fermentation

[wterry]

I use a carboy and and overflow tube into a gallon jug during fermentation.

My current brew at 2.5 weeks is pushing a bubble into the jug 5-10 seconds, which seems pretty active to me.

I hear it said that this activity is not a way to gauge if a brew is ready for bottling. I do not like to take readings to avoid introducing anything into the brew.

So, I guess it must be that if a brew is still off-gassing it still could be done?

It just seems to me that if there is off-gassing then the yeast is still converting sugars.

Thoughts?

 

[mac_1103]

If you don't take readings how have you decided when to bottle in the past? How do you bottle? Do you usually take a reading when you bottle?

 

[wterry]

I generally bottle after 3 weeks because that seems to be a decent amount of time....a week past the "2 weeks" I see stated in many places.
For the most part, brews have turned out fine.

 

[mac_1103]

So you never check your final gravity? What is you bottling process? What kind of bottles do you use?

 

[wterry]

I generally bottle after 3 weeks because that seems to be a decent amount of time....a week past the "2 weeks" I see stated in many places.
For the most part, brews have turned out fine.

I

If you don't take readings how have you decided when to bottle in the past? How do you bottle? Do you usually take a reading when you bottle?

As to how I bottle, just the normal way...add the primer into the brew in a bucket, bottle and cap and drink in a couple of weeks

 

[wterry]

I

As to how I bottle, just the normal way...add the primer into the brew in a bucket, bottle and cap and drink in a couple of weeks

oh, yeah, I do calc the alcohol content as well

 

[mac_1103]

OK, in that case I would just give this batch an extra week in the fermenter. It's not going to hurt anything. If the gravity is much higher than the expected final gravity when you rack it to the bottling bucket then there may be a risk of gushers or bottle bombs. One thing you could do to mitigate that risk is to use a bottle conditioning yeast like CBC-1 or F-2 (or almost any wine yeast for that matter). These can't ferment any of the maltose, maltotriose or dextrins that are left in the beer and will kill the beer yeast so it can't ferment that stuff either.

Getting back to your OP, off gassing just means that CO2 is coming out of solution. It does not necessarily mean that CO2 is still being generated by fermentation. That's why bubbles are not a good indicator of when the beer is finished.

 

[wterry]

thanks. I have been brewing this way for quite a while and have had any gushers for some time and never a bottle bomb(thank goodness).

I will probably let it extend into next week....about 3.5 weeks.and go from there.

I may invest in a Rapt Pill, seems like some people like it and I assume it can fit into a carboy. The Tilt is about twice the cost, but not sure if that extra cost is warranted.

 

[hotbeer]

Is this a kit with a unidentified brand of yeast?

I use to use kits from Brooklynn BrewShop and quite a few of them would bubble off and on for many weeks. A few times up to 6 weeks. They never would tell me what type yeast they used. But I suspect it was fermenting most all the sugars in the beer, even the sugars we typically think of as unfermentable. Their kits actually made good beer.

I seldom opened the FV's to get a SG reading. I just waited till the beer was clear and I could see across the trub layer to the other side of the FV. By then the FG is long been reached So I usually just took that one final reading. IMO, too short a time in the FV is worse than too long a time in the FV.

However after moving to using known beer yeasts such as US-05, S-04 and others, I've not had any beers take that long to clear up. Usually 10 days to 3 weeks at the most. Nor have I had them bubble off and on so vigorously as did many of the beers I made with those kits.

 

[wterry]

not a kit...all grain brewing and I do BIAG. I ended with a 1.093 OG and added 1 dry packet of US-05, shook it up for 5 minutes and added 2 packs of hydrated US-05.

 

[hottpeper13]

I give those big ones 4-6 weeks in primary.

 

[mac_1103]

And I always use a bottling yeast for the big ones too. Have you brewed a 10% ABV beer before?

 

[wterry]

I have had high gravity brews before, but never attained a 10% final reading.

Have ended with a 8.13% with about this same OG I have now

 

[wterry]

And I always use a bottling yeast for the big ones too. Have you brewed a 10% ABV beer before?

I have not heard of using a bottling yeast. Why would that be needed? I never had an issue with bottle conditioning.

 

[day_trippr]

Many yeast strains run out of gas when hitting double-digit ABVs, but there are some strains (like that of CBC-1) that can handle high alcohol content and still manage to ferment monosaccharides like priming sugar...

Cheers!

 

[wterry]

hmm, I think US-05 should not have that issue

 

[wterry]

Many yeast strains run out of gas when hitting double-digit ABVs, but there are some strains (like that of CBC-1) that can handle high alcohol content and still manage to ferment monosaccharides like priming sugar...

Cheers!

Isn't there a concern about creating gushers but adding this additional bottle conditioning yeast?

 

[wterry]

Isn't there a concern about creating gushers but adding this additional bottle conditioning yeast?

"by" adding....sorry for typo

 

[mac_1103]

I have not heard of using a bottling yeast. Why would that be needed?

High ABV and/or long time before bottling.

I never had an issue with bottle conditioning.

But you've never brewed a beer this big before.

Isn't there a concern about creating gushers but adding this additional bottle conditioning yeast?

No. Quite the opposite in fact. Bottling yeasts cannot ferment anything but simple sugars and have a kill factor that stops any of the primary yeast that might still be in the beer from fermenting any residual complex sugars during bottle conditioning

 

[wterry]

So, if these bottling yeasts are used, then is a priming sugar even needed?

 

[mac_1103]

So, if these bottling yeasts are used, then is a priming sugar even needed?

Absolutely. They still need something to ferment or you will not get any carbonation. And they need the right amount or you will get too little or too much carbonation.

 

[hotbeer]

US-05 probably wouldn't be the yeast I'd pick for a big beer. With your OG of 1.093 you'd reach it's attenuation value at 1.016. And you'd be inside the limits of it's alcohol tolerance before you even hit 1.020.

Sounds like you did pitch plenty though. Which is a plus. Though I'm just guessing this is a 5 gallon batch.

Granted alcohol tolerance and attenuation aren't exact hard limits. But they are many times close.

 

[kurds_2408]

thanks. I have been brewing this way for quite a while and have had any gushers for some time and never a bottle bomb(thank goodness).

I will probably let it extend into next week....about 3.5 weeks.and go from there.

I may invest in a Rapt Pill, seems like some people like it and I assume it can fit into a carboy. The Tilt is about twice the cost, but not sure if that extra cost is warranted.

The Ispindel is cheaper than both.

 

[wterry]

The Ispindel is cheaper than both.

I will check that out, thanks

 

[wterry]

US-05 probably wouldn't be the yeast I'd pick for a big beer. With your OG of 1.093 you'd reach it's attenuation value at 1.016. And you'd be inside the limits of it's alcohol tolerance before you even hit 1.020.

Sounds like you did pitch plenty though. Which is a plus. Though I'm just guessing this is a 5 gallon batch.

Granted alcohol tolerance and attenuation aren't exact hard limits. But they are many times close.

US-05 is supposed to be tolerant up to 11%. I always wondered when I siphon from the carboy to the bottling bucket and when I always siphon a little trub , is this adding some yeast to the the beer that will be part of the conditioning process. I assume yes.

 

[hotbeer]

If you look on their site, they state 9-11%

https://fermentis.com/en/product/safale-us-05/

That 9% is the beginning of the range where the yeast's ability starts to diminish. It's the one I'd put more weight on the decision of what yeast to use when planning. And it's quite possible that some may have even used US-05 and had great results with even bigger beers and higher ABV's than 11%.

When issues start arising in beer fermentation, then attenuation and alcohol tolerance might be reason despite other batches where someone got way more attenuation or ABV than the yeast is stated to give.

And to get to 11% with a 1.093 beer, you'd have to have 90% attenuation which is higher than I've ever gotten with US-05. IIRC I think 85% was the best I ever had. And that's only 2% above the max attenuation stated for it.

 

[wterry]

US-05 probably wouldn't be the yeast I'd pick for a big beer. With your OG of 1.093 you'd reach it's attenuation value at 1.016. And you'd be inside the limits of it's alcohol tolerance before you even hit 1.020.

Sounds like you did pitch plenty though. Which is a plus. Though I'm just guessing this is a 5 gallon batch.

Granted alcohol tolerance and attenuation aren't exact hard limits. But they are many times close.

it is supposed to be

If you look on their site, they state 9-11%

https://fermentis.com/en/product/safale-us-05/

That 9% is the beginning of the range where the yeast's ability starts to diminish. It's the one I'd put more weight on the decision of what yeast to use when planning. And it's quite possible that some may have even used US-05 and had great results with even bigger beers and higher ABV's than 11%.

When issues start arising in beer fermentation, then attenuation and alcohol tolerance might be reason despite other batches where someone got way more attenuation or ABV than the yeast is stated to give.

And to get to 11% with a 1.093 beer, you'd have to have 90% attenuation which is higher than I've ever gotten with US-05. IIRC I think 85% was the best I ever had. And that's only 2% above the max attenuation stated for it.

My desire was never have a 10% ABV,,,I over boiled and did not liquor back enough, reason for the high OG, so if I end up with something between 8-9% ABV, then that is fine and my bet is if I bottle this weekend it will be about 8.4%. At this level it should condition in the bottles fine, I think.

 

[wterry]

I will try to remember to come back here and log the final gravity and then later on for how well it conditioned

 

[mac_1103]

it is supposed to be

It's supposed to be what? Exact? Then why do they give a range?

 

[wterry]

It's supposed to what? Exact? Then why do they give a range?

I apologize, I must have accidentally posted that partial sentence...I think this was related to the post where I said the the yeast will tolerate 9-11%