Is fermentation complete after only 2 days?

[Bake985]

I am new to the home brewin but very excited. I brewed my first batch of northern brewers Irish red ale. Followed all directions to a t. Only thing I did different was use a yeast starter kit. It was bubbling like crazy for 2 days and krausen was rising about 2-4 inches. I brewed on Saturday afternoon and just checked on it today (Monday). No bubbles coming out of air lock and there is little to no krausen left. I am waiting for my hydrometer to come in mail but can this be finished and put into secondary or am I jumping the gun? Did I mess the beer up?


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[billl]

It's fine. Just leave it alone for at least another week before you do anything. In the meantime, read up on whether you even want to move it to secondary.

 

[rxpx40]

Shake it a little.

 

[JustLooking]

I wouldn't shake or even swirl unless I knew it was stuck from taking a gravity reading.

Could very well be done fermenting, but that doesn't mean it's done. Give it time like billl said.

Both the type of yeast and fermentation temperature will greatly effect fermentation time.

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

Transfer to secondary and sneak a taste. If it tastes like a beer and its not too sweet, then its probably done or nearly so. Let it settle a few days then bottle

 

[eastoak]

don't move it until you get a gravity reading then.....don't move it anyway.

 

[Nuggethead]

Don't move or shake.

Done in 3 days, no way.

Leave it alone, keep it at temp for 2 more weeks.

 

[JPrather]

My first batch (Nut Brown Ale from Northern Brewer) did the same thing. Active fermentation was done after about 2 and a half days. I let it sit for about another week before bottling and it turned out great.

It's exceedingly likely you are in the same boat. If you have the equipment for a gravity reading, you can take one of you want to ease your mind. I wouldn't transfer to secondary.

 

[placated]

Did you by chance use Wyeast 1084? Every time I use that strain it drops out early. I warm it up a tad and give it a light swirl to get some yeast back in suspension. Usually gives it a kickstart.

I've tried letting it go as others suggested but the gravity won't budge even after 2 weeks. Your milage may vary.


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[BigFloyd]

I am new to the home brewin but very excited. I brewed my first batch of northern brewers Irish red ale. Followed all directions to a t. Only thing I did different was use a yeast starter kit. It was bubbling like crazy for 2 days and krausen was rising about 2-4 inches. I brewed on Saturday afternoon and just checked on it today (Monday). No bubbles coming out of air lock and there is little to no krausen left. I am waiting for my hydrometer to come in mail but can this be finished and put into secondary or am I jumping the gun? Did I mess the beer up?


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It may be done with the active, visually stimulating parts of fermentation, but it's not fully done. The yeast still have work to do cleaning up by-products and dropping out of suspension to the bottom.

There's no value in racking an Irish Red to a secondary vessel. You can, however, increase the chances of oxidizing it. Let this go in the primary at least 2 weeks then check the gravity. The whole while that it's sitting there on the yeast, it's slowly clearing up.

 

[Hello]

Don't bug it for at least 7 days. I prefer to wait 10 but 2 days isn't a fair amount of time to give unless your goal is to bottle too early and not let the beer finish.

 

[kh54s10]

I have never seen so much bad information in one thread.... It is likely that the active part of the fermentation is finished. Especially if your fermentation temperatures were too warm. You will have to research this... But, IT IS UNLIKELY IT IS DONE!!!

Your fermentation is highly unlikely to be done. The gravity of the beer will likely drop further after the active portion has finished. The only way to be sure is to take gravity readings.

As said in a couple of replies: leave the beer alone for another week or three then check the gravity over a period of 3 days. If the numbers don't change you can 1) leave it longer to clear some more, 2) bottle, 3) secondary if you feel that is necessary. Again you will have to research this and make a decision. I is unnecessary to do a secondary in a lot of cases.