Fermentation Complete in 3 days???

[TieDomi8]

This is my second batch (and first post)and I am concerned that I might have a fermentation lock... Though based on my gravity readings everything appears to have gone smoothly.

First off here is the recipe I used for my American IPA

Specialty Grains
.75lbs Briess Caramel 40
.25lbs Briess Caramel 80

Fermentables
3.15lbs gold malt LME (60min)
6.0lbs gold malt LME (15min)

Hops
1oz Yakima (60 min)
1oz Centennial (15 min)
1oz Cascade (15 min)
2oz Warrior (0 min)

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

I took gravity readings on brew day and day 4 they are:

The original gravity reading was 1.062
The final gravity (current ) is 1.014

Both of these readings are within the style guidelines for an American IPA, but I am concerned that this was completed in 3 days. The fermenter is still bubbling about 1 per 60 sec, and am not sure if I should be contemplating pitching additional yeast.

The only reason I am concerned is that my first batch (a Belgian wit) was still fermenting at 4 per 60sec at around the 2 week mark.

Anything to be concerned about or should I Relax, don’t worry and drink a home brew.

 

[billvon]

Doesn't sound unreasonable. I've had fermentations basically done in 4 days.

 

[bob1852]

Anything to be concerned about or should I Relax, don’t worry and drink a home brew.

yes, what you said

I've had beers "finish" fermenting in three days, especially with a hungry, quick yeast like 1056. I put "finish" in quotes, because that doesn't mean it's "done" yet.

Give the beer at least two more weeks to do it thing, then bottle, and you'll be happily rewarded

 

[ChshreCat]

Especially if the beer is fermenting warmer, it can finish really fast. Not sure why you'd think you'd need to pitch more yeast due to a fast ferment though.

 

[RedGlass]

The obligatory Revvy comment:

Your airlock is not a sign of fermentation. 1 bubble for 60 sec., 4 per 60 -- it's all meaningless in terms of what the yeast is doing. You did the right thing by using your hydro, now just let it condition out for a few more weeks and enjoy.

 

[Bubba_Mustafa]

Aren't we to wait for 3 consecutive days of the same gravity? That would suggest that 4 days would be the minimum.

 

[jeffmeh]

I would give it three weeks in primary, but that is my personal preference.

 

[BeerJorge]

There is no need to be concerned... and fermentation is not done when your beer drops in gravity... you still have to leave your beer conditioning...

Relax, leave your beer alone... get in the habit of leaving your beer alone for 2-3 weeks even if you don't see any airlock activity since that is no sign of your beer not fermenting...

Read this... beer not fermenting

 

[Six_O_Turbo]

Let it sit another few days, maybe while ramping up the temp to 70 degrees or so if you are fermenting below that, and take a gravity reading. If you are still 1.014 (which is a very reasonable finishing gravity for an IPA) then you are ready to cold crash for a few days and bottle. It sounds like you had a very healthy fermentation which generally negates the need to let beer sit on the yeast for weeks.

 

[Zen_Brew]

+1 to what everyone said on your IPA. Now your Belgian Wit at the two week mark is a different story. It is entirely possible that it is off gasing which is completely normal, but most yeasts at a reasonable temperature are finished with the fermentation by two weeks out. You may want to check your gravity on the wit. Wit is generally a beer that is best served on the young side and that one should be heading towards keg or bottle in the near future.

 

[nilo]

Once you confirmed that the fermentation is done (gravity=flat line), bottle it.
I don't see the need to let it sit for weeks.
Let it bottle condition/mellow/carbonate and drink it in 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[BeerJorge]

Once you confirmed that the fermentation is done (gravity=flat line), bottle it.
I don't see the need to let it sit for weeks.
Let it bottle condition/mellow/carbonate and drink it in 2 or 3 weeks.

I hate to disagree, but I see this as bad advice... your beer needs to condition in the fermenter before bottling it. If you bottle too soon you can end up with green beer and other off-flavors...

2-3 weeks in the fermenter and then another 2-3 weeks bottle condition...

 

[TieDomi8]

Thanks all, I really appreciate the advice. The response on these forums is amazing.

I'm going to take another gravity reading in another few days. If its static I’ll let it condition in the primary for another 2 weeks before bottling.

As, for the advice on the wit, I am already drinking that one and tremendously happy with how it came out.

Thanks again all.

 

[ChshreCat]

I hate to disagree, but I see this as bad advice... your beer needs to condition in the fermenter before bottling it. If you bottle too soon you can end up with green beer and other off-flavors...

2-3 weeks in the fermenter and then another 2-3 weeks bottle condition...

+1 on this. I bottled one of my NHC beers too soon and paid the price with the judges. It was at terminal gravity and stable and I was in a rush to get it mailed out. Should have waited.

 

[nilo]

+1 on this. I bottled one of my NHC beers too soon and paid the price with the judges. It was at terminal gravity and stable and I was in a rush to get it mailed out. Should have waited.

I must disagree to the disagreement!
Leaving the beer too long on the yeast cake can actually create off flavors and not avoid then.
Few days is fine, few weeks not so much.
Green beer gets aged and its taste developed on a safe enviroment, in a bottle or a keg, not on a fermenter with yeast that is dying.
Bottle it and wait, not wait and bottle! :rockin:

 

[jeffmeh]

I must disagree to the disagreement!
Leaving the beer too long on the yeast cake can actually create off flavors and not avoid then.
Few days is fine, few weeks not so much.
Green beer gets aged and its taste developed on a safe enviroment, in a bottle or a keg, not on a fermenter with yeast that is dying.
Bottle it and wait, not wait and bottle! :rockin:

I suspect that forum members that have direct experience to the contrary number in the thousands.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Perhaps the issue here is semantics. Aging, conditioning etc.

Leaving the yeast on the cake beyond the apparent end of fermentation (as judged by a dropping gravity reading) is beneficial to the beer. When the yeast finish eating up all the fermentable sugars they begin to seek other food sources. They go back and clean up (eat) some of their initial fermentation byproducts that would become off flavors in the beer.

You should always try to leave a beer on the yeast cake for a period of time after the gravity stops dropping to allow the yeast to perform this cleanup. How long may be a matter for debate. I usually go 5-7 additional days which for me has seemd to be plenty to clean up the off flavor compounds.

Now how long you can leave the beer on the cake before you start getting off flavors from the yeast dying and decaying is another discussion altogether. From a myriad of senior posters here who have done it I would safely say a month should not get you into trouble. Some have accidentally left beers on the cake longer with no reported off flavors, but I'd say going past a month may be pushing your luck. Also certain yeasts such as wit and weizen yeast seem to go afoul sooner than others.

Allowing a beer, particularly a big beer with complex malts or adjuncts time for the flavors to gel and meld is another completely different step. This step can be done in a secondary fermentor (bright tank), or in kegs and/or bottles. This is simply letting the flavors meld and sometimes allowing time for additional sediment to drop out of solution.

 

[JuanMoore]

I must disagree to the disagreement!
Leaving the beer too long on the yeast cake can actually create off flavors and not avoid then.
Few days is fine, few weeks not so much.
Green beer gets aged and its taste developed on a safe enviroment, in a bottle or a keg, not on a fermenter with yeast that is dying.
Bottle it and wait, not wait and bottle! :rockin:

Dying yeast, also known as autolysis, has been shown to be a way overblown worry in recent years. If you pitch proper amounts of healthy yeast into well oxygenated wort, it can sit for months without worry of autolysis. There's a recent thread here about a guy who left a beer for something like 139 days because he was busy with a new kid, and his beer turned out great. Like many brewers here, I no longer use a secondary, and routinely leave beer on the yeast cake for 4-8 weeks without any issues. Even with sub-optimal conditions, a few weeks on the yeast cake will probably do more good than harm.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/index2.html

 

[ChshreCat]

Autolysis is one of the big boogeymen of homebrewing. It scares people into bottling too early than they should.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/autolysis-myth-busted-182160/