How do they do it?

[Bigmoose44]

I recived a tour of a micro brewery some time ago. Thier system is a 7 barrel system and he was brewing 1 batch each of the 5 work days of the week. They only had 3 conicals that I saw and I asked him what he did with his beer since 3 days is not enough time in a fermenter. He told me 3 days was enough for him and that after 3 days he kegs his beer. How can they do this? Mine is never done fermenting after 3 days. I would think you would get some sort of buildup in the bottom of each keg.

Bruce

 

[Nateo]

With enough healthy and active yeast, I'm sure you could get complete fermentation in under a day, if you were trying to do so. Not that you'd make particularly good beer that way.

It sounds like that microbrewery is doing what businesses do to stay profitable, which is cut corners where they can to end up with an acceptable product at a given price-point.

 

[aggiejay06]

Yeah, I agree...I can only see that working with a tremendous amount of yeast to start with, that are probably already fired up and ready to go.

 

[Revvy]

There's a ton of threads about this, that came up when Brewmasters was on Discovery late last year.

Here's a few.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/do...s-2-weeks-ship-207721/?highlight=Dogfish+Head

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/ho...rewers-get-their-beers-stores-so-fast-217921/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/co...oning-timeframes-217670/?highlight=commercial

 

[Gremlyn]

Revvy, I don't think we can easily liken a 7 BBL system to the multi-hundred BBL systems used by the likes of DFH. The hydrostatic pressure inside the massive fermentors helps with keeping yeast from throwing esters and plays a part in allowing big craft brewers go grain to glass in far less time than we do (and ferment at higher temps).

It's definitely possible to pitch enough yeast to ferment fully in 3 days, so maybe that is this guy's secret? I guess the question is how does that brewery's beer taste?

 

[Bigmoose44]

I have never been much of a fan of this brewery. The beer is not of the quality of other microbrews. Years ago I thought I was tasting the same hops in 5 of thier 7 beers. The 7 that came with the sampler anyway.

Bruce

 

[Revvy]

I have never been much of a fan of this brewery. The beer is not of the quality of other microbrews. Years ago I thought I was tasting the same hops in 5 of thier 7 beers. The 7 that came with the sampler anyway.

Bruce

Well that should answer your question...He doesn't "do" it.... He makes crappy beer and sells it green.

 

[RMitch]

I've noticed that with my homebrew, it tends to go very rapidly.

From roughly 12 hours to about 36 hours, it will be ridiculously rapid fermentation, (Easily 150 bubbles per minute)

After 36 hours, absolutely nothing. So I leave it on the yeast for 3-4 weeks and bottle it. But I'm starting to think it could be bottled sooner.

 

[Gremlyn]

I've noticed that with my homebrew, it tends to go very rapidly.

From roughly 12 hours to about 36 hours, it will be ridiculously rapid fermentation, (Easily 150 bubbles per minute)

After 36 hours, absolutely nothing. So I leave it on the yeast for 3-4 weeks and bottle it. But I'm starting to think it could be bottled sooner.

There is something to be said for bulk ageing though. You could rack your beer to a keg after 7-10 days, assuming the fermentation is through, and bulk age it that way, but once you're in the bottle you obviously lose the bulk aspect. I don't bottle any more, but I'd rather leave it in the fermenter an extra week or two before bottling if I did.

 

[jtakacs]

i just had a beer fully attenuate out in four days - totally possible.

 

[indigi]

I've noticed that with my homebrew, it tends to go very rapidly.

From roughly 12 hours to about 36 hours, it will be ridiculously rapid fermentation, (Easily 150 bubbles per minute)

After 36 hours, absolutely nothing. So I leave it on the yeast for 3-4 weeks and bottle it. But I'm starting to think it could be bottled sooner.

It definitely could be, especially with English styles. I had an English dry stout from grain to glass in 10 days. If you screw up somewhere along in your process (anywhere from scorching grain to fermenting too hot or cold), it'd be good to leave the beer on the yeast for a while to bulk-condition.

 

[Gremlyn]

i just had a beer fully attenuate out in four days - totally possible.

Careful there... fully attenuated and ready to drink are not at all the same thing.