What's your fermentation MO?

[stuknkrvl]

My process for fermenting a batch is simple - two weeks in the carboy, temperature controlled in a keezer for whatever yeast I'm using, and then cold crash for 24 hours and into the bottle, never a secondary unless I want to rack it onto some vanilla beans or whatever.

So my questions are... what do you do?
Would you do anything different than how I roll?
Is anybody out there doing less time in the carboy?
Are you basing it solely on gravity readings, or are you just letting it ride for a set period of time like I do?
Does anyone know of any benefits to leaving it in the carboy for less/more time?
And do you know of any solid reasons beyond clarity and avoiding autolysis?

Any and all advice more than welcome. Been brewing a while now, just looking for opportunities for improving my process/beers.

Thanks!

 

[McKnuckle]

Two weeks in primary followed by a cold crash, then packaging, is a fairly safe, one-size-fits-all approach. Only sluggish (or underpitched) batches, and the occasional Belgian, might fail to be finished in two weeks, but it does happen as I'm sure you know.

There are reasons to spend less time in the fermenter, though. Breweries that produce a stable range of beers learn the characteristics of their yeast and plan a specific temperature/time schedule to accommodate it, so they don't need to keep things hanging around just to be "safe." Some British breweries, for example, will cool the beer to a moderate range (50F) just after the peak of yeast activity - say 3 or 4 days. This lets the yeast finish, but preserves esters rather than having the yeast clean it all up. The beer is then racked off the yeast to a conditioning tank (really a secondary) prior to packaging.

Lagers, of course, may benefit from a week at 45-50, a week rising into the 60s, then a week crashing down to the 30s prior to packaging - that's 3 weeks total.

So in short, your method seems like a solid generalist approach, but you could tweak things for certain styles if you wanted to.

 

[h22lude]

I have been doing pretty much the same. 2 weeks in primary in fridge then 2 weeks carbing in keg at 40°F. I'm just getting into low oxygen brewing and will be trying something new. Primary in a carboy until 4 points left then transfer to a keg with a spunding valve at 12psi. Finish out fermentation in that keg and then lager for a week or so then put into my keezer for serving. By the time fermentation is done, it should be carbed. Ales will be similar expect no lager period.

 

[shallywag]

I have been doing the same however I just finished a Oktoberfest(fast) using Safale 05. After 3-4 days I didn't notice any activity so I let it sit a full week, took a measurement and it had finished. I transferred to keg and put it in fridge. Will hook it up to co2 tonight. It will probably take 2 weeks before it's completed. I did put some of it in a 2 liter bottle and will force carb to test.

 

[Jtk78]

Typically about the same. If life gets in the way, I may let them sit in the ferm chamber longer before bottling. I have a saison and a foreign extra stout in there now that I brewed Sept 29th. The saison will definitely get bottled this week, the stout may go a full 4 weeks. I'm trying to squeeze a few more points out if the stout.

 

[mashinary]

I don't really time things in weeks, just kind of go for when it's done and when I can get to it. Most beers sit for about 3 weeks before I get around to kegging

 

[mongoose33]

It depends (you knew that was coming, didn't you? )

I brewed my Darth Lager on 9/23; kegged it Sunday nite (10/15). I use an accelerated fermentation schedule (1/2 the attenuation at 50 degrees, then ramp to 66 for the remainder). After 8 days it was done, krausen had fallen, no airlock activity at all. So I crashed it to 32, and it sat there for 13 days. I just tasted it, it still is a bit green, in a week it should be very nice.

I've let beers sit on the yeast cake for 2 or 3 weeks, and in a couple of instances up to 4 weeks. All of them turned out nicely.

I think this is one of those areas where there is room for variation. Given a choice between short time and long time, I'd go long. Most of my beers benefit from a conditioning phase, and usually hit the mark from weeks 3-4.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I've tried this, that, and the other thing for fermentation times, carbing, storing, what have you. In the end for my normal house rotations I will go 12 days in primary at room temperature*, into the keg, burst carbed the next day. Grain to glass in 13 days.

Lagering or flavor adjuncts is a different story. I'll take more time to make sure they turn out as intended.


*Whatever my thermostat is set to. Sometimes I'll put in closer to the vent to avoid getting too warm or too cool (wine). Very high tech, I know.

 

[Aotidae]

It depends on how much yeast character I am looking for but my standard procedure for hoppy beer is 3-4 days at 60-65 F then allow the chamber to rise to 68 F for 1 week. Then, I cold crash at -2 C for 4 days, keg at 50 psi for 24 hrs, then set to serving psi and relieve headspace pressure. Beers with more crystal character I do the same process, but let it sit at serving temps for 1+ months depending on style. If I want more yeast character, I will ferment a bit warmer and I will maintain that temperature for the duration that the beer is in the fermenting vessel.

 

[portguy]

12 to 15 days in primary. 15 days in the bottle. No cold crash. I just make sure to have any bottle i open at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.