Quick fermentation or stuck?

[BrewingTravisty]

Ok, so I have a chocolate oatmeal stout that I started brewing in Saturday night, woke up Sunday morning to a bit of minor volcanic activity from it, attached blow off tube and it settled into an almost constant bubbling in the sanitized water from the tube which slowed down Monday night and Tuesday all but stopped (maybe 2 little mini burps a minute).

Now I broke my hydrometer so I can't check the gravity to see if it's near what I am expecting for the FG (about 1.018) so I'm just wondering if this sounds like a normal fermentation to you? It just seemed too fast and furious to me haha

And even if the fermentation is pretty much done, I should still leave it on the yeast cake for a couple weeks? I wasn't planning on doing a secondary as I feel like it's not need, I'm not adding and adjuncts to it.

 

[Gavin C]

Sounds very fast, active and possibly a warm fermentation.

Not at all inconsistent with a completed fermentation.

What temperature is the beer fermenting at? That could be a clue as to why it's all happened so fast.

Too soon to measure gravity anyway. Order one online and it will be there well in time for you to measure gravity 2 weeks after pitching the yeast when I would bottle.

It can age in the bottle.

 

[m00ps]

agreed get a new hydrometer ASAP

warm temps can cause violent fermentation as well as off flavors. Most yeast suitable for stouts need to be kept in the mid 60s

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Sounds very fast, active and possibly a warm fermentation.

Not at all inconsistent with a completed fermentation.

What temperature is the beer fermenting at? That could be a clue as to why it's all happened so fast.

Too soon to measure gravity anyway. Order one online and it will be there well in time for you to measure gravity 2 weeks after pitching the yeast when I would bottle.

It can age in the bottle.

It started to ferment at about 68f, though it started heating up Monday and it's about 72f now. Sadly other than a/c I have no real way to control temps too much right now.

I also have a winter ale in primary, that I started on Friday and there's no more airlock activity, but that one didn't have as crazy of an initial fermentation lol I'm living with a pregnant woman so while she was gone for the weekend I used that as an opportunity to brew up a couple batches while she couldn't smell it

 

[Gavin C]

That does sound a bit warm. Again, all points to a completed fermentation.

Rig up a swamp cooler or two. Added bonus, you can bathe the baby in it when he/she finally arrives and use that as a good reason to get a chest freezer.

Congrats on the baby BTW (I'm assuming it's yours )

 

[BrewingTravisty]

That does sound a bit warm. Again, all points to a completed fermentation.

Rig up a swamp cooler or two. Added bonus, you can bathe the baby in it when he/she finally arrives and use that as a good reason to get a chest freezer.

Congrats on the baby BTW (I'm assuming it's yours )

Haha not mine, I had to have a couple surgeries recently due to an accident at work, so I'm staying with my sister to recover and get through all of the annoying workers comp B.S. (not uncommon for them to not send checks for a month or two). But thanks anyways

And yeah, I was actually just thinking about looking into swamp coolers. I'm hoping that the higher fermentation temps don't cause any off flavors, since both yeasts that I used recommended fermentation temps up to 75f and I'm pretty sure that I didn't exceed that.

Either way I'm excited to crack open my first homebrew lol

 

[Gavin C]

Either way I'm excited to crack open my first homebrew lol

It's a feeling that never gets old. Let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[Nickyssix]

Ok, so I have a chocolate oatmeal stout that I started brewing in Saturday night, woke up Sunday morning to a bit of minor volcanic activity from it, attached blow off tube and it settled into an almost constant bubbling in the sanitized water from the tube which slowed down Monday night and Tuesday all but stopped (maybe 2 little mini burps a minute).

Now I broke my hydrometer so I can't check the gravity to see if it's near what I am expecting for the FG (about 1.018) so I'm just wondering if this sounds like a normal fermentation to you? It just seemed too fast and furious to me haha

And even if the fermentation is pretty much done, I should still leave it on the yeast cake for a couple weeks? I wasn't planning on doing a secondary as I feel like it's not need, I'm not adding and adjuncts to it.

Yes leave it on the cake - The first part of fermentation has happened (might taste a bit fruity because of the warm conditions) but more work has to be done. Bubbling airlocks mean nothing really - it can still be dropping gravity points without bubbling. Ive had a few ferment perfectly with no bubbling at all. Get that new hydrometer and check it after 2 weeks ..

 

[Qhrumphf]

It started to ferment at about 68f, though it started heating up Monday and it's about 72f now. Sadly other than a/c I have no real way to control temps too much right now.

I also have a winter ale in primary, that I started on Friday and there's no more airlock activity, but that one didn't have as crazy of an initial fermentation lol I'm living with a pregnant woman so while she was gone for the weekend I used that as an opportunity to brew up a couple batches while she couldn't smell it

Is that the room temp or the beer temp?


Quick fermentations are pretty common, especially with English yeast strains (not sure what you used). I have beers that I pitch on a Sunday afternoon, they're slowly active by Sunday night, roaring by Monday morning, and by Tuesday evening they're very slow or even done. I don't normally check that early, but when I first brewed my house Mild, this was what happened, and I was concerned and checked gravity, and it was already at FG 48 hours after pitching, and it has repeated this pattern every single time I've brewed it. Granted, this beer is also <3% ABV, stronger beers will usually take a little longer.

But yes, you need a new hydrometer.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Is that the room temp or the beer temp?


Quick fermentations are pretty common, especially with English yeast strains (not sure what you used). I have beers that I pitch on a Sunday afternoon, they're slowly active by Sunday night, roaring by Monday morning, and by Tuesday evening they're very slow or even done. I don't normally check that early, but when I first brewed my house Mild, this was what happened, and I was concerned and checked gravity, and it was already at FG 48 hours after pitching, and it has repeated this pattern every single time I've brewed it. Granted, this beer is also <3% ABV, stronger beers will usually take a little longer.

But yes, you need a new hydrometer.

It was indeed an English yeast lol I would have to look at my recipe to tell you the exact yeast. And I'm expecting this one to be about 6.5% so not really a low abv. And you, getting a hydrometer asap lol