Fermentation to an alt.

[Alto]

Hi guys, this is the first time happening to me. I have a Stout in my fermenter, been in there for 19 days. It started at 1054 now been sitting at 1010 for 5 days with no apparent activity. should i rack it or wait? or?

P.S. I use a fermenter so there was no transfer, it was very active for like 4 days then slowed down to a stop in the next 5 - 6 days.

 

[brew_darrymore]

Very likely it's done. What yeast did you use?

 

[Dcpcooks]

That’s a relatively low gravity beer I’d suspect your done at this point. A stable reading over three days will confirm your at FG.

 

[Alto]

I used a English ale (liquid) this was my first time using a liquid yeast (and first Stout) i was wondering. Thanks for the infos

 

[brew_darrymore]

Yep, English ale yeast is done in 19 days. Rack, carbonate and enjoy drinking it.

 

[RM-MN]

Hi guys, this is the first time happening to me. I have a Stout in my fermenter, been in there for 19 days. It started at 1054 now been sitting at 1010 for 5 days with no apparent activity. should i rack it or wait? or?

P.S. I use a fermenter so there was no transfer, it was very active for like 4 days then slowed down to a stop in the next 5 - 6 days.

Ale yeasts work quickly and it isn't uncommon for them to finish the primary part of the fermentation within 2 to 3 days and another day to do the cleanup. At this point there is a lot of trub in suspension so waiting longer lets the yeast do final cleanup and then clump together to settle out. This means that your beer could be bottled at the end of the week but I would recommend that you wait longer so more settling occurs as otherwise the suspended yeast and trub will end up in your bottles. I have bottles several batches at day 10 with good results but most beers take some time to mature so I had to wait for that to happen in the bottles anyway and bottling later would have gotten me the good beer in about the same time.

You have used your hydrometer to verify that the beer is at final gravity (usually abbreviated as FG) and stable so bottling now is safe. You do not need to rack to secondary and it really won't benefit your beer to do so anyway.

I find that my stouts benefit from some time to mature. You may want to start drinking this as soon as it is carbonated (minimum time in the bottles is still 3 weeks at room temp) but be aware that the beer will improve in smoothness for quite some time. Try to save a few bottles for more than 3 months, longer if you can stand the wait. One of my stouts spent nearly 2 years before I opened the last bottle and that bottle was the best of the batch.

 

[Alto]

many thanks for the advice, the beer was bottled 1 week ago. I have not tried it out yet, i will be patient