Fermentation Dropping Off Fast... Help!

[PKisNJ]

Hi everybody here is the gist of my situation. I brewed up a brown ale yesterday (2pm the yeast was pitched) (NB Caribou Slobber to be exact..extract kit) and kept it at a steady 67-66 degrees. The fermentation was quite vigorous initially, to the point when I woke up this morning I had to put a blow off tube on the cap because there was krausen getting into the air lock.

A few hours after putting the blow off tube onto the cap the krausen subside a little but still was bubbling away. I left for work quite happy but when I returned home tonight I check and the krausen has subsided even further and the bubbles in the airlock occur every 30-35 seconds.

Any idea what is going on or how I can prevent this beer from going down the wrong path to certified drain cleaner?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Kate00]

Happy yeast. I've had ales hit FG in just over a day before. RDWHAHB, give it a few days then check your gravity. The airlock may be slow because it didn't seal all the way.

 

[allenH]

Relax. Take a breath and step away from the fermenter. Everything is fine. Fermentation is a beast that dances to the beat of its own drummer. Give it 2-3 more weeks and check the gravity. The hardest part is ignoring a beer after fermentation starts.

 

[Ogri]

Don't panic!!!!! Some fermentations are like that. I can't say for sure but wait until this phaze has definitely wound down to a halt, say another 4 or 5 days, check your SG and then if it still looks a little on the high side slowly ramp up the temp of your fermenter to low/mid 70s.

 

[PKisNJ]

Thanks for the follow up and may I ask if your ales hit FG in just over one day how did they turn out? I am a little concerned, as you might guess. The additional downside to this batch is that its a one gallon batch (quick back story I live in an apt so I have less room to work with and must now work with one gallon batches in a mini-fridge fermentation chamber) so I if I take a gravity reading it might as well be taking a full beer out of a 10 beer batch. After I took the blow off tube and placed the airlock back on I ensured it was re-sanitized and sealed properly.

 

[PKisNJ]

Don't panic!!!!! Some fermentations are like that. I can't say for sure but wait until this phaze has definitely wound down to a halt, say another 4 or 5 days, check your SG and then if it still looks a little on the high side slowly ramp up the temp of your fermenter to low/mid 70s.

Thanks for the feedback. I know I shouldn't freak out, but I am hoping for this one to be a good first start. I am not trying to hit a homerun my first brew back but I want it to at least be something to be proud of.

This also may sound like a weird question, but the krausen has left a residue on the top part of the fermenter. Is is possible that this residue may contain yeast that are trapped and that has resulted in a slower fermentation?

Please forgive my lack of true knowledge as this is my first jump back into the ring.

Thanks!

 

[xmacro]

Leave it alone. The yeast know what they're doing and people have been making beer in cauldrons for hundreds of years in worse conditions than you have.

Walk away, leave the beer alone

 

[thughes]

Step away from the fermentor, go buy some craft beer, and drink that for the next two weeks or so while you brew up several more batches. Check the gravity on this one in a couple of weeks and bottle if it's done. Don't want to lose a whole beer to the sample? Sanitize your hydrometer and drop it into the fermenter to take your reading.

(patience Grasshopper)

 

[Kate00]

My beers that finished fast turned out great. Give it a week or two to clear up a bit, and then you'll likely be ready to bottle. At least try to taste it before you bottle. If it tastes good you're probably ready.

 

[PKisNJ]

Thank you everyone for putting a new brewer at ease. Cheers