Maybe A Bit Too Short And Sweet

[gibfried]

Hello. This is my first time posting on here, so let the chips fall where they may.

Just boiled up my 4th brew - a very chocolate stout. Sprinkled in a pack of Irish-Type ale yeast, then I put a big blanket on it next to a central air vent (it's pretty hot here). Within a few hours it was chuggin' away.

My question is... It stopped bubbling completely within 3 days! Seems a bit on the quick side for me. This wasn't a light beer even for a stinky drunk German. Very heavy starting gravity.

So...I transfered it all to the secondary fermenter, added water (to bring it up to 5 gallons) to make up for the leftover losses from the massive sediment and yeast poo, and let it sit a couple more days.

No bubbles! Do I have troubles?

 

[El Pistolero]

What was your OG, and what was the SG when you transferred to secondary?

 

[gibfried]

The specific gravity starting out was 1.058. Didn't check it going into the secondary.

 

[El Pistolero]

If you've got a thief, then check the SG now. Also, how much water did you add to the secondary?

Oh yeah, and we'll probably need your name, address, DOB, and SSN...just in case.

 

[gibfried]

As for my name, address, and ssn...give my your home address and telephone and I'll send my guys over to meet with your guys.

No theif here. I did add a gallon of water though. Also, I just took a look at it, and it has a quarter of an inch of light yeast sediment formed solid at the bottom of the glass carboy.

I'll let it sit a few more days before I start counting my bottles.

Thanks buddy.

 

[El Pistolero]

It seems like quick fermentations are the order of the day here lately...three days in the primary is not at all out of line, nor does it seem unusual to not have much bubble activity in the secondary. If you want to be safe, wait till it's been in the secondary two weeks, or, "just feel the beer, man". Bottle when it feels right.

As for my address and phone #, just ask...everybody know El Pistolero. Just make sure your guys bring their own beer mugs.

 

[gibfried]

Thanks for the help. We'll see how my next one works out. A Porter...Mmmm.

 

[El Pistolero]

Location: Ozarks

So how's the trout fishin?

 

[gibfried]

We have two popular spring fed hatcheries, I try to stay away from them. They remind me of that carnival game "catch the plastic fish on the magnetic lure".

One nice thing about this area is our springs, the farm I grew up on had five seperate ones. So if you know the area, you can find some great hidden spots to trout and smallmouth fish.

 

[homebrewer_99]

You should probably take your carboys down and place them in the springs for a cooler fermentation. Could be you're fermenting too fast because of the heat which will make the beer ferment sweeter.