Done in 24 hours?

[Neco]

This, my forth batch, seems to be done fermenting already. Unlike previous posts where I worried when it would happen. This brew got bubbling like gangbusters. In just a few hours after pitching the yeast for this brown ale, a froth had built up it was extremely active for about 14-16 hours. Now it's all quiet.
In addition to about 1 1/2 of malted barley, I brewed 6 lbs of dry extract. Could it be I'm ready to bottle so soon?

 

[sirmeowsalot]

If you're using a different yeast the unusually quick fermentation could be attributed to that. The only sure way to make sure the beer is done fermenting is by taking a gravity reading. If your gravity is where it is suppose to be I would give it at least a week if you're trying to turn it over quickly. Even my low gravity beers I try to give at least a week and a half to help with the flocculation.

If the beer isn't done and you bottle too early you would probably end up looking at some beer bombs.

 

[Neco]

I thought about that. I failed to take an initial gravity reading, however. I could repeat the exact recipe, and take a gravity reading on the second batch. I would assume it would be real close to what the first batch would have been.

 

[unionrdr]

Was it a recipe,kit,or what? What OG/FG was given? You could still measure FG to see when/if it's done. Most likely,only initial fermentation is over. It'll then slowly,uneventfully ferment down to FG.

 

[inhousebrew]

You don't really need to know SG to determine if it's done. Either way, wait a week or two until it clears up and for the yeast to floc out.

 

[Fletcher21]

You don't need to know the OG to know if its done fermenting ( you do need it for ABV calculations). If you take about 3 readings say one every other day and they don't change then your beer is done with primary fermentation.

You won't know it is the target you wanted but you will know it's done.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

there is no way you are finished fermenting in 24 hours.

you can start taking readings, if you want to, but if you do you will just waste the beer you put into the hydrometer flask, and expose your beer to the air, and potential for all sorts of nasties.

personally, i would suggest you sit tight for at least a week, and watch what happens.

then start to take SG readings, every other day, as suggested.

i bet you get very close to your target FG somewhere about next weekend

 

[RM-MN]

This, my forth batch, seems to be done fermenting already. Unlike previous posts where I worried when it would happen. This brew got bubbling like gangbusters. In just a few hours after pitching the yeast for this brown ale, a froth had built up it was extremely active for about 14-16 hours. Now it's all quiet.
In addition to about 1 1/2 of malted barley, I brewed 6 lbs of dry extract. Could it be I'm ready to bottle so soon?

To put it bluntly, NO! Yeast goes through at least 3 phases during the ferment. The first phase is replication where the relatively small amount of yeast you put in builds up to the amount needed for the ferment. Most of us call this the "lag" phase as it appears that nothing is happening in our fermenter.

The second phase is where all the oxygen is used up and replication is replaced with making alcohol and CO2. This excess of CO2 is what makes the airlock bubble. During this phase the yeast give off some byproducts, some of which will give you a banana smell and others will give the cider or green apple flavor. Your beer has just completed these two phases.

The third phase is where the yeast break down the byproducts or intermediate products to make the beer taste like it should and produce the rest of the alcohol. Your beer is just beginning this phase and this is the slow phase. You can expect anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks or even more for this phase to complete. If you bottle before this phase completes you will have exploding bottles.

In about 2 weeks, use your hydrometer to check the progress of your beer. Take another sample in a couple days and see if the two readings are equal. If so, you can bottle and let the carbonation begin. Carbonation goes along with the beer maturing and can take 2 weeks to as much as 4 months, depending on the beer.

 

[Neco]

Thanks for the responses. My inexperience showed through when I stopped seeing action. Ill leave it alone for now.
The recipe was taken from the Internet, then altered. (I held the handle open too long, and got WAY more crystal malted barley than I meant to put in the bag. So, this is a punted recipe. It's got the dry extract I mentioned earlier, and about a half pound, and 1 1/2 pounds of 80L and crystal malts respectively.
BTW, I've got equal parts of malted barley left over that I want to use. Any recipe to go with it?

 

[Neco]

Oops. That's 80L crystal malt and victory malt respectively.

 

[cheezydemon3]

If it was WAAAAAAAAAAY too hot, it could be done in 24 hours. It would also taste like a box of fruity pebbles mixed with dog crap.

 

[whiskeyjack]

Best bet is to let it sit for 3-4 weeks and let it clean itself up. Even if it is done fermenting the yeast still work to clean the beer. Plus it gives the beer time to mellow and not be so green when you drink it

 

[Neco]

Best bet is to let it sit for 3-4 weeks and let it clean itself up. Even if it is done fermenting the yeast still work to clean the beer. Plus it gives the beer time to mellow and not be so green when you drink it

The waiting is the hardest part!

 

[charliefoxtrot]

When I use Windsor, it usually stops bubbling after three days, tops, after which I give it two weeks to settle. I realize it continues fermenting slowly, but as a beginning brewer I thought I had done something horribly wrong. Some strains of yeast are just precocious.