Vigorous fermentation on NB Porter for two days then nothing!

[teeotee]

Hi everyone, last weekend i brewed the NB Bourbon Barrel Porter kit. Made a starter with Danstar Windsor and pitched around 4:30pm, basement temp stays a fairly constant 65 to 67. It started going within 4 hours, then the next morning it was going like a mad thing. :rockin:
When i got home from work Monday it was still going pretty good. I noticed the blow off jug had signs that it had bubbled over. After one more day it had pretty much stopped. I put in an airlock and watched for a few days, pretty much no activity for the next 3 days. I took a reading yesterday, it was 1.036, OG was 1.073 (my hydrometer reads 7 to 8 points high btw). The sample tasted good and i will be racking to secondary later today and leaving for another 3 to 4 weeks.

I was hoping for a higher abv and was wondering will it ferment out some more or is that it, did i lose some yeast through the blow off? Not bothered because i think will have a tasty beer anyways, was just curious

TIA

 

[MarcusKillion]

I get ferments like that sometimes . some things ferment out in a few days for the most part any way . How ever I always leave them in fermenter for at least two weeks . they usually drop a few more points if you leave them . air lock activity or lack of is not a indicator of end of fermentation. I used to just bottle them in 4 days when they did that and had no problems but they do still have to bottle condition for a long time to make up them weeks they were not in the fermenter to get that real good taste .
some one on here one time gave me good advice that I will pass on to you . Leave it in the fermenter for 3 weeks , no secondary unless it is a big beer or you have lots of trub and need to clean it up more before bottling .

I also have a hydrometer that I think reads wrong at the low end . I used to get around 1.008 all the time until I bought the new one and now I can only go down to 1.011 . I guess I should test it .

 

[duckmanco]

Sounds like a classic and perfectly normal Windsor ferment to me. My extract BBP also finished right at the high 1.030's which annoyed me at the time, but the proof was in the taste ~ great beer. I used 2 more ounces of bourbon than they called for, but it's an awesome kit either way.

 

[teeotee]

I get ferments like that sometimes . some things ferment out in a few days for the most part any way . How ever I always leave them in fermenter for at least two weeks . they usually drop a few more points if you leave them . air lock activity or lack of is not a indicator of end of fermentation. I used to just bottle them in 4 days when they did that and had no problems but they do still have to bottle condition for a long time to make up them weeks they were not in the fermenter to get that real good taste .
some one on here one time gave me good advice that I will pass on to you . Leave it in the fermenter for 3 weeks , no secondary unless it is a big beer or you have lots of trub and need to clean it up more before bottling .

I also have a hydrometer that I think reads wrong at the low end . I used to get around 1.008 all the time until I bought the new one and now I can only go down to 1.011 . I guess I should test it .

Thanks for the reply, i have no problem leaving it in the primary for a few more weeks. This is the biggest i have brewed so i am kind of anxious about it. Recipe calls for the addition of oak chips and 16 oz of bourbon at around the 4 week mark so was thinking of transferring to a bucket for secondary. The plan was to have a nice winter warmer beer for xmas.

My hydrometer is one i got from my LHBS after i had butter fingers and dropped my old one. The old one always read exactly what NB said the OG should be. The new one has read 7 to 8 points high OG on 4 different brews. But at least it gives me an idea of what's going on.

Guess it's a case of patience and just let it be

 

[Pappers_]

I use Windsor in a sweet stout recipe and it is a quick, fast worker, so as suggested above, I wouldn't worry. Your gravity is still pretty high, I would leave it in primary for at least another week or two to see if the yeast will keep working a little and get the gravity down a few points. Rousing the yeast and getting the temp up to 70ish might help, too.

 

[teeotee]

Sounds like a classic and perfectly normal Windsor ferment to me. My extract BBP also finished right at the high 1.030's which annoyed me at the time, but the proof was in the taste ~ great beer. I used 2 more ounces of bourbon than they called for, but it's an awesome kit either way.

Cool, so sounds like i am on the right track. I'm not a bourbon drinker but in this case i'll make an exception

I use Windsor in a sweet stout recipe and it is a quick, fast worker, so as suggested above, I wouldn't worry. Your gravity is still pretty high, I would leave it in primary for at least another week or two to see if the yeast will keep working a little and get the gravity down a few points. Rousing the yeast and getting the temp up to 70ish might help, too.

Rousing, like giving the fermenter a swirl? I can do that, and can move to a warmer spot. My basement is around 65 but it is set to get cooler here for the next week or so. Can prob keep it at somewhere around 68 - 70. I do have another hydrometer ordered and will take another reading in a few weeks.

 

[teeotee]

Quick update on this one, i done the rousing etc, just done a reading while transferring to secondary, has dropped to 1.032. Going to let it sit for a few more weeks then add the oak and bourbon. Will do a final update on bottling day