridgerate for a day then start my force carbonation...Again thank for all the help and insight guys, I really appreciate it :)

There you go! That lands you at about 4.8%, beautiful for a Cream Ale. Cheers, buddy.
 
Thanks for all the help guys, I went down and pulled some of the product and did the de-gas process, and now my reading is at 1.010, so I'm going to let sit for another day then transfer to the keg...refridgerate for a day then start my force carbonation...Again thank for all the help and insight guys, I really appreciate it :)

Wait until day 10-14 from brew day to keg and start carbing. The majority of the fermentation is done, but it still may drop a point or two so it's not completely finished.

Also, once the fermentation finishes, the yeast are still hungry and that is the time when they go back and digest their less preferred food. After the maltose (primary beer sugar) is gone, they will digest maltiose, and even then go back and digest some of their own waste products like diacetyl. This happens once fermentation is finished, so let this process happen.

After the fermentation has been finished for at least three days or longer, and the beer is clear or at least starting to clear, THAT is the time to keg it. Not before.
 
I guess this is why my past brews have been cloudy :/ I thought you just kegged or bottled after the grav. reading hit where you wanted....I guess i should have read more. Thanks
 
I guess this is why my past brews have been cloudy :/ I thought you just kegged or bottled after the grav. reading hit where you wanted....I guess i should have read more. Thanks

Don't sweat it, most reading material on the subject is fairly vague when it comes to diacetyl rest period and simply states something like "allow diacetyl rest" without giving timeframes and even a casual explanation of the process.
 
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