Fermentation for a begginer?

[loki0990]

I'm a brand new brewer who just set their first batch aside for fermentation. Only 2 days afterwards the airlock stopped pumping away... does this mean it's done fermenting prematurely?

 

[progmac]

it doesn't take long for the bulk of fermentation to complete, especially at 68F+. what you're waiting for now is the yeast to settle out a bit. take a reading with your hydrometer today, in three days, and then a week from today. this will tell you if it is really done.

 

[ncbrewer]

There's also the hands-off approach. Wait 2 - 3 weeks, then take two gravity readings 2 - 3 days apart. If they're the same (adjusted for temperature), it's ready to bottle. The advantage here is less chance of contamination or oxygen contact. You'll find there's multiple ways to do almost anything in brewing.

Good luck.

 

[loki0990]

Thanks a ton for the feedback guys! I'll take a reading later today, what's the target range?

 

[progmac]

Thanks a ton for the feedback guys! I'll take a reading later today, what's the target range?

your recipe should have a FG, this is your target. but you still have to wait to make sure it doesn't tick down more, because the recipe FG is only an estimation.

for an average gravity beer, your FG will generally be around 1.010 to 1.016. sometimes with ****ty extract it might stop at 1.020