I live in england and I got my first brew kit, the very simple young's brew buddy bitter kit and followed everything as it went and after I added the yeast I but the bucket in my attic wheres it's fairly warm this time of year and after about 3 hours it started bubbling and foaming so I thought everything was going ok. Now today the foam has gone and left a scum around the edge about an inch above where the liquid now is, there are now no bubbles present. Has something gone wrong? Thanks!
Did my beer ferment in 24 hours?
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No,just sounds like it's done with initial fermentation. It'll now slowly,uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. Make sure ferment temps aren't too high,though. That'll give off flavors.
If your temperature was on the high side for your yeast, you may want to lower the current temperature a couple of degrees. Best thing to do though is leave it at a stable yeast fermentation temperature. Just because there is no airlock activity, do not mean the yeast is done. I leave all of my ales alone for 2 weeks, period. If I am adding anything (fruit, oak chips, hops, etc.), then I will rack it to a secondary for the time that it is needed. If it is not getting a secondary, then I will leave it for 3 weeks and bottle.
Mouse
Mouse
19C (66.2F) is def a better temp,even for ambient air temp. That'll bring the temp down a hair in the fermenter. It is the ferment temp you need to watch,& adjust surrounding temps to adjust that. whether by swamp cooler,cooler room,etc.
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keep it around 19c, it should be fine
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Fermentation will normally take two weeks, at least.
I've never had a beer take too weeks to ferment out. I control fermentation temperature, and have had some beers ferment out in 24 hours but most ferment out fully in 5-7 days. If it takes two weeks, I'd look into pitching rates as even my lagers don't take more than 7 days.
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What does "ferment out" mean in this context? Being a beginner, I've been letting my primary go 3 weeks. Do you mean I could keg in a week?
"Ferment out" means reaching FG. Most ales should/will do that in 5 days or less.
After that, there is a period of "clean up" where the yeast goes back and digests less preferred fermentables, including their own waste products. That takes +/- 24 hours.
After that, the beer will start to clear. Depending on ingredients and yeast strain, this can be 1 day, or much more.
When a beer is done, it should be left to clear at least 3 days after it's finished. More won't harm it, and many people let the beer sit a long time with no ill effects.
I generally keg my "regular" ales at day 10-14. I"m not a fan of the ultra-long primary, but I do believe that leaving a beer in the fermenter until done, and then adding a few days beyond that makes a better beer.
Mozart
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Noob question here, but does the 5-7 days allow the yeasties enough time to clean up after themselves? You're certainly one of the experts around here, but I read "2 weeks" so often that I thought I'd ask.
Cheers!
Mozart
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