How to count fermentation days.

[afmo]

Hi folks! after lurking here for a long while and finally brewing my first batch (and painfully and nervously waiting a full 72 hours for activity to begin) my brew is finally starting to bubble and do its thing.

My question is this. The recipe i'm using says to ferment for 9 days. Is that 9 days from the day i dropped in the yeast? 9 days from the day it started to do something? Does it matter?

Any guidance is appreciated!

 

[unionrdr]

I make a note of the details of when I pitched, what, how, much, temps, etc. I start counting fermentation days from the day it starts visibly fermenting. Usually the next morning.

 

[Mexibilly]

9 days isn't long enough.
How big a batch?
What style?
I ferment 3 weeks minimum.
If you have a hydrometer you'll want to take a gravity reading and then another with a day between. If the gravity remains steady, doesn't continue to drop, it's done fermenting. Additional time in the fermenter will improve the flavor and clarity as well.

 

[beergolf]

Yeast don't punch a time clock. They are done when they are done. The only way to tell is stable hydrometer readings a few days apart. I like to just leave the brew for a little longer. No need to rush things. Waiting a little longer will let the yeast clean up and drop out of suspension.

Better to err on the sid of too long, rather than too short.

 

[Aonghus]

I count fermentation days from the time I pitch the yeast. The directions you have that state nine days should be taken with a grain of salt. Taking a gravity reading is how you determine how far along the fermentation process has progressed. I do not know what type of beer you are brewing, but many factors can effect how long it takes to ferment out (temps, yeast pitch count, FAN, 02 levels, yeast type). I find it advantagious to leave the fermented out beer on the yeast cake for a time after final gravity has been achieved. Doing so allows the yeast time to clean up by products of the fermentation, thus giving you a better beer. You will find a lot of info on how long other folks leave the beer on the primary yeast cake and if they bother with a secondary (bright tank) stage.

 

[unionrdr]

I neglected to mention the part y'all covered pretty well. That's what happens when I sub diet Dr Pepper for coffee in the morning. I let it hit a stable FG, then give it another 3-7 days to clean up after itself as it settles out clear or slightly misty before bottling.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

9 days isn't long enough.
How big a batch?
What style?
I ferment 3 weeks minimum.
If you have a hydrometer you'll want to take a gravity reading and then another with a day between. If the gravity remains steady, doesn't continue to drop, it's done fermenting. Additional time in the fermenter will improve the flavor and clarity as well.

Wrong . There is no day count that you apply to fermentation. I can finish fermenting in 3 days Under proper temperature controlled conditions. Go ask your local brewery how long they ferment.

Yeast don't punch a time clock. They are done when they are done. The only way to tell is stable hydrometer readings a few days apart. I like to just leave the brew for a little longer. No need to rush things. Waiting a little longer will let the yeast clean up and drop out of suspension.

Better to err on the sid of too long, rather than too short.

Much better answer. Once I hit stable fg I raise my temp a couple degrees for 24 hours. The yeast will do all the cleanup in 24 hours or less.

I neglected to mention the part y'all covered pretty well. That's what happens when I sub diet Dr Pepper for coffee in the morning. I let it hit a stable FG, then give it another 3-7 days to clean up after itself as it settles out clear or slightly misty before bottling.

Stable fg is good advice. 3-7 days isnt. 24 hours is good for yeast to clean up any off flavors.

A beer brewed well and based on a solid recipe will ferment quickly and efficiently and cleanup quick. If you are aging out off flavors then you are making mistakes somewhere. Making mistakes isn't a bad thing. It gives the brewer something to learn from. None of us started off experts in anything.

Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

Wrong . There is no day count that you apply to fermentation. I can finish fermenting in 3 days Under proper temperature controlled conditions. Go ask your local brewery how long they ferment.



Much better answer. Once I hit stable fg I raise my temp a couple degrees for 24 hours. The yeast will do all the cleanup in 24 hours or less.



Stable fg is good advice. 3-7 days isnt. 24 hours is good for yeast to clean up any off flavors.

A beer brewed well and based on a solid recipe will ferment quickly and efficiently and cleanup quick. If you are aging out off flavors then you are making mistakes somewhere. Making mistakes isn't a bad thing. It gives the brewer something to learn from. None of us started off experts in anything.

Cheers!

I did some experiments the first year or so when I started brewing. I took 2oz samples after FG was reached on a few batches, just to see how long it took to settle out & taste decent. That was a few years ago. The average newbie would likely encounter this & notice it taking more than 24 hours. It also depends on the flocculation rate of the yeast used & how long it takes to actually get to FG. So that's why I mention "getting to a stable FG" in replies. It takes as long as that particular batch takes. I've had batches with a good, healthy pitch of S-04 be done & ready to bottle in ten days. So quick ones can happen, but not necessarily every time, even though no off-flavors are noticed.

 

[Kharnynb]

Don't bother union, sandy always thinks he knows better, i've noticed it a few times in several threads now.

To the OP, leave it be, beer doesn't mind being in the primary for a bit, 2 weeks is a good minimum for the average APA, then take a gravity measure and check again in 2 days. If the gravity is the same, then you are ready to bottle.

 

[ncbrewer]

OP: Note that in addition to brewing good beer, there is a safety issue here. If you bottle before gravity is stable, The yeast will eat your priming sugar plus the extra fermentables that they didn't finish before bottling. This will result in over carbonation and possible bottle bombs. You really don't want bottle bombs.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Of course I know better, except for when I don't...

There seems to be a big divide between the so-called advanced brewers and the beginners. On the beginner side everyone preaches about leaving the beer in primary for weeks upon weeks, just in case. And then the advanced guys are talking about ferment for 5 days, d-type rest for 1 and then crash and keg/bottle or proceed to dry hops or fruit additions.

The worst advice that anyone can run around giving is blanket rules. "Always leave it primary for 3 weeks." Why? Just in case? Why not coach new brewers to understand how to measure fermentation activity and base decisions off of facts instead of generalizations.

Okay, you are a beginner so do all these things for a while. Okay, now you can advance. Now change all your methods and do this OTHER thing now. You could have been doing that from the beginning but this online community made a blanket decision that you were probably too dumb to figure it out.

Learning some of the core best practices from the beginning will have you making better beer from the beginning! All I am proposing is that people realize that yeast don't chew on stuff forever. They eat all they can and then go to sleep. As a brewer you need to make a good environment where they can eat in peace and be able to judge when they have completed their task. Instead of "you can do that right so just wait 3 weeks" we should be coaching new brewers to pull a sample and measure the gravity and making a decision based on the numbers not on fear.

 

[Kharnynb]

If you have a great system, with good temp control, good starters etc. etc. etc.
Yes, you might be able to go from grain to glass within a week(force carb etc).

For beginners(including myself), the only thing we'd do is risk contamination by starting to take gravity samples that early...
It ain't worth hurrying, we are not brewfactories with perfect, expensive equipment. Let it be for a bit, the beer will be better for it 99% of the time.

 

[GHBWNY]

Like others have inferred, you really can't go by a kit's recommended ferm time, esp. down to the day. So much can happen to your brew conditions as compared to what may seem ideal by the kit's design. I leave my ales in ferm at least 2 weeks before checking FG. And learn to use a hydrometer. Your beer will thank you. And taste better.

My s-i-l just brewed his first kit from Brooklyn Brewshop. No mention of OG or FG in the instructions, just rec. days in ferm. Consequently, no mention of hydrometer use or much else to help educate the beginning brewer on the basic principles of brewing.

 

[unionrdr]

That's why I say to let the beer reach FG, then let it settle out clear or slightly misty. The yeasties start looking for other things to eat, so they go after their own by products that, in sufficient PPM's are what we know as off-flavors. I took mine at the time I did those tests 3-7 days. It might happen quicker, it might not clean up completely at all. That's an individual thing unique to each brew. If you have good temp control, etc, then you get great beer quicker.

 

[SörBrüalot]

Sorry, for digging this one up, but wouldnt the unwanted byproducts be taken care of during bottle comditioning at room temp? Say i reach fg and bottle after 24 h?

 

[RM-MN]

With a short fermentation time before bottling, you will have a lot of suspended trub. Yes it will settle out in the bottle but do you want 1/4" of trub in each bottle. BTDT

Give the beer time enough for the suspended trub to settle out and compact in the fermenter and you will get so little trub in the bottle that it will be nearly invisible.