Fermentation schedule for IPAs

[luizffgarcia]

Hey guys, i need some help figuring out my fermentation schedule for my IPAs.

We all know that the fermentation is over when you get 3 consecutive steady hydrometer readings, but for my brews it always happen around day 5 to 7 tops, i usually use California Yeast or San Diego superyeast, US-05 or Conan.

My question is, with proper temperature control (18c to 20c), is it beneficial for an IPA which should be consumed as fresh as possible, to have a two week fermentation before dry hopping and kegging?

My current process is:

- 7 days in primary;
- Transfer to secondary + dry hop (i know secondary is not required);
- 4 days dry hopping at 20c;
- cold crash for 2 days and keg;

For IPAs, would a 14 days primary be better?

I have read a lot about this subject, but still don't know what to think of this.

Thanks for the help!

 

[RM-MN]

*OPINION ONLY* All beers go through a maturing process, whether in bottles or in the fermenter. IPA's would benefit from this maturation but leaving it sit in bottles allows for the loss of the hop aroma so we tend to bottle them up as soon as dry hopping is done to get that great aroma, never considering that we are missing out on the flavor change in the underlying beer.

Secondaries aren't necessary or even desirable for you IPA so you can avoid that and just leave your beer in the fermenter longer. The period between when fermentation and cleanup by the yeast is done and when you start drinking counts toward maturation so longer in the fermenter is better. 14 days primary would be better, 21 probably better yet, and even longer will probably help. Then dry hop your 3 to 7 days and bottle. I think you will like the results. If not, come back and report the problems you find.

 

[Yooper]

I make a ton of IPAs, and I generally have them in the keg by day 10-17, depending on how fast they finish and which yeast strain I'm using, so the beer is clear (at least clearing) before I dryhop, usually.

 

[Redlantern]

We all know that the fermentation is over when you get 3 consecutive steady hydrometer readings, but for my brews it always happen around day 5 to 7 tops,

Thanks for the help!

To get three days at terminal at five days, you are taking a gravity reading at 2 days. May not want to touch, move or otherwise disturb the batch for 5 days, let alone decide if it is ready. It is nice to get the batch ready to drink, but you may want to leave it alone for a little longer.

 

[luizffgarcia]

*OPINION ONLY* All beers go through a maturing process, whether in bottles or in the fermenter. IPA's would benefit from this maturation but leaving it sit in bottles allows for the loss of the hop aroma so we tend to bottle them up as soon as dry hopping is done to get that great aroma, never considering that we are missing out on the flavor change in the underlying beer.

Secondaries aren't necessary or even desirable for you IPA so you can avoid that and just leave your beer in the fermenter longer. The period between when fermentation and cleanup by the yeast is done and when you start drinking counts toward maturation so longer in the fermenter is better. 14 days primary would be better, 21 probably better yet, and even longer will probably help. Then dry hop your 3 to 7 days and bottle. I think you will like the results. If not, come back and report the problems you find.

Thanks for the input, i may try it.

I make a ton of IPAs, and I generally have them in the keg by day 10-17, depending on how fast they finish and which yeast strain I'm using, so the beer is clear (at least clearing) before I dryhop, usually.

So Yooper, you would not think that even thou your IPA tastes good(as mine also do), it would taste even better if we just let it sit in the fermenter for a little longer? You think we would lose some of the hop character?

To get three days at terminal at five days, you are taking a gravity reading at 2 days. May not want to touch, move or otherwise disturb the batch for 5 days, let alone decide if it is ready. It is nice to get the batch ready to drink, but you may want to leave it alone for a little longer.

Not really, i take the first reading at 5, but if after testing from 3 days starting at day 5 i find out that the FG was already there at day 5, i know the fermentation was over at day 5

 

[kh54s10]

When I started, there were two "camps". One said fermentation is done in 7-10 days so go ahead and bottle as soon as you have FG. The other said you have to leave the beer in the fermenter for at least a month. I split the difference and usually did 3 weeks. I later just went to 2 weeks. I do 2 weeks because I don't want to hover over my beer taking multiple gravity readings. If the reading is where I expect it to be I go ahead and package it.

I am now of the opinion that any longer only helps with big beers. High alcohol content or dark beers.

 

[luizffgarcia]

When I started, there were two "camps". One said fermentation is done in 7-10 days so go ahead and bottle as soon as you have FG. The other said you have to leave the beer in the fermenter for at least a month. I split the difference and usually did 3 weeks. I later just went to 2 weeks. I do 2 weeks because I don't want to hover over my beer taking multiple gravity readings. If the reading is where I expect it to be I go ahead and package it.

I am now of the opinion that any longer only helps with big beers. High alcohol content or dark beers.

Maybe this decision would also depend on the beer style? I feel like some styles would not be harmed by 4 weeks, and maybe an IPA would...

 

[Yooper]

Maybe this decision would also depend on the beer style? I feel like some styles would not be harmed by 4 weeks, and maybe an IPA would...

Definitely. My oatmeal stout, although relatively "small", is best after about 4, maybe even 6, weeks old. Complex flavors like roastiness take time to meld and for the beer to come together. A well made beer doesn't need a long time to be very drinkable, but that melding process does take a bit of time.

Something like a barley wine may be best a year or two after brewing.

Some beers are best fresh, like a New England IPA where the haze is part of the style. Or a British mild where I've gone grain to glass in 10 days, with great results.

Most of the rest are in the middle of those two extremes.

I don't want a mouthful of yeast, so using a more flocculant yeast may mean dryhopping after the yeast drops out and that may mean sooner than if a non-flocculant yeast is used, but in general an IPA is better without aging to diminish the hops character.

I had a kegged IPA out at my summer cottage last year that just didn't get much attention since we weren't out there much. It was really good after about 10 weeks- very good- but much of the hops "nose" was not present. I still enjoyed it, and so did others, but it wasn't the same IPA it was at 3 weeks. It was brilliantly clear, well balanced and very drinkable- but not the intended beer.

 

[kh54s10]

Well, I may have over simplified the big beer concept. I include stouts, porters, etc in the big beer category. Most of those I package after 2 weeks but let them age before drinking them. I have a Russian Imperial Stout that I bottled 2+ years ago. I drank the first one about a month after bottling. It was still a bit harsh. They aged well and are still great.

I am currently drinking an IPA that was in primary for 5 1/2 MONTHS! I got caught up doing other stuff so it sat there. I dry hopped it in the keg for a week and it is quite good.

 

[RM-MN]

Definitely. My oatmeal stout, although relatively "small", is best after about 4, maybe even 6, weeks old. Complex flavors like roastiness take time to meld and for the beer to come together. A well made beer doesn't need a long time to be very drinkable, but that melding process does take a bit of time.

Something like a barley wine may be best a year or two after brewing.

Some beers are best fresh, like a New England IPA where the haze is part of the style. Or a British mild where I've gone grain to glass in 10 days, with great results.

Most of the rest are in the middle of those two extremes.

I don't want a mouthful of yeast, so using a more flocculant yeast may mean dryhopping after the yeast drops out and that may mean sooner than if a non-flocculant yeast is used, but in general an IPA is better without aging to diminish the hops character.

I had a kegged IPA out at my summer cottage last year that just didn't get much attention since we weren't out there much. It was really good after about 10 weeks- very good- but much of the hops "nose" was not present. I still enjoyed it, and so did others, but it wasn't the same IPA it was at 3 weeks. It was brilliantly clear, well balanced and very drinkable- but not the intended beer.

This is what I was trying to get at. Your IPA matured more in the keg but lost the hop aroma. What would it have been like had you kegged it for 2 months, then added the dry hops? What would it have turned out like if you had left it in the fermenter for 2 months, then dry hopped and kegged it?

 

[Yooper]

This is what I was trying to get at. Your IPA matured more in the keg but lost the hop aroma. What would it have been like had you kegged it for 2 months, then added the dry hops? What would it have turned out like if you had left it in the fermenter for 2 months, then dry hopped and kegged it?

Even with careful packaging, oxidation still shows up and makes subtle changes. It's no just the hops nose that faded, the beer itself was different. Not bad, and not oxidized tasting, but different.

Just like if you buy an older beer in the store (saw Stone's "Enjoy by....10/31/16 in the store this week!), it won't be bad. Maybe even quite enjoyable, just not the intended beer.

I like my hoppy ales bright and fresh, as a general rule. There is a difference in flavor, with micro-oxidation and a bit of age. Others may have preferences for a more mature flavor. Neither is bad, but my preference is to drink most beers fresh.

 

[luizffgarcia]

Ok, so looks like it is really up to personal taste if you will leave your IPA in the fermenter for more time than actually needed to get the fermentation completed, right?

Leaving it for less time will contribute to more hop character and freshness because you will drink it earlier, while leaving for more time may help the beer evolve a little at the cost of losing some of the hop character.

 

[Jimbodaman]

This is what I was trying to get at. Your IPA matured more in the keg but lost the hop aroma. What would it have been like had you kegged it for 2 months, then added the dry hops? What would it have turned out like if you had left it in the fermenter for 2 months, then dry hopped and kegged it?

Ironically I was just searching for an answer to that question I'm brewing my house IPA tomorrow but won't be able to bottle it until mid May. I will dry hop it for 5 days before I bottle and we'll see how that turns out. My guess is it will be great.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

Yooper, you mentioned that your oatmeal stout is better after ~6 weeks of time. Is that some of that six weeks kegged and in a kegerator, or still at fermentation temp (60 - 75F). Or is that 6 weeks primary and then kegged?

 

[Yooper]

Yooper, you mentioned that your oatmeal stout is better after ~6 weeks of time. Is that some of that six weeks kegged and in a kegerator, or still at fermentation temp (60 - 75F). Or is that 6 weeks primary and then kegged?

I keg most beers by about day 10 or so, sometimes 14, and then stick them in my kegerator. I never go more than a couple of weeks in the fermenter for any beers, because I don't like the yeast character imparted by a long contact time with the trub.

 

[murphyslaw]

I have been trending towards 2 weeks with my IPAs. I find that they don't taste right in for another week after that, and I tend to think they peak around 4-6 weeks after brew day.

I suggest trying different things and taking detailed notes, including tasting notes every 2-3 days.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I keg most beers by about day 10 or so, sometimes 14, and then stick them in my kegerator. I never go more than a couple of weeks in the fermenter for any beers, because I don't like the yeast character imparted by a long contact time with the trub.

Thanks for the response. I can do my SMaSH's and Hefe's rather quickly like people are talking about, but for darker beers that take longer to mellow out I wonder about leaving them at room temp or at fridge temp.

 

[kristiismean]

For my regular IPA's, with crystal, non-citrus I have been doing 24-21 days, then dry hop.

for my ne-ipa's I have been doing:
14 days + 5 days dry hop then keg or bottle.

but this last one i did 9 days (fermentation was done by day 3) then dry hopped, (2.5 oz galaxy, 1.5 amarillo, 1.5 citra, .5 oz apollo) for another 5.5 days.. bottled this one sat night. Will try one this Saturday.

 

[luizffgarcia]

Some very useful info in this for me, thanks guys!