Fermentation finished in 48 hours?

[majake]

I'm pretty new to brewing. I've done two kits that come in the cans before, and I want to get down the process of fermenting before I start making my own wort, so I'm trying a Festa Brew kit right now that comes as a liquid bag. The first two batches I did went nuts in the primary fermenter. They both foamed up out the top and the stopper was bubbling like crazy. This time I checked in after 12 hours and snapped the lid down. After 24 hours the stopper was bubbling once every 20 - 30 seconds. I thought it was just getting started, but when I checked the next day no bubbles anymore. The surface foam that wasn't substantial to begin with is gone and the stopper isn't even pressed up against the top of the air lock so I can tell there's no pressure. Its been 84 hours now since it started and still nothing is happening. It smells like alcohol but I didn't take a hydrometer reading to start with so I'm not sure how to tell whats going on. My feeling is that its a failed batch, but perhaps it just fermented really quickly and I missed it? What should I do?

The other thing is that the first two batches I did I bottled. I don't like the yeasty taste of the bottles when there is sediment on the bottom and I overcarbonated them so this time I'm planning on kegging and force carbonating. Should I add an extra cup and a half of dextrose since I'm not going to be adding priming sugar or will it not affect the alcohol content very much?

 

[TyTanium]

Airlocks lie. Hydrometers don't.

99% sure it's not a failed batch. Take a hydrometer reading and let the yeast do their thing. Fast ferments are not uncommon, depending on yeast strain & temp.

 

[BryceL]

It's not uncommon for a beer to "finish" fermenting in a few days, depending on the yeast strain and temperature. You obviously had fermentation so my bet is that the bulk of it finished, just let it sit for a couple weeks though. Like mentioned before, gravity readings are your only real way of telling. You can/should still take some FG readings even though you forgot to take the OG reading.

 

[HibsMax]

From what I have read on here, you don't really need to measure your OG when you are brewing a kit. But I still do, if I don't forget. It's not a bad practice to get into. Assuming you made your batch as per the instructions then the OG you have should be in the ball park of what the kit says. The kit should also state the FG. Measure your gravity and compare. If it matches the FG then your fermentation could be over. Measure your gravity again over the next couple of days....if it doesn't change then activity has ceased. What you do next is up to you. You could bottle or you could leave it alone for another week to allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. That's what I am doing these days. Other than racking to a secondary, I amn't even considering doing anything with my primary until at least 2 weeks have passed.

 

[majake]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a hydrometer reading. The reason I didn't is because I did the first time and the reading was the same before and after but the beer obviously fermented. Do hydrometers break or did I do it wrong? You BryceL said let it sit for a couple weeks. Should I leave it in the pail or transfer it into the carboy now? Also should I add more dextrose since I plan on kegging and won't be adding priming sugar of will it not make a difference?

 

[BigBlueDog]

No priming sugar needed if you will be force carbonating in the keg.

 

[HibsMax]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a hydrometer reading. The reason I didn't is because I did the first time and the reading was the same before and after but the beer obviously fermented. Do hydrometers break or did I do it wrong? You BryceL said let it sit for a couple weeks. Should I leave it in the pail or transfer it into the carboy now? Also should I add more dextrose since I plan on kegging and won't be adding priming sugar of will it not make a difference?

Again it's a personal choice but lots of people leave in the primary. You should rack to a secondary if you plan on adding fruit, oak chips or something. Racking to a secondary provides another opportunity for contamination so unless it's really necessary, don't expose yourself to that risk.

 

[BryceL]

I almost always just leave it in primary for 3 Weeks and then keg. You don't need to worry about the priming sugar or anything else since you will keg it. And yes, hydrometers can break or be calibrated wrong. Most should be calibrated at 60 degrees. Check it in regular tap water, it should read 1.000 at 60 degrees.

 

[majake]

Thanks! I've been reading a lot on this forum about conditioning time. Can you just clarify for me if I leave my beer in primary for 3 weeks and then transfer to the keg how long should I let it sit in the keg before its ready to drink and should I carb it before or after letting it sit? Can I carb it and then take it out of my kegerator and let it condition out of the fridge?

 

[BryceL]

There are a variety of things you can do. You can rack to your keg and purge the oxygen with CO2 then let it condition out of the kegerator. This will not be enough CO2 to carbonate it, just to remove the oxygen. When you are ready you can hook it up to your CO2 tank and carbonate it. What I end up usually doing is I rack to my keg and put it in my kegerator hooked up to the CO2 at about 12 psi. I let it sit for 2 weeks to carbonate and condition before pulling a pint. You can also carbonate at a higher psi (say 30 psi) for a shorter amount of time and then reduce it to your serving pressure. I prefer the "set it and forget it" method...12 psi for 2 weeks.

 

[wilsojos]

Couple tidbits from my limited knowledge...definitely airlock can lie and hydrometer is the way to know for sure. One thing that can cause no action in the airlock is a bad seal on the fermentation vessel. Even the slightest little leak will let the co2 escape resulting in no bubbly action.

As far as kegging, the most accurate method is set and forget.
Chill the beer in your keg for 24-36 hours.
Search for a chart out here that shows beer style to temperature and pressure to find your set psi.
Hook the chilled beer in the keg up and set it to the psi from the chart.
Forget it for 3 weeks and you're good.

This is the tried and true method to get the best, most predictable results.

Of course, in the name of science, you can always test prior to 3 weeks to see how it progresses/changes.