Fermentation Speed

[spbrhs07]

So I'm sitting here admiring my strong healthy yeast and may be slightly impatient... I'm currently fermenting a triple IPA with WLP099. My OG was 1.140, currently on day 6 and gravity is reading 1.070 and is still going strong. I'm not really worried about it at this point. I'd like to see it around 1.020 when done so I realize this will take some time. As I ponder the speed of the fermentation, I recall the process of the delicious wheat ale that I now have on tap. I believe the OG was 1.060 and within 3-4 days Wyeast 1057 finished it out at 1.015 and I was drinking it by day 6. So I wonder... If a yeast takes 2-3 weeks versus 2-3 days to finish, does it have an impact on the beer?

 

[TurnipGreen]

I used WLP 99 for a wheat wine recently. It tore through the bulk of it in 3-4 day using a giant yeast cake. I tried to keep the temp in the low to mid 60 s but it was fermenting fast enough it was a struggle to keep it there.

What temp do you have it at? I would think you should be a bit lower by now, you may consider letting it raise a bit.

 

[spbrhs07]

I'm just keeping it at room temperature. Ambiance temperature is 72, actual temperature has been holding at about 79.

 

[kh54s10]

From White Labs: Optimum Ferment Temp. 65-68°F (18-20°C) Too late to do anything now but you are likely to get off flavors from the high ferment temps.

Did you make a starter? For a beer that of that high a gravity you should have pitched 478 billion cells, a fresh package of liquid yeast only contains about 100 billion cells. At about 3 weeks past production date the calculator I looked at called for about a 2.8 liter starter.

If you only pitched a pack, it is not surprising that it is taking a long time.

 

[spbrhs07]

I did a 2 step starter, 2L each time. I calculated my cell count to be around 750.

 

[spbrhs07]

Not to be rude or anything, but I understand the effects of cell counts and temperature and all that. I was really just wondering if speed has any effect on the outcome of the beer.

 

[m1k3]

really just wondering if speed has any effect on the outcome of the beer.

'speed' of fermentation is not one of the handles that we control in brewing.

'speed' is a result in itself. (result of OG, ferm temp, pitching rate, oxygenation, nutrients...)

I wouldn't say that 'speed' effects the outcome of the beer. But a beer that is fermented very fast or very slow is an indication of bad process that can affect the outcome of a beer.

This may seem like a bit of semantics but when people say their beer fermented very quickly or very slowly... something was bad in the fermentation control and that is what affected the outcome of the beer. So, I'd say that the 'speed' of fermentation can be an indicator of the outcome of beer but not always since there are many variables and it can take beers a different number of days to finish to the same point.

Back to your beer: it's a huge tripple IPA and should take a bit of time. I'm not sure the gravity reading at 6 days is really giving any information that you need. It seems you are already keeping the fermentation warm which it good at this point in fermentation.