Question on finishing up fermentation

[Andy Bullock]

Hey guys. Working on my first brew and have a couple of questions on finishing up my fermentation. Right now it's wrapping up, been in 6 days at 62F and bubbler is slowing down. I'll be taking a gravity reading tonight or tomorrow, then again on Sunday or Monday. My questions are:
1. Should I bring it upstairs to try and bring the temp up at all? (pitched us-05)
2. I don't know much about cold crashing, but have read that it can clear a batch up a little and cause all of my hop matter to sink. Right now I have a ton of hop matter on my cake in the bottom, as well as in the krausen. Looking for a good way to get things to settle before bottling - any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[RPh_Guy]

1. Should I bring it upstairs to try and bring the temp up at all? (pitched us-05)

I recommend increasing the temperature for the latter part of fermentation. The yeast are pretty much done adding flavor by the halfway point. The higher temperature helps the yeast attenuate fully and helps produce a clean fermentation.

2. I don't know much about cold crashing, but have read that it can clear a batch up a little and cause all of my hop matter to sink. Right now I have a ton of hop matter on my cake in the bottom, as well as in the krausen.

I recommend against cold crashing. It pulls air into your fermenter that will oxidize your beer (unless you have a good system in place to prevent that).

You should be able to prevent almost all the hop matter getting into your bottles with careful racking.

 

[IslandLizard]

62F can be a little cold for US-05, she won't work as fast. As long as you had a good krausen, steady bubbling airlock or other signs of a good progressing fermentation, bubbling slowing down is usually the sign of the beer being close to done. So yes, it's time to bring her into a warmer area to finish and condition out. How warm is that going to be, a steady 68-70F?
You may take a gravity reading to see where it stands, for peace of mind. It's actually better to take a sample while she's still actively fermenting somewhat to prevent oxidation.

Once fermentation has finished, and she has conditioned for a few days at the higher temps, you may cold crash. Cold crashing will help drop everything, leaving clearer beer on top, ready for packaging.
Do you have a place to cold crash, like a fridge?

Even if instructions say so, avoid using a secondary, they're not needed (for 99.999% of beer). Leave it in your first fermenter.

 

[IslandLizard]

I recommend against cold crashing. It pulls air into your fermenter that will oxidize your beer (unless you have a good system in place to prevent that).

I forgot to mention that...
Oxidation is quite a concern, valid for all beers, and even more so for hoppier ones.

There are ways to capture some CO2 from your fermentation, and reuse that during cold crashing.
Think of a mylar bag with a piece of tubing attached to the airlock stem.

 

[Andy Bullock]

Once fermentation has finished, and she has conditioned for a few days at the higher temps, you may cold crash. Cold crashing will help drop everything, leaving clearer beer on top, ready for packaging.
Do you have a place to cold crash, like a fridge?

The plan was to put it out in the garage for 24hrs if it was above freezing temps - my garage is typically in the high 30's as long as it's not getting below 20 degrees outside.

 

[Andy Bullock]

62F can be a little cold for US-05, she won't work as fast. As long as you had a good krausen, steady bubbling airlock or other signs of a good progressing fermentation, bubbling slowing down is usually the sign of the beer being close to done. So yes, it's time to bring her into a warmer area to finish and condition out. How warm is that going to be, a steady 68-70F?

Seemed to have decent krausen and good flow out of my bubbler. Even bringing it up from the basement isn't going to bring the temp up that much as I don't like the house being that warm. Maybe I'll tough it out for a couple days for better beer... would make the wife happy if she was warmer anyway

 

[IslandLizard]

Seemed to have decent krausen and good flow out of my bubbler. Even bringing it up from the basement isn't going to bring the temp up that much as I don't like the house being that warm. Maybe I'll tough it out for a couple days for better beer... would make the wife happy if she was warmer anyway

No need to heat up the whole house for a 6-7 gallon fermenter with beer. Maybe find a slightly warmer spot somewhere?

A heating pad (or blanket) with a well-working thermostat or external controller can give that beer those few extra degrees it needs. Wrap a blanket around the setup.
Or use a water bath with an aquarium heater, again, with a sleeping bag draped over the system to keep heat in, etc.
Although I have a dedicated upright freezer I use to keep fermentation temps constant, I often ferment at prevailing ambient temps too. We keep the house cooler in Winter and warmer in Summer. We're at 65F right now indoors. Was 72 earlier this week.

Maybe look for a dedicated (or part time) fridge or freezer for fermentations and cold crashing. I picked up a fairly new upright freezer Lager chamber off Craigslist for $100. With a little gelatin, lagering at 30F only takes 2-3 weeks. Very diminishing returns for longer periods.

For cold crashing your cold garage may be just perfect. Once the beer has dropped to 32-34F pack it in a thick sleeping bag or moving blankets etc. to keep it there, while the outside temps may drop to 20 overnight the garage may not go down that far.

What kind of fermenter do you use?

 

[Andy Bullock]

No need to heat up the whole house for a 6-7 gallon fermenter with beer. Maybe find a slightly warmer spot somewhere?

A heating pad (or blanket) with a well-working thermostat or external controller can give that beer those few extra degrees it needs. Wrap a blanket around the setup.
Or use a water bath with an aquarium heater, again, with a sleeping bag draped over the system to keep heat in, etc.
Although I have a dedicated upright freezer I use to keep fermentation temps constant, I often ferment at prevailing ambient temps too. We keep the house cooler in Winter and warmer in Summer. We're at 65F right now indoors. Was 72 earlier this week.

Maybe look for a dedicated (or part time) fridge or freezer for fermentations and cold crashing. I picked up a fairly new upright freezer Lager chamber off Craigslist for $100. With a little gelatin, lagering at 30F only takes 2-3 weeks. Very diminishing returns for longer periods.

For cold crashing your cold garage may be just perfect. Once the beer has dropped to 32-34F pack it in a thick sleeping bag or moving blankets etc. to keep it there, while the outside temps may drop to 20 overnight the garage may not go down that far.

What kind of fermenter do you use?

This is all really good information. I could probably move it up to the second story from the basement as it does stay a little warmer up there even though we don't use it. I expect at some point to get into some more equipment to help with this process, but making sure I really enjoy it before I go spending much more money on it. I'm in a 6.5 gal glass carboy right now - kind of nice to be able to keep an eye on it as opposed to a bucket.

If I do the cold crash - how long should I let it stay at that 32-34 temp? You also mentioned oxygen getting in - couldn't I just leave my bung and airlock in for this process?

 

[balrog]

6 days at 62 is just not enough to make me comfortable and I would wait another week, and definitely warmer if you can. The thing is, yeast will do what it will do, when it will do it. You can't make it finish sooner because you want it to, any more than you can make your kids clean their rooms.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm in a 6.5 gal glass carboy right now

Sorry to hear that... but as long as you're surrounded by good beer it's all good.

kind of nice to be able to keep an eye on it as opposed to a bucket.

I hear you, it's definitely a miraculous event to witness. Unlike a Lava lamp, it makes beer.

Just be very, very careful handling glass carboys, they're huge bottles. Glass is fragile, and the larger the vessel, the more dangerous, especially when filled with 5 gallons of beer, which makes it even more awkward to handle.
Use a BrewHauler (a carrier made from strapping/webbing) to move it around. Or place the carboy inside a (plastic) crate, that gives you handles. Do not use one of those orange or red metal carboy neck handles to carry a full carboy! They're just meant for carrying empties, which in turn, really don't need a handle...

When you've seen fermentation in a carboy a few times, the novelty tends to wear off. Buckets come with a handle. Fermonsters and other plastic fermenters as such are transparent, have a large opening, and are pretty much unbreakable. Alas, no handle.

Glass carboys have their use, just not for everyday handling and brewing. For long term aging, sours, etc., there are other options (e.g., stainless kegs).

 

[Andy Bullock]

Sorry to hear that... but as long as you're surrounded by good beer it's all good.

I think you might fit in where I work with those kind of dad jokes LOL

Do not use one of those orange or red metal carboy neck handles to carry a full carboy! They're just meant for carrying empties, which in turn, really don't need a handle...

I have 2 of these and the thought behind it was that I could "swish" sanitizer around a little easier.

When you've seen fermentation in a carboy a few times, the novelty tends to wear off. Buckets come with a handle. Fermonsters and other plastic fermenters as such are transparent, have a large opening, and are pretty much unbreakable. Alas, no handle.

Would you recommend one of those "big mouth bubblers"? Would like to dry hop in a bag of some kind so it's cleaner, but doesn't seem like that's an option with the small mouth of the carboy.

 

[ncbrewer]

Would you recommend one of those "big mouth bubblers"? Would like to dry hop in a bag of some kind so it's cleaner, but doesn't seem like that's an option with the small mouth of the carboy.

If you plan to use a swamp cooler (works pretty well in the summer), a handle is a real plus. That's why I stick with a bucket.

 

[Jag75]

If I were you I would skip the cold crashing until you get a little more experienced and have the right stuff to do it. You can get suck back which will pull in o2 as well as your airlock liquid . This is one reason I dont cold crash . I just leave my beer in the fermenter for approx 3 weeks and use hop bags or paint strainers. If all of your hop particles have dropped you can transfer to bottle bucket carefully without transferring the stuff you wanna leave behind.

 

[IslandLizard]

I have 2 of these and the thought behind it was that I could "swish" sanitizer around a little easier.


Would you recommend one of those "big mouth bubblers"? Would like to dry hop in a bag of some kind so it's cleaner, but doesn't seem like that's an option with the small mouth of the carboy.

The steel handles are fine to give you something to hold onto when the glass is slippery, when cleaning, sanitizing, sure.

I use regular 6.5 gallon brew buckets with the accompanying snap on drilled lids as you find in the homebrew store and elsewhere. Good for 5.5 gallon batches (giving 1 gallon of headspace), plenty of space for dry hopping (no bags), leaving half a gallon of trub and beer on the bottom after transferring 5 gallons to a keg. The handle comes with it. And I use it when moving those heavy buckets around, like to my lower level bathroom that's 65F during certain seasons, etc.
I've never used any big mouth bubblers, you're talking about the plastic ones, right?
But people seem to like the Fermonsters too, which are similar I reckon, having a wide opening/large lid. Some of those types may come with a spigot, which can aid during oxygen free transfers.

During one of our nationwide Big Brew events (first Saturday every May, put it on your calendar!) someone dropped a Fermonster half full with Starsan in the parking lot while shaking it up Hulk style... It bounced then rolled... no cracks, no leaks, barely a scratch! Could have ruined a good day if it fared a worse fate.

Many of us prefer to add dry hops loose, no bags, for better, quicker extraction. Beer moves around the hop particles freely, there's no compaction which you undoubtedly get in a bag or strainer/mesh type container! During cold crashing (or just letting it sit for a few days) all trub and hops sink anyway, leaving maybe a few floaties. A good racking should leave all that behind.

I prefer to stir the dry hopping beer twice a day to get better, quicker extraction, while submerging the lofty hop layer on top. I do that with the back of a long plastic brew spoon, it has a small paddle. I stream CO2 in through the airlock hole at a decent rate, while the spoon is stirred through a separate 1" hole in the lid, closed off with a regular 1" bung the rest of the time. I also add dry hops, syrups, extra wort, etc. and take samples through that 1" port. Something similar can be done with those Bubblers/Fermonsters. And then some...

 

[Andy Bullock]

The steel handles are fine to give you something to hold onto when the glass is slippery, when cleaning, sanitizing, sure.

I use regular 6.5 gallon brew buckets with the accompanying snap on drilled lids as you find in the homebrew store and elsewhere. Good for 5.5 gallon batches (giving 1 gallon of headspace), plenty of space for dry hopping (no bags), leaving half a gallon of trub and beer on the bottom after transferring 5 gallons to a keg. The handle comes with it. And I use it when moving those heavy buckets around, like to my lower level bathroom that's 65F during certain seasons, etc.
I've never used any big mouth bubblers, you're talking about the plastic ones, right?
But people seem to like the Fermonsters too, which are similar I reckon, having a wide opening/large lid. Some of those types may come with a spigot, which can aid during oxygen free transfers.

During one of our nationwide Big Brew events (first Saturday every May, put it on your calendar!) someone dropped a Fermonster half full with Starsan in the parking lot while shaking it up Hulk style... It bounced then rolled... no cracks, no leaks, barely a scratch! Could have ruined a good day if it fared a worse fate.

Many of us prefer to add dry hops loose, no bags, for better, quicker extraction. Beer moves around the hop particles freely, there's no compaction which you undoubtedly get in a bag or strainer/mesh type container! During cold crashing (or just letting it sit for a few days) all trub and hops sink anyway, leaving maybe a few floaties. A good racking should leave all that behind.

I prefer to stir the dry hopping beer twice a day to get better, quicker extraction, while submerging the lofty hop layer on top. I do that with the back of a long plastic brew spoon, it has a small paddle. I stream CO2 in through the airlock hole at a decent rate, while the spoon is stirred through a separate 1" hole in the lid, closed off with a regular 1" bung the rest of the time. I also add dry hops, syrups, extra wort, etc. and take samples through that 1" port. Something similar can be done with those Bubblers/Fermonsters. And then some...

Yeah I’m talking about the plastic ones, but then I guess it’s back to no handle. I found that a handle could be really nice when I was moving my carboy up from the basement Friday night...

 

[Soulshine2]

Hey guys. Working on my first brew and have a couple of questions on finishing up my fermentation. Right now it's wrapping up, been in 6 days at 62F and bubbler is slowing down. I'll be taking a gravity reading tonight or tomorrow, then again on Sunday or Monday. My questions are:
1. Should I bring it upstairs to try and bring the temp up at all? (pitched us-05)
2. I don't know much about cold crashing, but have read that it can clear a batch up a little and cause all of my hop matter to sink. Right now I have a ton of hop matter on my cake in the bottom, as well as in the krausen. Looking for a good way to get things to settle before bottling - any help is greatly appreciated!

let it go another week . allow it to clean up by itself. I generally see a slowdown about day 6 too but its not finished. most likely it will be day 9 or 10 when it starts to clear up on its own. 11 or 12 it is usually "done" but I give it to day 14 ( i brew on weekends so i just give it the two weeks ,check gravity and i bottle on day 13 or 14.)

 

[Andy Bullock]

let it go another week . allow it to clean up by itself. I generally see a slowdown about day 6 too but its not finished. most likely it will be day 9 or 10 when it starts to clear up on its own. 11 or 12 it is usually "done" but I give it to day 14 ( i brew on weekends so i just give it the two weeks ,check gravity and i bottle on day 13 or 14.)

Thanks for this advice. I’m a weekend brewer also and I plan on bottling it next weekend. I checked my gravity on Friday night and it was EXTREMELY low for what this beer should be, so I have to had screwed something up somewhere. I’m down to about one bubble every 20 seconds or so now.. might be drinking some 2.5abv beer in a few weeks

 

[Soulshine2]

Thanks for this advice. I’m a weekend brewer also and I plan on bottling it next weekend. I checked my gravity on Friday night and it was EXTREMELY low for what this beer should be, so I have to had screwed something up somewhere. I’m down to about one bubble every 20 seconds or so now.. might be drinking some 2.5abv beer in a few weeks

what style of beer is this and what was your OG .

 

[Andy Bullock]

what style of beer is this and what was your OG .

It’s Fresh Squished IPA kit. A buddy and I were trying to follow the directions to a tee, and I forgot to take a gravity reading before I pitched since it wasn’t mentioned in the step by step.. I knew I needed to do it, just forgot.. *facepalm*
The only thing I can think of is fermentation temp.. used us-05 and it sat at 62 for 6 days.. also may have pitched in too hot of wort ~80.. would either of these things have that big of an affect on FG?

 

[Soulshine2]

maybe,its more about your water to grain during mashing and your temperatures...did you single infuse or step mash?. US-05 is a pretty hardy yeast, ive fermented it pretty warm in the high 70s . 62 may be a little cool for it. BUT, pitching in the 80s ...apparently it fermented so you most likely didnt hurt it much. give it a few more days. Next time , get use to using your hydrometer !!!

 

[Andy Bullock]

maybe,its more about your water to grain during mashing and your temperatures...did you single infuse or step mash?. US-05 is a pretty hardy yeast, ive fermented it pretty warm in the high 70s . 62 may be a little cool for it. BUT, pitching in the 80s ...apparently it fermented so you most likely didnt hurt it much. give it a few more days. Next time , get use to using your hydrometer !!!

It’s was an extract kit with some steeping grains so I thought it would be tough to screw up LOL.. will definitely be using the hydrometer more!

 

[IslandLizard]

I checked my gravity on Friday night and it was EXTREMELY low for what this beer should be

"Extremely low" is a relative measure. What was your actual hydrometer reading? That's a useful datapoint, not just for us.
Did you taste the sample? What was your impression?

If you added all your extract, transferred all the wort to the fermenter (left nothing behind), topped up to the recipe's volume, the gravity is known.

 

[kh54s10]

The only ways to get an extract to go "EXTREMELY" low is with an infection or to top up with way too much water.

Time. Until you have some experience do not try to rush things. I would suggest no less than 14 days in primary before bottling. If the beer has not cleared you can just wait longer.

Temperature. I look up the ideal range of each yeast I use and control the fermentation temperature close to the middle of that range. That is the wort temperature itself, not the air temperature around the fermenter.

Be very careful with glass carboys and do not carry with a handle, it stresses the neck of the carboy. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/search/5674323/?q=Broken+carboy+horror&o=relevance

 

[IslandLizard]

I checked my gravity on Friday night and it was EXTREMELY low... might be drinking some 2.5abv beer in a few weeks

Gravity is the amount of sugar left in the beer, not a (direct) measure of alcohol content. Actually, if started with the same OG, the lower the FG the higher the amount of alcohol!

 

[IslandLizard]

Be very careful with glass carboys and do not carry with a handle, it stresses the neck of the carboy. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/search/5674323/?q=Broken+carboy+horror&o=relevance

I wasn't going to mention that thread this early on...
Now since you've brought it up, yeah, there's some serious concern there with using glass, more so the larger they get, such as carboys. Especially those carboys from unknown sources, substandard manufacturing practices, non-existing or easily circumvented quality control, etc.

 

[kh54s10]

I wasn't going to mention that thread this early on...
Now since you've brought it up, yeah, there's some serious concern there with using glass, more so the larger they get, such as carboys. Especially those carboys from unknown sources, substandard manufacturing practices, non-existing or easily circumvented quality control, etc.

I think the earlier the warning the better. At minimum it may lead to extra caution when handling glass carboys.

OP, look into PET carboys if you want to be able to see the action.

 

[Andy Bullock]

"Extremely low" is a relative measure. What was your actual hydrometer reading? That's a useful datapoint, not just for us.
Did you taste the sample? What was your impression?

If you added all your extract, transferred all the wort to the fermenter (left nothing behind), topped up to the recipe's volume, the gravity is known.

Mistake #1 - not taking an OG reading
Mistake #2 - not understanding the reading of the hydrometer
Mistake#3 - posting this concern before I understood the "low" reading

My impression of the beer was more bitter than I would like. Typically a fan of the lower ibu IPAs - other than that, good clean flavor and good aroma from the mosaic I dry hopped a few days ago. Have another ounce of citra to add a few days before bottling.

 

[Andy Bullock]

I think the earlier the warning the better. At minimum it may lead to extra caution when handling glass carboys.

OP, look into PET carboys if you want to be able to see the action.

Thanks for sharing this information - I will definitely be careful with the glass ones. Lady I work with had a wine business for a while and swears by the PET ones - My starter kit just came with 2 glass ones so that's what I'm using for now.

 

[Jag75]

With an extract kit your OG will be within the parameters that are listed on the instructions. Your FG should be as well. With these kits your FG is more important especially when you bottle. Forgetting stuff or messing up is part of the learning process and I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[IslandLizard]

My starter kit just came with 2 glass ones so that's what I'm using for now.

Selling those in a "beginners kit" is borderline criminal in this day and age.
We have many good alternatives now in the form of plastic (PET) fermenters, widely available for less $ than glass, with none of the dangers. The problem with 99.999% of glass carboys is they come from China. 'Nuff sed.

Just handle them very carefully!

I have a bunch of glass carboys that are 1-2 decades old, made in Mexico or Italy. I use them for aging sour beers, they don't get handled much, they just sit there for 2-3 years.

 

[Jag75]

Selling those in a "beginners kit" is borderline criminal in this day and age.
We have many good alternatives now in the form of plastic (PET) fermenters, widely available for less $ than glass, with none of the dangers. The problem with 99.999% of glass carboys is they come from China. 'Nuff sed.

Just handle them very carefully!

I have a bunch of glass carboys that are 1-2 decades old, made in Mexico or Italy. I use them for aging sour beers, they don't get handled much, they just sit there for 2-3 years.

I'll 100% agree with you on being borderline criminal . I had a chance to get some glass carboys but I read the thread in here about those . Some nasty wounds and it basically scared me away from them .

 

[IslandLizard]

For good, solid, basic instructions on brewing and all that goes with it: HowToBrew.

His fairly recent, modernized 4th Ed. in e- or regular book form (my preference) is still 2nd to none.

 

[IslandLizard]

My impression of the beer was more bitter than I would like. Typically a fan of the lower ibu IPAs - other than that, good clean flavor and good aroma from the mosaic I dry hopped a few days ago. Have another ounce of citra to add a few days before bottling.

Although some bitterness is good, even necessary, it's the balance among all flavors and sensations that make beer good. Your sample is also warm and not much carbonated yet, it all makes a difference.

Tweak recipes to lower bitterness (IBUs), either one or a combination:

• Lower boil hop amounts, especially early ones
• Use lower %AA hops early in the boil
• Add hops after flameout ("hop stand" or "whirlpool") at lower temps 170-145F for 10-30'
• Speed up your chilling (reduce the time it takes), wort keeps bittering above 140F
• Use a good recipe formulator to calculate/estimate IBUs
• Drink more IPAs and you'll get used to, or even look for higher IBUs

 

[Andy Bullock]

Although some bitterness is good, even necessary, it's the balance among all flavors and sensations that make beer good. Your sample is also warm and not much carbonated yet, it all makes a difference.

Tweak recipes to lower bitterness (IBUs), either one or a combination:

• Lower boil hop amounts, especially early ones
• Use lower %AA hops early in the boil
• Add hops after flameout ("hop stand" or "whirlpool") at lower temps 170-145F for 10-30'
• Speed up your chilling (reduce the time it takes), wort keeps bittering above 140F
• Use a good recipe formulator to calculate/estimate IBUs
• Drink more IPAs and you'll get used to, or even look for higher IBUs

I've had a lot of different IPAs - most of the ones I like are usually 40-55 IBUs but still hoppy from late additions. I will definitely be using lower AA and probably no addition at 60 minutes for my next IPA. Got some apple beer/cider that we did yesterday, and once I bottle this IPA is on to a big beer - peanut butter cup stout that I hope I can have done for Xmas parties

 

[IslandLizard]

on to a big beer - peanut butter cup stout that I hope I can have done for Xmas parties

Without kegging, you'd be really pushed to have that ready by Christmas. Bottle carbonation alone takes 3-4 weeks. Bigger beers need more time to ferment, then age (condition) somewhat.

Do you know someone with a kegging setup? That's the advantage of being in a homebrew club, connections.
Club members often pour beers at events using the club's 6-tap jockey box. And still drag in a bunch of other kegs, just to make sure we have a large enough beer selection.

 

[davidabcd]

6.5 gal glass carboy

If no one has mentioned this, if you're going to stick with or use the glass carboy for the time being,

USE:

OR

BUT NOT

I was using the third one and the problem is that it can possibly break off at the neck. That's forty pounds of liquid plus glass.
Big mouth bubblers, as mentioned are great, easy to clean, etc.
Edit: on the first image, use the strap holder but not the steel handle.

 

[balrog]

I second the milk crates.
And they can be used for many things; lifting glass or plastic carboys is just one of the things for which they are well-purposed.