My first batch ever! Lots of questions.

Irish red ale
Stopped fermenting after five days in bucket( lack of bubbling and head of foam is gone). Recipe calls for 1 to 2 weeks primary 1-2 weeks secondary.
1. Have read that if you place beer in warmer room it will ferment more. current ambient temp is around 63 degrees. Should I? Does it help?
2. Should I switch to new secondary or just let it sit in the bucket for secondary? Have read its ok to leave it in bucket for secondary.

Sure I will have a lot more later. Thanks



Thanks,

I'm new and have only done one red ale. I listened to these guys and it turned out great. I think I did about three weeks in primary, then bottled. Hit three week in bottles tonight.

1. You have no idea if it's stopped fermenting or not unless you take a hydrometer sample and check the SG.

2. That's up to you. I still like to use a secondary for about a week, but that's because I'm clumsy with the autosiphon. TONS of folks here just primary for a few weeks and then go to the bottling bucket with it.

1. Second getting a hydrometer if you don't have one. And even then I always wait at least two weeks before opening anything to test it.
2. Do you have a secondary? If not there is no real need to get it and you could just get another fermentation bucket so you don't have to wait till your one opens up. If you do you could transfer but don't need to. It's kind of up to you.

Thanks for info!

When the intense bubbling slows or stops,that just means initial fermentation is over. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG from there. Then give it 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty before bottling. It'll still have plenty of yeast to carbonate & condition at room temps.

5 days for the major bubbling to die down and the foam to subside is perfectly normal. Depending on the beer, that part of fermentation is usually about 3-7 days. There are a couple of reasons why people let it sit at least two weeks. Some fermentation may still be happening. Only your hydrometer can tell you for sure, but it's not uncommon for your gravity to drop another couple of points after the krausen has fallen. Also, yeast produce a bunch of different types of molecules during fermentation, and not all of them taste great. After the yeast have finished chewing on all the fermentable sugars they will often switch to consuming/reabsorbing some of those fermentation byproducts, which cleans up the flavor considerably. Finally, the extra time allows most of the yeast cells to settle to the bottom of the vessel so that you get a clearer, less yeasty beer. There will still be plenty of yeast in suspension for bottle carbonating.

All great tips, I' m going to let it sit for a few more days then maybe switch to a carboy if I can make it to a brewing store in time. Thanks!


Here's to good friends and better drink!

Let us know how it turns out. Everything sounds exactly on course, I'm sure you'll have a mighty fine beer on your hands in a month or so.

Beer turned out great! Great color, smell and most importantly taste. Thanks for the advice. Ipa is now in the fermenter for the second batch.

bbarnesy said:

Beer turned out great! Great color, smell and most importantly taste. Thanks for the advice. Ipa is now in the fermenter for the second batch.

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Once that first one comes out right, you can relax and not sweat over the next ones at much.

To answer one of your original questions, once the initial ferment has slowed you can let the beer come to a warmer temperature. Starting your beer at the low end of the temperature range limits the off flavors that yeast like to produce and slows the ferment down. Warming it after this period is over helps the yeast complete breaking down the intermediate products. My beers typically start at a higher OG than predicted (due to all grain and BIAB I get great efficiency) but usually finish lower FG than predicted because the yeast like the warmer temp to finish.

If you need to ask if you need a secondary, you don't. When you do a beer that requires a secondary you will know before you start it that it will need it. Your IPA that you are currently doing will not need secondary but be sure to let the yeast complete the ferment before you add dry hops to the fermenter of your yeast will scrub out the aroma as one of the "off flavors".

I found this article to be pretty descriptive of what the yeast do. My timeline is longer than what the article suggests though. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html