IPA Fermentation - Time limit 2 weeks

[inturnldemize]

FIRST POST!

So first off i'd like to say hello to everyone! Just joined this site and I find it is absolutely incredible! I've brewed a few batches of beer so far and they came out well. On Sunday, I brewed the IPA mentioned in The Joy of Homebrewing (page 174). I believe it's called Pillaula's IPA or something along those lines. I used Nottingham dry yeast and pitched it at about 24 degrees celcius. Less than 24 hours later and I had a vigorous fermentation. The krausen at the top was huge! It has since dropped quite a bit and we're at about the 44 hour mark. Temperature is between 22 and 24 degrees celcius. I know it's at the higher end what it should be but I think i'll be fine.

Now here's my thing, this brew has to be fermented and bottled within 2 weeks. So basically I brewed it on May 20 and by June 2nd it has to be bottled. What I was thinking was 6-7 days primary (I will take a hydrometer reading on both thsoe days and see if it is constant) and then 5 days in the secondary (my carboy) just to further clear it.

I know it might sound like it's on the low end of fermentation time but does this sound feasible to you guys? Faced with these time constraints, can I still get a decent batch of delicious IPA or am I setting myself up for bottle bombs?

Thank you guys and I look forward to exploring this site even further!!!

 

[Yooper]

I'd consider adding the dryhops when fermentation stops, and keeping it in the fermenter instead of racking it to a clearing vessel. Nottingham forms a very tight compact yeast cake, so I don't think they'll be any advantage to racking it over to a clearing vessel.

The only problem I see at all is that nottingham ale yeast stinks at above 21C. Literally. It gets weirdly fruity and positively foul at above 22C. That is more of a problem then the fermentation time. Next time, only use nottingham if you can keep the fermenter under 20C, preferably lower, and use S05 for anything 20-23C.

 

[cmybeer]

It sounds feasible to me. Whether or not it will be very good right off the bat is debatable. If I were you I would leave it in the primary the whole two weeks. That will give the yeast a little more time to clean up after themselves. Five days in a secondary vessel won't really get you anything in my opinion. So long as your fermentation is done you shouldn't have any worries about bottle bombs as long as you're not dumping excessive priming sugar in there.

 

[inturnldemize]

Hmmm. I hope it won't impart strange fruity tastes. When I smelled the fermenting beer I pick up lots of citrus/hoppiness and malty caramel.

I'm actually not dry hopping at all. I boiled 50 grams of Northern Brewers for 1 hour and added 20 grams of Cascades in the last 5 minutes.

 

[BinghamtonEd]

Hey good luck! I can't tell you if it will work or how it will turn out, but I hope for the best because I'm doing the same thing. I brewed an American IPA yesterday with a target bottling date of June 2nd, to be ready for consumption on June 24th. My fermentation kicked off in the middle of the night last night at 68F/20C, using US-05. If things proceed as expected, I'll be dry hopping (2 oz) 28th-1st. No secondary, though, but filtering with a nylon sack into the bottling bucket.

My deadline is for a week-long family reunion in North Carolina. What's yours for? Looking forward to seeing how yours progresses, and hoping we both make it!

 

[BinghamtonEd]

How's your 2 week IPA going? I got from 1.063 to 1.016 in 8 days and am about 3 days I to my dry hop (decided to shoot for 5-6). Sample from my gravity reading the other day tasted awesome, a lot of grapefruit going on there. How about yours?

 

[terrapinj]

Hmmm. I hope it won't impart strange fruity tastes. When I smelled the fermenting beer I pick up lots of citrus/hoppiness and malty caramel.

I'm actually not dry hopping at all. I boiled 50 grams of Northern Brewers for 1 hour and added 20 grams of Cascades in the last 5 minutes.

i highly suggest dry hopping - 20g of late hops is low for a hop forward beer, esp an ipa.

some of the dry hops may help mask some of the off flavors from the hot fermentation as well