How Long to Ferment?

[sabresword00]

I bought a brewers best "German Octoberfest" kit. The directions say to primary ferment for 2 weeks in a bucket fermenter, and then lager in a carboy for 3 to 4 more weeks. However, the instructions say that you can ferment as an ale with the included yeast. I was also told not to do two fermentations, so I went straight to a carboy. My beer has been fermenting for 8 days now in a carboy, and the bubbling in the airlock has stopped. It can't be done already, right? How much longer should I let it sit, the instructions did not elaborate on HOW to ferment as an ale rather than a lager.

 

[hunter_le five]

After 8 days, it's probably done.

Ale fermentations differ from lager fermentations primarily in that they are done at warmer temps, and consequently are usually done much faster.

 

[JMSetzler]

It's done but it's not done

Let it sit for another 3 or 4 days and then rack it to a secondary fermenter and let it sit for another 3 or 4 weeks

 

[sabresword00]

Hunter_la5, would you agree with JMSetzler, or would you think I can bottle this weekend?

 

[hunter_le five]

It's done fermenting, but JMSetzler saying that the beer is not done because it needs to be lagered. Oktoberfests are typically lagered for several weeks or months after primary fermentation to allow the beer to clear up and make it taste cleaner.

All that lagering means is storing it somewhere cold and undisturbed for an extended period of time (aka the fridge).

You can follow his advice and lager it first then bottle and carbonate; or you can bottle it this weekend, carbonate it, and then lager it in the bottle. Either way will technically work.

 

[doug293cz]

I bought a brewers best "German Octoberfest" kit. The directions say to primary ferment for 2 weeks in a bucket fermenter, and then lager in a carboy for 3 to 4 more weeks. However, the instructions say that you can ferment as an ale with the included yeast. I was also told not to do two fermentations, so I went straight to a carboy. My beer has been fermenting for 8 days now in a carboy, and the bubbling in the airlock has stopped. It can't be done already, right? How much longer should I let it sit, the instructions did not elaborate on HOW to ferment as an ale rather than a lager.

Yeast don't work on a set schedule. The only way to know if fermentation is done is to take gravity readings 2 or 3 days apart. When two successive readings are the same, fermentation is done. You should still let the beer condition on the yeast for another 1 to 3 weeks so that the yeast can clean up byproducts that cause off flavors. You can do the conditioning in the primary fermenter, or rack to a secondary (although more and more people believe that secondary is unnecessary.) If you don't yet have the ability to take gravity readings, let the beer go extra time in the fermenter (1 - 2 weeks longer than directions say) to be safe.

Brew on

 

[JMSetzler]

I know that your beer will be 'better' if you just let it sit in the fermenter for a bit longer, whether you decide to cold crash it or not. I know this is hard to do if you are new to this hobby. After you have 10 or 15 batches under your belt and have a good solid stock of drinkable homebrew, you will find yourself experimenting with longer ferments and secondary fermenting and then you start enjoying those benefits also

 

[kombat]

sabresword, I'm assuming you don't know at what temperature you fermented at? The instructions say it ferments best at 53-59F, but I'm assuming you fermented at room temperature. The instructions say the yeast is indeed a lager yeast (which generally perform better at the cooler temperatures), so it's quite reasonable that it finished so quickly (8 days is not actually very "quick" - try fermenting US-04 at 70-75 if you want to see "quick"!). That said, there are a few other factors here.

If your temperature didn't get too high (i.e., above 70 F), then you'll likely still end up with quite a nice beer. Next time, it would be better if you could keep it cooler (temperature control is the single most important thing in making beer), but for this batch, it should be fine.

The instructions say to rack the beer to secondary. This is old advice and is no longer necessary, unless you're planning to lager the beer at cool temperatures for several weeks/months.

The instructions also say to sprinkle the yeast on top of the wort and not rehydrate. This is also bad advice, as sprinkling dry can reduce yeast viability by up to 50%, and yeast cell count is particularly vital with lagers. You need A LOT of yeast cells to have a successful lager fermentation, and knocking off 50% of them right out of the gate is not a good practice.

So to summarize. For this time, your beer will probably be drinkable. For the future, to make better beer, make the following changes:

• Control fermentation temperatures (Google "swamp cooler" or "fermentation chamber" on this site, depending on your budget)
• Rehydrate the yeast before pitching
• Do the fermentation in primary for 3 weeks, and forget about the secondary. Lager it in the keg or bottles.

Hope this helps, welcome to the hobby!