Clarifying, "When the fermentation slows (5-7 days), but before it completes"

[TsunamiMike]

SO I am looking for clarification in the instructions of my extract kit, it says, " When the fermentation slows (5-7 days), but before it completes ".

In my particular case loaded the vessel into the fermentation chamber on Sunday afternoon, fermenting at 70 degrees as specified, had visual fermentation in the airlock the next morning until Wednesday morning. That is 3 days worth of active bubbling, am i in the stage of "before it completes" as the bubbling has subsided or should I wait until tomorrow being the 5th day?

Let me know your thoughts..

 

[VikeMan]

What is the thing you are supposed to do after "When the fermentation slows (5-7 days), but before it completes?" Is it transfer to secondary? If so, and if there's nothing special happening in the secondary (like adding other ingredients), you can safely skip the secondary and just let the rest of fermentation and cleanup happen in the primary.

 

[Toxxyc]

I think it would depend on what you have to do during that time. Kits are rarely "well written" enough and anything that gives vague guidlines like that are likely to have better instructions from experiences here

 

[TsunamiMike]

I am doing an American Light (for the wife) and it says to do a two stage fermentation (I understand it isn’t the most popular topic that’s why I left it out) for clearer, crisper flavor.

I am looking to get it to the straw color and get that clean crisp flavor of a pilsner.

I have noticed on a cream ale that the color of the beer has been a bit more on the darker side than a traditional cream ale, I am thinking it may be something I am "not" doing. I did not transfer that one as it did not specify to like this one is.

 

[VikeMan]

Transferring to secondary per se will not lighten the color of the beer. It's actually more likely to make it darker, by exposing it to oxygen.

Since you're making a lager.... Lagering (cold storage) will clear the beer, helping yeast, proteins, and polyphenols to settle out.

You can lager in a secondary "fermenter." But you can also do it in primary (if short enough time), in a keg, or even in bottles.

 

[Steveruch]

I am doing an American Light (for the wife) and it says to do a two stage fermentation (I understand it isn’t the most popular topic that’s why I left it out) for clearer, crisper flavor.

I am looking to get it to the straw color and get that clean crisp flavor of a pilsner.

I have noticed on a cream ale that the color of the beer has been a bit more on the darker side than a traditional cream ale, I am thinking it may be something I am "not" doing. I did not transfer that one as it did not specify to like this one is.

Liquid extract beers will generally be a bit darker.

 

[marc1]

If this was an extract recipe they tend to be darker than their all grain equivalents.
On a given recipe, yeast and water profile will have an effect on crispness. Lagering will help the flavor, too, but I would not transfer to secondary in your situation. As vikeman above says, you can lager in the keg or bottle after packaging.

 

[TsunamiMike]

The last lager I did, had me do the actual "lagering process". Once that was completed I transferred it to the keg and carbonated it that way.

This recipe doesnt talk about lagering at all.... I plan to also keg this beer when it is done fermenting...

 

[CiscoKid]

As was pointed out already, racking the beer into another vessel isn't going to lighten the color of the beer. The color was decided up front based on the grain bill - or in this case the extract and any other items that were added for the boil. What racking the beer will do is get it off of the yeast cake and might (might!) lead to a cleaner flavor. Personally, I don't think it matters much if you're leaving it on the yeast cake for less than a month but I brew mostly ales. An American Light Lager really leaves nowhere for any off-flavors to hide at all, so I could see being concerned about autolysis.

The only way to know for sure if fermentation is done is to get a gravity reading and see if it is where you expected it to finish. Or check the gravity two days in a row and see if changed at all.

 

[BigDave1303]

I would leave it until day 7 then start a diacetyl rest.
A diacetyl rest is used when making lagers and ales. After a beer has fermented to near final gravity the beer is raised from fermenting temperature to a higher temperature roughly 3-4 degrees Fahrenheit above the original fermentation temperature and allowed to sit for two-four days. The purpose of this higher temperature rest is to allow the yeast to reabsorb their diacetyl that is naturally produced during fermentation. While yeast will absorb diacetyl at colder temperatures as well, the absorption happens much faster at warmer temperatures when the metabolic activity of the yeast is sped up. This quick absorption of diacetyl may help to lower the overall necessary aging time and help make a cleaner tasting beer.
Then lower the temp (cold crash) before bottling.

 

[BigDave1303]

If you drink enough of it, it should come out very clear with just a tad bit of yellowish color.
And if you drink way too much you'll go yellow with liver disease.