Is 3 Days Primary Enough?!

[justino411]

So three days ago I started the Sparrow Hawk Porter recipe out of the Joy of Brewing. I used Muntons Gold Yeast with an OG of 1.0867 and sat it at 63-65F. Now (3 days later) bubbling has subsided so I took another reading and was really surprised by the amount of foam, great color and taste. My reading is now at 1.0230 bringing the alcohol content to 8.27% !!!! I'm at a loss of what to do because this just can't be so easy.
Normally I let it sit a few days more in primary and rack over to secondary for an additional week. Right now I'm pretty damn happy with what I got and don't want to lose it through the traditional steps.
Long story short, I need a sanity check. To bottle or to sit on it a little longer? All opinions welcomed.

 

[LKABrewer]

Patience... The beer may be done fermenting, or it may not. Either way it needs more time to condition. I would wait at least a few more days, and make sure the hydrometer reading stays the same.

 

[MalFet]

Bottling after three days? Don't do that. Please.

 

[SittingDuck]

No. Don't do it. If for no other reason than you need to take follow up readings just to make sure fermentation is done and you won't blow up all your bottles of tasty brew. But really, color and flavor aren't going to get worse, only better, so extra time won't hurt. I'm not one of the "four weeks minimum in primary" guys, and some beers only need 10-14 days, but everything needs more than 3. Especially a high-grv porter.

If you have that much foam, are you sure your krausen has even settled? Yeah, it's tough to do, but just walk away. Your beer will thank you.

Oh, and yes, it is just that easy. Great, huh?

 

[masonsjax]

No need for secondary, but you should leave it in primary for at least 3 weeks. Yeast do a lot of cleanup of biproducts from fermentation if allowed the time. Your beer will benefit if you just leave it be.

 

[justino411]

Copy, I will wait and do a few more readings through the week. It's the first time in a year that I've felt like a kid before Christmas morning! Usually my reaction at this point is.... "man I hope that gets better!".
This time I boiled all 5 gallons of tap water prior to starting the batch to minimize the chlorine and left out the gypsum & irish moss.

 

[lumpher]

that's a very big beer. let it sit for at least 2, more like 3 more weeks. it'll get better. right now it's greener than a christmas tree in october. i'd let it sit till the 3-week mark, then rack it off the yeast for another 3-4 weeks in a secondary. do it on your schedule if you want; it won't be ready, but it will be (gag)... drinkable. if i brew a 1.087, i don't touch it for at least 4 months

 

[jeffd10]

No need for secondary, but you should leave it in primary for at least 3 weeks. Yeast do a lot of cleanup of biproducts from fermentation if allowed the time. Your beer will benefit if you just leave it be.

+42,000 :rockin:

 

[Piratwolf]

. if i brew a 1.087, i don't touch it for at least 4 months

thisthisthisthisthis!!!

You've put a lot of money into a beer this big. Don't waste it by impatience! Start planning and brewing your next three batches to give yourself something to focus on . The four months will pass like nothin'!

 

[tagz]

Step away from the carboy.

 

[photogscott]

1.0867? WTF hydrometer are you using! I want one! (the hbt app doesn't have emoticons...)

 

[Chap]

that's a very big beer. let it sit for at least 2, more like 3 more weeks. it'll get better. right now it's greener than a christmas tree in october. i'd let it sit till the 3-week mark, then rack it off the yeast for another 3-4 weeks in a secondary. do it on your schedule if you want; it won't be ready, but it will be (gag)... drinkable. if i brew a 1.087, i don't touch it for at least 4 months

^^ This... except I would let it sit for at least 4 weeks on the yeast cake.

 

[PseudoChef]

No need for secondary, but you should leave it in primary for at least 3 weeks. Yeast do a lot of cleanup of biproducts from fermentation if allowed the time. Your beer will benefit if you just leave it be.

This seems to be a big misnomer that is stated here. Yeast don't need 3 weeks to clean up fermentation byproducts. They sometimes need around 48 hours to metabolize diacetyl, but this is generally both yeast strain and pitching/fermenting temperature dependent.

Acetaldehyde (that thing that spurns my other hated term of "green beer") is a precursor to ethanol production and, if present, generally means that fermentation wasn't healthy or optimal.

I'm not discounting that 3 weeks help meld flavors and such, but as for cleaning up byproducts, not really.

 

[Yooper]

So three days ago I started the Sparrow Hawk Porter recipe out of the Joy of Brewing. I used Muntons Gold Yeast with an OG of 1.0867 and sat it at 63-65F. Now (3 days later) bubbling has subsided so I took another reading and was really surprised by the amount of foam, great color and taste. My reading is now at 1.0230 bringing the alcohol content to 8.27% !!!! I'm at a loss of what to do because this just can't be so easy.
Normally I let it sit a few days more in primary and rack over to secondary for an additional week. Right now I'm pretty damn happy with what I got and don't want to lose it through the traditional steps.
Long story short, I need a sanity check. To bottle or to sit on it a little longer? All opinions welcomed.

At 1.023, it might not be done. I don't care for Munton's Gold yeast, but even it should get down to 1.015 or so.

After the beer as been at the FG for at least three days, you can do whatever you'd like. I'd probably not use a secondary and let it clear a bit right where it is. I'd say that means I'd leave it alone for about 10-14 days or so before packaging, if it was clear and the SG reading hadn't changed for at least three days.

 

[slarkin712]

I'd leave it in the primary for a couple of weeks, and then bottle if it's finished. Like many others have said, you do not not normally need to use a secondary. Read this short dialogue:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

When I first started brewing about a year ago I was using a secondary on all my beers. I stopped doing this 6 months ago and my beers are better for it. I feel like many new brewers feel that they need to have an active role in the ferementation process, but the truth is just let the yeast do their job. Pitch the right amount of healthy yeast and keep the temperature under control and you'll have a good beer almost every time. If you want to dry hop or add fruit or additives, or do an extended aging(>2 months), then transfer your beer to a secondary. Otherwise, leave it alone.

 

[PseudoChef]

When I first started brewing about a year ago I was using a secondary on all my beers. I stopped doing this 6 months ago and my beers are better for it.

Correlation does not imply causation. I'd wager your beers are better because you have 6 more months of experience, not because you're not doing a secondary.

 

[TarheelBrew13]

This seems to be a big misnomer that is stated here. Yeast don't need 3 weeks to clean up fermentation byproducts. They sometimes need around 48 hours to metabolize diacetyl, but this is generally both yeast strain and pitching/fermenting temperature dependent.

Acetaldehyde (that thing that spurns my other hated term of "green beer") is a precursor to ethanol production and, if present, generally means that fermentation wasn't healthy or optimal.

I'm not discounting that 3 weeks help meld flavors and such, but as for cleaning up byproducts, not really.

Thank you for this.

 

[masonsjax]

I'm not qualified to speak to the scientific principles involved here, but my anecdotal experience has also been that longer primary consistently results in better quality beer than moving it off the yeast immediately when the hydrometer stabilizes.

Sometimes fermentation is slow, slow to start, or interrupted for some reason, so extra time in primary would ensure the yeast are done, and all byproducts are cleaned up. It certainly can't hurt.

 

[MNDan]

It used to be that yeast did everything it needs to do to clean up in two weeks of primary fermentation - are we up to three weeks now?

 

[Yooper]

It used to be that yeast did everything it needs to do to clean up in two weeks of primary fermentation - are we up to three weeks now?

It is still only 5-7 days at my house.

 

[Fastmetal]

It is still only 5-7 days at my house.

I see the popularity of your recipes and know you are an experienced and accomplished brewer and the above statement makes an impatient brewer like my self very very happy. Is this your standard for all your brews and do you age any beers longer. Thanks for the info in advance.

 

[slarkin712]

Correlation does not imply causation. I'd wager your beers are better because you have 6 more months of experience, not because you're not doing a secondary.

Agreed. That's not the point I was trying to make, but I'll take what you said as a compilment.

 

[Yooper]

I see the popularity of your recipes and know you are an experienced and accomplished brewer and the above statement makes an impatient brewer like my self very very happy. Is this your standard for all your brews and do you age any beers longer. Thanks for the info in advance.

There are a couple of keys with doing it this way. First, if you don't create off-flavors in the first place, there isn't much time needed for the yeast to "clean up" the off flavors, and conditioning time is shorter.

That means making the beer properly. Yeast health and fermentation temperatures are crucial. I start with using the proper amount of yeast (usually a starter with liquid yeast), at the proper pitching temperature (usually about 60 degrees) and then allowing the beer to rise to the correct fermentation temperature (usually about 65 degrees) and keeping it there until fermentation is ending. After that, bringing it up a degree or two is good, and holding it there for about 3 days. The beer should start to clear at that time, so I package only clear beer. (I'm talking about only ales here- my lagers are different temperatures).

Yeast health and fermentation temperature are probably two of the most crucial things in brewing, but often overlooked. Even some directions tell you to pitch the yeast "when the wort is less than 80 degrees". That's NOT the best way to make the best tasting beer. Those beers will produce off flavors that will take longer to condition out (and probably will never fully age out). Preventing that in the first place means a better beer, more quickly.

 

[Howie]

This seems to be a big misnomer that is stated here. Yeast don't need 3 weeks to clean up fermentation byproducts. They sometimes need around 48 hours to metabolize diacetyl, but this is generally both yeast strain and pitching/fermenting temperature dependent.

Acetaldehyde (that thing that spurns my other hated term of "green beer") is a precursor to ethanol production and, if present, generally means that fermentation wasn't healthy or optimal.

I'm not discounting that 3 weeks help meld flavors and such, but as for cleaning up byproducts, not really.

Glad to see someone posting this. Yes, I'm relatively new to this board, but I have a hard time understanding this 3-4 week primary logic. I am in full support of giving the beer plenty of time for the yeast to clean up, but that's usually only a couple of days after hitting terminal gravity.

If you listen to the pro brewers talk on all of the beer radio shows, they talk a lot about dropping the yeast fairly quickly after fermentation to avoid further issues.


That being said, to the OP: no, don't rack your beer yet. It's not ready.

 

[PseudoChef]

If you listen to the pro brewers talk on all of the beer radio shows, they talk a lot about dropping the yeast fairly quickly after fermentation to avoid further issues.


That being said, to the OP: no, don't rack your beer yet. It's not ready.

To play devil's advocate here (against my own quote? Weird...) but professional brewers drop yeast much earlier mainly due to fermentor geometry. They really do have to worry about autolysis if they don't have separately coned-cooled sections of their conicals, not to mention the overall pressure of a multi-barrel volume of liquid sitting on top of yeast versus the several gallons that homebrewers typically face.

That being said, most pro brewers have fairly rapid turnover in their processes, and definitely don't leave beer sitting around for 3-4 weeks unless it's quite special.

 

[stumpie]

I racked my last brew off primary into secondary after 4 days. I should also mention my last batch was my first batch. ever. I might have done it differently if I knew then what I know now. It's been in secondary since Jan 23. I plan on bottling next weekend. It started at 060 and ended at 011 as expected, my temps were just a little warm. Here's to hoping conditioning does what it suggests.

 

[justino411]

day 6. no change in gravity. I want to bottle and it's driving me crazy! I've been home all week on sick leave and being cooped up in Alaska will make you think crazy thoughts! But I will be strong and let it sit one ........maybe two more weeks.

 

[photogscott]

Oh no, cooped up in your house in the dead of winter in Alaska? On top of that you are foregoing drinking your creation? This all points to possible SAD. Stay strong we need you...

 

[tagz]

I'll just throw out a word of caution. After reading all of the 5-7 turn-around hype a few months ago, racked a pale ale to the keg early and was extremely disappointed with the results. So, I pulled it out of the kegerator and let it sit in room temperature for a week or two and the flavor improved dramatically. Now, I'm not saying that these guys (and ladies) don't turn around great beer in a short amount of time, I'm sure they do. But, as a wise man once said, what's the use of going fast if you're not in a race?

 

[thd2146]

I racked my last brew off primary into secondary after 4 days. I should also mention my last batch was my first batch. ever. I might have done it differently if I knew then what I know now. It's been in secondary since Jan 23. I plan on bottling next weekend. It started at 060 and ended at 011 as expected, my temps were just a little warm. Here's to hoping conditioning does what it suggests.

I am in the exact same boat! I got a BIAB kit and the ingredients for an irish stout and started up brewing my first batch on Feb 4. After 4 days the bubbling had slowed down considerably, so i jumped the gun and racked it to the secondary. The original gravity was 1.049 and it was at 1.028 when i racked it. I couldn't help myself. Now the SG is at 1.019 and it wont go any lower. Wish I woulda been on this forum before.

I just brewed another batch last night, an IPA. This next one is gonna be awesome, I know it! I never had so much fun.