3 day fermentation?

[Traz1986]

Could I be done fermenting after 3 days? It had two solid days of vigorous fermentation, now it seems to have stalled. What should I do?

 

[Traz1986]

It is the Centennial Blonde made using Danstar Nottingham yeast.
Thanks

 

[whovous]

Did you take a gravity reading?

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Maybe. Wait two weeks and check the gravity. Is it near your target final gravity? Three days later check it again. Is it the same? Yes then it's done.

 

[Traz1986]

Unfortunately the hydrometer was a casualty of the brew day. It slipped right out of my hands as it was being pulled from the sanitizer. So I have no OG readings. The volumes were all correct. If it is done fermenting, does it benifit from staying in the fermentor for two weeks? Even if it has reached FG? I'll take a gravity reading tonight.

I was thinking of racking it into a secondary fermentor after a week and letting it stay there for a few days.

 

[RM-MN]

Unfortunately the hydrometer was a casualty of the brew day. It slipped right out of my hands as it was being pulled from the sanitizer. So I have no OG readings. The volumes were all correct. If it is done fermenting, does it benifit from staying in the fermentor for two weeks? Even if it has reached FG? I'll take a gravity reading tonight.

I was thinking of racking it into a secondary fermentor after a week and letting it stay there for a few days.

First off, your beer isn't done in 3 days. The yeast have ripped through the easy sugars and have quit giving off CO2 but they definitely are not done yet. In the process of eating the sugars the yeast created some intermediate compounds that take more time to break down but give off no CO2 and at this point there is a ton of yeast and break material suspended in that beer. Yes, your beer will benefit from 2 weeks in the fermenter and will even show some more benefit if you are patient enough to let it have 3 or 4 weeks.

I never move beer to secondary unless I am adding fruit which actually does give a secondary fermentation. Otherwise I just leave the beer where it is and let the full amount of yeast do their job instead of moving beer away from the yeast that do the work.

 

[unionrdr]

^this^ In that amount of time, usually only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly, uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. It'll take up to about 3 weeks, sometimes less, to completely finish. And I'd definitely get another hydrometer.

 

[MadHomebrewer]

Don't worry with a secondary. Let your beer sit for two weeks. This gives the yeast time to clean up any off flavors they may have produced. Even after the bubbles stop in the airlock the yeast are still working. Some people leave the beer in primary for a month. I have never been that patient, but to each their own.

 

[Homercidal]

Your beer isn't quite done, as has been mentioned.

Personally I wouldn't secondary a lighter beer like this. I'd wait a few days after fermentation was over to allow the yeast to clean up the compounds they created during the height of fermentation, and then chill in primary. Your beer won't be negatively affected from being in primary for the couple of weeks (some of that time at cold temps) sitting there.

Now if you had a big beer and planned to age it more than a few weeks, then yeah, I'd probably take the time and effort to rack to secondary. Otherwise I prefer to handle it less.

 

[Traz1986]

Thank you! Brewing Beer has definitely been an exercise in patience. I panicked when I did not see the CO2 bubbling. I'm going to test the gravity tonight and leave it be.

First off, your beer isn't done in 3 days. The yeast have ripped through the easy sugars and have quit giving off CO2 but they definitely are not done yet. In the process of eating the sugars the yeast created some intermediate compounds that take more time to break down but give off no CO2 and at this point there is a ton of yeast and break material suspended in that beer. Yes, your beer will benefit from 2 weeks in the fermenter and will even show some more benefit if you are patient enough to let it have 3 or 4 weeks.

I never move beer to secondary unless I am adding fruit which actually does give a secondary fermentation. Otherwise I just leave the beer where it is and let the full amount of yeast do their job instead of moving beer away from the yeast that do the work.

 

[BeardedBrews]

Thank you! Brewing Beer has definitely been an exercise in patience. I panicked when I did not see the CO2 bubbling. I'm going to test the gravity tonight and leave it be.

I think many of us tested our first batches over and over again to see "if it's done yet." After a while you will get a feel for what your system does and you will start to learn your yeasts.

The amount of time depends on style, strength, fermentation temperature, nutrients and sterols (O2), yeast personality, and magic.

For me, after a couple of batches of checking it all the time, I bought a second, third, and fourth fermentor. If you have plenty of beer in your pipeline, you won't even notice the week or two for the brew you just made.

 

[RM-MN]

Thank you! Brewing Beer has definitely been an exercise in patience. I panicked when I did not see the CO2 bubbling. I'm going to test the gravity tonight and leave it be.

Here's an article that explains the phases the yeast go through on their way to making alcohol. I find that with my brewing the timeline is longer but the phases are the same.

http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

 

[seabrew8]

If the yeast worked fine you will have no worries bottling in 8-10 days. I do it all the time - i once bottled after 5 days with no issues. Waiting 2 or 3 weeks will most likely help the final beer though.

Lots of the kind folks here forget there early homebrewing i think, its just to damn exciting waiting extended periods of time to score a few more points in a competition. But i'm all for long primaries, i'm starting to do them more often. I am finding some differences, they are more mellow/smooth so to speak - lately i've been waiting 7-10 days after the foam has dropped before i bottled, i like the results so far. But i've not noticed a HUGE difference. At least not yet.

This really goes against the grain but i don't bother with the 3 consecutive days of fg stuff. I wait for 8-14 days and check the gravity once or twice. If its in the 1.008 - 1.012 and range i bottle - i use only one type of yeast right now. Zero problems after over 50 brews the last 9 months.

While the hydrometer is an excellent tool i think appearance, has in colour and activity in the beer - if you use carboys - can indicate when its ready to package unless you want it to sit for a while.

 

[Traz1986]

Looks like after the three day vigorous ferment the gravity is where is should have been when I started. 1.004. Should I add some dry yeast since I originally pitched around 80 degrees?

^this^ In that amount of time, usually only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly, uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. It'll take up to about 3 weeks, sometimes less, to completely finish. And I'd definitely get another hydrometer.

 

[Traz1986]

Didn't taste to bad though. ��

 

[Traz1986]

Thank you! What is the one yeast you are using?

Thanks for the help, the gravity today is the same as my OG should have been 1.004. Wish I didn't drop the hydrometer on brew day... Brewers note: one less beer on brew day. Lol

If the yeast worked fine you will have no worries bottling in 8-10 days. I do it all the time - i once bottled after 5 days with no issues. Waiting 2 or 3 weeks will most likely help the final beer though.

Lots of the kind folks here forget there early homebrewing i think, its just to damn exciting waiting extended periods of time to score a few more points in a competition. But i'm all for long primaries, i'm starting to do them more often. I am finding some differences, they are more mellow/smooth so to speak - lately i've been waiting 7-10 days after the foam has dropped before i bottled, i like the results so far. But i've not noticed a HUGE difference. At least not yet.

This really goes against the grain but i don't bother with the 3 consecutive days of fg stuff. I wait for 8-14 days and check the gravity once or twice. If its in the 1.008 - 1.012 and range i bottle - i use only one type of yeast right now. Zero problems after over 50 brews the last 9 months.

While the hydrometer is an excellent tool i think appearance, has in colour and activity in the beer - if you use carboys - can indicate when its ready to package unless you want it to sit for a while.

 

[Yooper]

Looks like after the three day vigorous ferment the gravity is where is should have been when I started. 1.004. Should I add some dry yeast since I originally pitched around 80 degrees?

No. I'm sure you are mixing up the decimal. You mean it should have started at 1.040 and is now is 1.004- that sounds right.

Next time, no matter what the directions say, add the yeast at no higher than 70 degrees. The beer will be much better for it!

I've seen high temperature fermentations become explosive and finish out in as little as 24 hours, so 3 days is not at all unexpected.

It sounds fine, so don't worry!

 

[Traz1986]

You nailed that one. I double checked the OG on the recipe and it was in fact 1.040.

The immersion chiller broke the fitting that attaches to the sink, luckily it got to 80 before it broke. Couldn't fix it on the fly.

Thanks again. Jim

No. I'm sure you are mixing up the decimal. You mean it should have started at 1.040 and is now is 1.004- that sounds right.

Next time, no matter what the directions say, add the yeast at no higher than 70 degrees. The beer will be much better for it!

I've seen high temperature fermentations become explosive and finish out in as little as 24 hours, so 3 days is not at all unexpected.

It sounds fine, so don't worry!

 

[Traz1986]

Here is where it ended up, does this appear right? Still struggling to understand when the fermentation is over. The Centennial Blonde does lot list a FG on my he post. Thanks.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1460210339.749597.jpg

No. I'm sure you are mixing up the decimal. You mean it should have started at 1.040 and is now is 1.004- that sounds right.





I've seen high temperature fermentations become explosive and finish out in as little as 24 hours, so 3 days is not at all unexpected.



It sounds fine, so don't worry!

 

[Yooper]

Fermentation is over when the SG is no longer changing, over the course of at least three days.
Some visual clues are the beer is clear (like in your photo), and the beer no longer has any krausen on it (but there is a krausen ring around the top of the beer from where the krausen used to be)

I've seen beers ferment out before in as little as 24 hours, so fermentation isn't generally a very long process at all. Clearing take a bit longer, so generally once a beer is about a week old it's often safe to bottle but I usually wait until about days 10-14 so I have less crud in the bottle. If you bottle a clear beer, there won't be as much sediment in the bottle.