How quickly does WLP005 finish fermenting?

[petetheo]

I brewed a Dofish Head 90 Minute IPA clone on Thursday. I pitched the WLP005 at about 71 Degrees. The fermenter was going crazy about a day later. I couldn't believe how much it was bubbling. The temperature started climbing to almost 76 so I decided to strap an ice pack to the outside of the bucket. I slowly cooled the beer back down to 71 over the course of an entire day.

After that, fermentation seemed to be done. It has only been about 3-4 days of fermentation. Normally, the lid on the bucket is swelled up and if you push on it, some gas will come out of the airlock. That's not the case with this batch any more. I'm worried that the ice pack may have been a bad idea.

I've read on the White Labs site that the WLP005 was done fermenting after three days for some people but I've also read that fermentation on high gravity beers takes a while. I spun the bucket a little to see if I can get anything going but if it still seems dead when I get home from work then I'll just take a reading and see what I've got.

Any suggestions?

 

[pericles]

I'd probably guesstimate that, at that temperature, you should be done with active fermentation after 3-5 days.

That doesn't mean that the entire fermenting process is done, though. Give the yeast another week or two to finish consuming the byproducts of fermentation. Otherwise you'll be stuck with a lot of weird off-flavors.

 

[petetheo]

Sorry, but I posted this in the Yeast & Fermenting forum here. I figured it fit in that category better. I don't know how to delete posts/threads.

 

[iron_city_ap]

That doesn't mean that the entire fermenting process is done, though. Give the yeast another week or two to finish consuming the byproducts of fermentation. Otherwise you'll be stuck with a lot of weird off-flavors.

Very much THIS. Let it sit for at least 3 weeks total. There is other good stuff besides fermentation going on in there, especially with something like a 90 minute clone. If it was a basic, simple recipe you could probably move on quicker. Let the flavors blend for a while, let the yeast clean up after itself. You'll be much happier with what you end up with if you wait it out longer.