Can this be right? Kveik done in 4days?

[Garage Brewer]

Hey all, I have noob question for ya. I did a Saturday IPA brew (first one in years) and pitched Kveik yeast into the fermenter, temp controlled at 80-84 degrees. The airlock bubbled a bit on the second day. By the third day I couldn't smell anything at all around the fermenter (until then it was smelling a bit like wort in the area). I've read online the Kveik can do really fast high-temp brews, so I decided to do a hydrometer test. On brew day my SG was at 1.062. Today, it's at 1.014. According to the ABV calculator - that puts the beer at about 6.3% ABV. The recipe (it was an LME) says it should hit around 6.4% ABV.

Am I missing something here, or did the yeast do a five-day ferment on this batch? Is there another test I should run?

Should I let it ride out the customary 2 weeks of fermenting before bottling, or should I bottle it all this weekend?

The hydrometer seems to suggest the batch is done, but it just seems way too fast.
What do you all advise?

 

[lumbergh]

Check it again tomorrow to see if the gravity has dropped more. In my experience, kveik tends to have high attenuation.

 

[Rish]

Kevin is very fast but personally I would give at least 2 weeks to clean up and clear before bottling.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Kevin is very fast but personally I would give at least 2 weeks to clean up and clear before bottling.

And never, ever leave Kevin home alone.

 

[Kris.J]

Yah I have gone grain to glass with similar OGs in 12 days with Kveik & kegging, easily. The beer is enjoyable on my draft system in that short of time, but of course it gets better after another week or two.

I ferment kveiks at about 95F in 66F ambient, with 2 of these wrapped around the fermenter:

iPower 2 Pack 10" x 20.75" Seeding Heat Mat with Thermostat Temperature Adjustable Knob Durable Warm Hydroponic Plant Germination Starting Pad, 10" x 20" New Version, Black https://a.co/d/fZqB2WS

 

[esdill]

I've had a Kveik finish in 36 hours, fermented at 95 F.

 

[Garage Brewer]

It sounds like letting the brew do the full 2 week fermentation will result in better beer, so I'll go with that. I wasn't sure if leaving it to sit for a week once fermentation was done would introduce off-flavors. I'll take another SG reading soon to see if I can squeeze that last 0.1% ABV out of this batch.

Thanks for the insights, everyone, I appreciate it. (Oh, and I'm using a similar fermenter heat pad, Kris_J. That's is how I kept the wort at 80-84. Those pads on an InkBird temp controller are pretty remarkable)

 

[hotbeer]

Just because it's finished fermenting and may have reached FG doesn't mean it's ready for the next process. Yeast clean up off flavors and aromas that they made during fermentation if you give them more time.

4 days or even less is typical of the amount of time most ales actually ferment. Even with other yeast such as US-05, S-04 and many others. I think the reason they say two weeks or more is that is how long it typically takes for the stuff suspended in beer to fall out of suspension.

All the beer I left for a long time in the FV were great beers to me. The ones that I rush out of the FV might either be good beer or they might be crappy beer.