I just finished my first all grain batch last week and wondered if it would make much of a difference in taste to bottle after 2 weeks instead of 3 in the fermentor. the original gravity was 1.052 and I used dry yeast S-05.
2 or 3 wks in fermentor?
- Thread starter gonpce
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
If it was a healthy ferment and it finished out, it won't make a difference.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2008
- Messages
- 65,431
- Reaction score
- 10,793
Yes.
catdaddy66
Well-Known Member
Minimum two, but 3-4 weeks is ok also.
Brewing is a lazy man's hobby!
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Brewing is a lazy man's hobby!
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Jupapabear
Well-Known Member
LOL ^^^
How long has the FG been stable? I usually get best results letting sit for a week after hitting a stable FG. (If you get the same reading on consecutive days.)
How long has the FG been stable? I usually get best results letting sit for a week after hitting a stable FG. (If you get the same reading on consecutive days.)
Tizzomes
Well-Known Member
With an O.G og1.052 -2 weeks works. I've just made it a habit to let it go for 3 weeks but as LLBrewer mentioned I also don't bottle.
If you did everything right for fermentation like enough yeast pitched, enough oxygen in the wort, the right temperature ranges to encourage the fermentation without creating unusual compounds in the beer that the yeast need time to break down, your beer would be ready to bottle or keg in 10 days. Most of us aren't that concerned with our beer to buy the equipment to make that happen so we take a few short cuts that aren't optimum but are acceptable, then give our beer more time on the yeast so they clean up what our shortcuts produced. That still doesn't take a lot of time but what does take time is the settling of the yeast. The longer you leave the beer sit, the less yeast makes it into your bottles or keg. Some people like the taste of this suspended yeast, some don't. Those who don't like the yeast taste leave their beer longer so it settles out. If you bottle early, the yeast will settle out in the bottle instead of the fermenter but it will still take about the same amount of time and you end up with a lot more sediment in the bottle. If you keg, it will settle out in the keg in about that same amount of time and will give you cloudy beers for a few pours.
The longer you leave in fermenter the cleaner the beer will be in the bottle. Whatever you pick up when racking will settle in the bottle but if you rack and bottle too early your beer might be cloudier than it could be. If it's not a really light colored beer, it really doesn't matter. As long as your not making bottle bombs your good to go.
mgortel
Well-Known Member
i would let it go 3 weeks...the extra week will give the yeasties some extra time to clean things up......certainly will not hurt
Based on some threads here on HBT, I've started leaving my beer in the primary for 4 weeks.
One of the most important things I have learned over the past few years is patience. Whatever the reasons, it takes time for the beer to start tasting good. I find that after about 6 weeks (measured from boiler to my mouth) the taste is really improved. If I bottle/keg after two weeks, and wait another 2 for it to carb, I still think the taste improves after a couple more weeks. I'm not sure if it matters whether those extra 2 weeks are in the bottle or the fermenter, but some have said that the yeast continue to clean up the beer if left in the fermenter. So I go with that.
If nothing else, it helps fight the temptation to drink it too soon and get discouraged by the results. I rushed a beer for Christmas and when I served it, it was ...okay. But then a couple weeks later it was great and I regretted rushing it because my guests drank something I don't think reflected the quality of the beer I made.
The best way to learn patience is to get a pipeline going. Its hard to rush when you don't have anywhere to put the next beer.
One of the most important things I have learned over the past few years is patience. Whatever the reasons, it takes time for the beer to start tasting good. I find that after about 6 weeks (measured from boiler to my mouth) the taste is really improved. If I bottle/keg after two weeks, and wait another 2 for it to carb, I still think the taste improves after a couple more weeks. I'm not sure if it matters whether those extra 2 weeks are in the bottle or the fermenter, but some have said that the yeast continue to clean up the beer if left in the fermenter. So I go with that.
If nothing else, it helps fight the temptation to drink it too soon and get discouraged by the results. I rushed a beer for Christmas and when I served it, it was ...okay. But then a couple weeks later it was great and I regretted rushing it because my guests drank something I don't think reflected the quality of the beer I made.
The best way to learn patience is to get a pipeline going. Its hard to rush when you don't have anywhere to put the next beer.
I'm currently drinking a nut brown (og 1.060) that I brewed on the 10th and kegged on the 15th (FG 1.012). The beer is very clear (I did keg w/ biofine) and it tastes absolutely delicious. I did use s-04 which is a wicked fast yeast but the fact is good beer, medium to lower gravity, does not take more than a couple of weeks to be ready. Why don't you go to your local brew pub and ask what the time is from kettle to glass. You might be surprised.
That's the camp I'm in. When I hear that others are leaving their beer in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks, I just don't get it. If it's done at day 7, and clear by day 10, it's not going to get "doner" in two more weeks. It's either done, or it's not. If it's done, and it's clear, it's in the keg!
That assumes "regular" type of gravity beers, under 1.075 or so although for IIPAs I have the same procedure. I often dryhop for 5 days before packaging those beers, but even so they don't spend a month in the fermenter! Part of it is that I don't care as much for the flavors imparted by the yeast after a long primary- I like a "cleaner" taste, with less yeast character.
TheCanisDirus
Well-Known Member
I'm personally 3-4 weeks minimum with most beers. There is a lot of "clean up" done by the yeast in long primary... There's also the added clearing benefit. I've done the same beers at 1.5-2 weeks and then at 4-5 weeks and there is a noticeable difference (read better) in flavor and appearance in my experience.
Clonefan94
Senior Member
I'm a 3 weeker because that's how it works for my system. Usually a keg opens up about every 3 weeks. I have pushed beers much quicker than that and they were fine as well. But I do feel that normal gravity beers I brew start to taste best at about a month old. So to this point I haven't found a reason to change up my pipeline.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
DurtyChemist
Well-Known Member
I'm two weeks. I get paid each two weeks so it's easy to brew and reuse yeast and pick a style to brew. I'm hoping to give myself time to enjoy the second after aging while I drink the first.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
here's the deal, IMO: if someone asks "how long should I wait", chances are good the brewer is still learning, which likely means they haven't done everything they should have to ensure a good, healthy, fast fermentation (pitched properly, aerated, temp control, etc.). given that, telling this person to wait 2+ weeks is good advice since there is a good chance their fermentation needs that extra time to finish up, clean up, and clear. it's a safety net and will likely only improves the beer. no point in telling a newbie that it can be done in 7 days, might be setting them up for a goal they can't achieve yet.
folks who can pull off a 7-10 day fermentation typically don't need to ask "how long."
on the other hand, too a short primary might not have allowed enough time for clearing so you'll get getting a different yeast flavor contribution. i've never noticed a yeast taste difference between 2 and 3 weeks.
Remember that the "clean up" happens at the tail end of fermentation, when the yeast are still actively scrounging around for things to digest. That is over in about 24 hours from the time FG is reached. It doesn't take weeks for that process, although it is a very important process.
If people like their beer from a longer time in the fermenter, that's great. I think everyone should try it themselves- do 10-14 days in the fermenter (again, assuming a well made beer with the proper amount of yeast at the proper temperature), vs 21-28 days in the fermenter, and see which is preferred. Whatever the brewer prefers is the right answer for them.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2007
- Messages
- 6,841
- Reaction score
- 857
Telling someone to leave there beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks without explaining why is condescending. Then it gets blindly repeated over and over here on HBT until people think it’s some kind of rule for brewing good beer.
agreed. hopefully folks are saying why - give the beer time to complete fermentation, time to clean up, in order to avoid taking gravity readings every day, etc.
right. we need to work on some sort of secret handshake to go with the advice...Then it gets blindly repeated over and over here on HBT until people think it’s some kind of rule for brewing good beer.
While I don't understand all the gory science, I do know that active fermentation is usually done in around 5 days. A couple of days of slop for "clean up", cold crash for a day or so, rack to keg, force carb and enjoy. I don't aerate or make starters (for normal gravity beers). Dry yeast is sprinkled right on top of wort, no re-hydration. I've been doing this a long time, and I've been extremely happy with the results. I do have a temp controlled fermentation chamber though fwiw. That is the single addition to my brewing equipment that has made the biggest difference in quality.
