New to brew, fermentation question

[Brewpup506]

Working on my first brew (heavy spiced pumpkin ale) brew dropped 5degrees below optimal fermentation temp (60 f)but was bubbling savagely for 5-6 days prior. Now it slowed. Do I need to heat up or is this just natural slowing due to lack of food for yeast?

Also when I put in secondary fermenting bucket from carboy this weekend (week 2) how long until I prime and bottle on average for 5 gal batch?

Used: I don’t have exact names offhand posting from work lol.

Mix of grain and amber malt extract
Pumpkin
2 tblsp Pumpkin spices
1 cup brown sugar
1tsp vanilla
American ale yeast smack pack
2 hops during boil I think mountain something and centennial

 

[petemoss]

Please don't assume that I am an expert, these are just my thoughts. If you were vigorously fermenting for 5-6 days prior to your temperature drop, then you are probably pretty good for the most part. You can take gravity reading to see if you hit your target FG or not. Then you can take further gravity readings over the next few days to see if you are still dropping or have "finished".

So you said that you are on week 2. While I don't know if that means that your are starting week two or have gone two weeks, I would say some extra time can't hurt you. I generally use a 14 day minimum regardless of what the activity was in the fermenter (again, only speaking for myself). You probably do want to have the temperature in the happy range for the yeast though, just so that they can most efficiently clean up off flavors and stuff.

 

[NGD]

Working on my first brew (heavy spiced pumpkin ale) brew dropped 5degrees below optimal fermentation temp (60 f)but was bubbling savagely for 5-6 days prior. Now it slowed. Do I need to heat up or is this just natural slowing due to lack of food for yeast?

Also when I put in secondary fermenting bucket from carboy this weekend (week 2) how long until I prime and bottle on average for 5 gal batch?

Used: I don’t have exact names offhand posting from work lol.

Mix of grain and amber malt extract
Pumpkin
2 tblsp Pumpkin spices
1 cup brown sugar
1tsp vanilla
American ale yeast smack pack
2 hops during boil I think mountain something and centennial

Should be fine in 3-4 weeks from pitch date. Best way is to take 2 hydrometer readings over 3 days and make sure the final gravity is stable. A bubbling airlock is not a good indicator of how complete fermentation is.

 

[TheHopfather]

Warming the beer up a bit can help the yeast finish the fermentation and can help clean up any off flavors that might be in the beer. It is pretty normal to see guys warm the beer up to 70F for a couple of days. The yeast will start to slow down as they run out of sugar to eat, that is perfectly normal.

I'd save yourself a bunch of work and just skip the secondary. A secondary is something that isn't really necessary and just adds the risk of infection and/or oxidation.

You can't put a date on when the beer will be done. Yeast are alive and despite all of your best efforts, the yeast decide when the beer is done. The only way to be sure is to take multiple gravity readings over several days. Once the gravity is stable over say a 3 day span, the beer is done and you can bottle. If you don't want to do that I'd think that 2 weeks is probably a safe amount of time.

 

[ncbrewer]

Welcome to brewing and HBT.

For bottling timing, make sure it's finished fermenting. I give it 2 - 3 weeks, and take gravity samples 2 - 3 days apart to be sure it's stable. If it continues fermenting in the bottles, you could have bottle bombs.

 

[Brewpup506]

Warming the beer up a bit can help the yeast finish the fermentation and can help clean up any off flavors that might be in the beer. It is pretty normal to see guys warm the beer up to 70F for a couple of days. The yeast will start to slow down as they run out of sugar to eat, that is perfectly normal.

I'd save yourself a bunch of work and just skip the secondary. A secondary is something that isn't really necessary and just adds the risk of infection and/or oxidation.

You can't put a date on when the beer will be done. Yeast are alive and despite all of your best efforts, the yeast decide when the beer is done. The only way to be sure is to take multiple gravity readings over several days. Once the gravity is stable over say a 3 day span, the beer is done and you can bottle. If you don't want to do that I'd think that 2 weeks is probably a safe amount of time.

Okay, so here’s my rookie self. I was worried about taking the airlock off to siphon out some beer for gravity reading. Is there a better method?

 

[RM-MN]

Okay, so here’s my rookie self. I was worried about taking the airlock off to siphon out some beer for gravity reading. Is there a better method?

I think there is a better method. Pull the stopper out to take your sample and put it back in as soon as you get the sample. A wine thief or a turkey baster work fine for getting a sample. Very little CO2 will escape and very little oxygen will get in. I use a bucket and pull the lid clear off to get my samples.