Irish stout - first brew

[longcj2]

Hello,
I had a question I started an irish stout from a extract kit to be specific it was a brewers best kit. I started this brew on the 24th at around 10 pm. At about 20 hours i noticed the brew to star fermenting rapidly, this went on until about the 26th. Since the 26th I haven't seen any airlock activity at all, is there any reason this should cause me concern? Also to tell you about the conditions I have it stored in I have it in a closet inside an ice bath due to the high temps the closet reaches due to the fact that I live in Florida. I have been able to keep the fermenter at around 68 the entire process.

 

[menerdari]

You should be fine, don't rely on the airlock as a fermentation gauge,
Give it at least a week and check gravity, for a stout i would wait at least 3 weeks before bottling and only if I had steady gravity readings a few days apart.

 

[dkeller12]

You should be just fine. Don't rely on the airlock to tell you what is happening inside. The only way to find out what is going on with your batch is to take a gravity reading. Do you know the OG? Did you take another gravity reading, if so what were they?

 

[longcj2]

Is there a certain time table I should follow to take the second gravity reading?

 

[dkeller12]

There is no timetable. Most brewer will leave the fermenter alone for at least 2 weeks before considering opening it for a reading. This gives the yeast time to finish fermentation and time to clean up after themselves (off flavors that can happen during fermentation). IMHO leave it alone for 3 weeks, then take a gravity reading and another in 2-3 days after that. If the readings are stable you are ready to bottle, if not, wait another week and check it again. It is better to not rush the process so that you end up with a better beer. I know it is hard to do, but you will be happier with the results later.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

I would say leave it alone for at least 2 weeks for a stout, but 68 sounds warm for a beer that has traditionally been made at higher latitudes, so it might be done. Take a gravity reading and then another one in a couple of days. If they are the same then you have reached final gravity and given it two days to clean up. (at your temperatures they should take care of things pretty quick) It might be time to bottle. But it's not going to hurt a stout to let it mature for a few weeks if you want to go that route.

 

[longcj2]

And I've heard from others that secondary is not really necessary or recommended, what are your guy's thoughts. I tried to follow mostly what was said on the directions which was from 64-72 does my temp seem too high? Also a correction I meant 66 not 68.

 

[dkeller12]

Using a secondary is a widely discussed, and disagreed upon, topic. People use them to add fruit, clear up the beer or for a longer term fermentation. IMHO I don't think it is needed and adds one more way to introduce an infection to your beer unless of course you are doing one of the things I mentioned above. If you leave your beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks your beer will be fine. There is a very interesting experiment that James Spencer did on his Basic Brewing podcast. You may want to give that a listen and you will hear why it is used, and what happened when they compared batches of beer in secondary vs. primary only.

 

[dkeller12]

Mid 60's is a good temp for most ale yeasts, the warmer they get, the more risk of off flavors. The yeast package should give you the optimal temps for the yeast so you may want to try and keep it within that specified range.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Agreed with the mid sixty's for a stout. What type of yeast are you using? 64-72 sounds like the ideal temperature range for A typical London Ale yeast, not the target fermentation temperature for the beer. Higher temperatures will bring out fruitiness that may be suitable for some ales, but not an Irish stout.