Fermented Already?

[joshso]

I just brewed my third batch of beer. With this batch I noticed bubbling in the air-lock within a few hours and the second day this had stopped.

With this batch I left it upstairs where the temperature is between 72 and 75 degrees; the previous two were put in my basement where the temperature was 78 - 81 degrees. I have not taken a reading with my hydrometer yet to determine if it has fermented out as I wasn't sure if opening the primary would cause any issues if it had not fermented out.

Any experience with this and possibly what may have caused it? This was a kit from Midwest Supplies.

 

[twistr25]

Doesn't matter, let it sit. Don't touch it for another 2 weeks. Won't do you any good to look at it now and it'll only be better if you wait.

The lower temperatures are certainly better, if you can get under 70 you'd be better off. A simple swamp cooler will do wonders. Higher temps can cause it to ferment faster, but it will also produce off-flavors. Keep it as cool as you can and let it sit.

 

[duboman]

Unless this kit was a beer that likes being fermented warm what happened is you fermented at too high a temperature and yeast like it warm. During active fermentation the temp of the wort can be 5-7 degrees warmer than ambient.

If your ambient was around 80 the beer fermented at 85-87. Most ales prefer mid 60's

Get control over your fermentation temperatures, search swamp cooler. You will be rewarded!

 

[willness33]

Was this Midwest kit the August Amber Ale? I brewed that one about 6 weeks ago and the airlock only showed signs of life for 24 hours. I relaxed, didn't worry, and let it sit for a few weeks. It was my first brew and wasn't worried because I did a lot of reading on here before getting started. Well, the beer turned out great and only lasted a week in the keg. I'm brewing batches 5 and 6 tomorrow. Welcome to the addiction.

 

[TopherM]

Like everyone else alluded to, temperature is a CATALYST to yeast activity and fermentation. HOWEVER, a fast, warm fermentation is a DIRTY fermentation. A slow, cool fermentation is a CLEAN fermentation. Each yeast has an ideal fermentation range on the back of each package. You can also find this info on each yeast manufacturer's web site. The yeast the likely came with your kit probably should have been fermented closer to 60F. The ideal range was likely about 59F-70F, which like others stated, ambient temp is a few degrees higher than the fermentation temp, since ferementation is an endothermic process.

Within this ideal range, the yeast are both efficient and clean. Outside of this ideal range, which you were a good 8-10 degrees higher than the top end of the range, yeast produce off flavors.

Your batch is very likely to have some off flavors. The good news is that these off flavors CAN be conditioned out with a little patience. Once you have this one in bottles, you will likely need to let it sit and condition at about 70F for a good 4-6 weeks, and the off flavors will mellow and meld and you'll have a good beer.

In the future, however, you do need to figure out how to control your fermentation temps. Controlled and consistent temps will greatly improve the quality of your beer, so if you plan on sticking with the hobby longterm, you definitely need to research the temperture control options. You could start with your next batch with a swamp cooler probably using items you already have sitting around the house. I personally got a beverage cooler for $125.00 off Craigslist and can easily control my temps. Best single investment I've made to improve the quality of my beer.

Good luck!

 

[unionrdr]

What you actually saw was the end of initial fermentation. It'll now slowly,unevetfully creep down to FG. Leave it sit in primary for a couple weeks & it'll finish ou & clean up after itself as it settles out clear. Then about 4 weeks in the bottles should finish cleaning it up if it isn't too bad. Ans at least a week in the fridge for decent carbonation & head.