Risk of autolysis in a 3 week fermentation

[RM-MN]

I think that there are advantages to leaving it on the yeast cake. For one, you have more chance of infection if you transfer the beer and a chance to get some more oxidation. The yeast cake seems to help clear up off flavors and make the beer mature faster too.

 

[patthebrewer]

I think RN-MN is right on with this....remember 1.082 is a relatively big beer, they take longer. Also there is more harm potential from transfering it (i.e Infection Oxidation, etc) to secondary than leaving it right were it is in it safe happy place

Yeast are really good at cleaning up after themselves, unlike my children.....

 

[neudson]

Getting back here with you guys to share the progress of my brew. Well, today, after 2 weeks fermenting i took another SG reading and it showed 1.029 (last week i've got 1.036).
That alcohol aroma and flavor it is still there, but way less strong than the week before. It smells more like beer now, not wine anymore. It's less cloudy too. I'm planning to leave it fermenting for one more week, but now rising a little the temperature to the high end (around 20 and 23ºC).

Really happy with the progress of this first brew!

 

[RM-MN]

Getting back here with you guys to share the progress of my brew. Well, today, after 2 weeks fermenting i took another SG reading and it showed 1.029 (last week i've got 1.036).
That alcohol aroma and flavor it is still there, but way less strong than the week before. It smells more like beer now, not wine anymore. It's less cloudy too. I'm planning to leave it fermenting for one more week, but now rising a little the temperature to the high end (around 20 and 23ºC).

Really happy with the progress of this first brew!

It's hard to make plans when you aren't in charge, the yeast are, and they work on their schedule, not yours. They are working hard (as evidenced by the change in gravity and smell) but they are working in difficult conditions as the alcohol content keeps going up. Warming the beer is a good idea at this point as it helps the yeast get the last of the sugars and the byproducts of fermentation broken down. Check your gravity in a week but don't be in a rush to bottle because if the yeast aren't done you are going to get overcarbonated beer at best and bottle bombs at worst.

 

[neudson]

Check your gravity in a week but don't be in a rush to bottle because if the yeast aren't done you are going to get overcarbonated beer at best and bottle bombs at worst.

Thanks! I will do some gravity checks next week, see how it progress. I will bottle only if the gravity has stopped dropping coimpletely. If it takes another week, so be it!

 

[neudson]

Back to you here guys. Another gravity readign of my brew today, 4 days after the last one. And i got, again, 1.029. It was fermenting at a higher temperature range for the last four days (between 20º and 23º, sometimes a little higher) and it seems it's stuck. Well, i did what i have read in other posts: I stirred to get the yeast back at suspention, and see how it goes. I will try to keep it fermentig near 23º for the next days.