Super quick fermentation

[billingsbrew]

I made an English barley wine on Thursday with a starting gravity of 1.105. Used 33grams of S04 in a one gallon starter. Fermented at 72 degrees(a little warmer than I wanted) and two days later it was down to 1.020. I've had beers, even big beers ferment out in 4-5 days but never 2. It took less than two hours to completely fill the carboy with Krauesen. The yeast has fallen from suspension and I will be placing it into a secondary, this will be the third day. Should there be any concerns with such a fast fermentation? It was an AG recipe with the only simple sugar being two pounds of Belgain 90 candy syrup.

 

[day_trippr]

Three 11 gram packets in a starter for 5 gallons of 1.105 wort was at least a double and maybe a triple over-pitch. Not surprising the massive horde of wee beasties ripped through that wort so quickly...

Cheers!

 

[flars]

have you tasted the beer? i would leave it on the yeast cake for a week. give the yeast time to clean up some off flavors.

 

[billingsbrew]

I've already placed it in a secondary. I was going to be out of town for a couple of weeks and didn't want to leave it on the yeast cake too long. I did pick up some yeast in the transfer and it still has activity in the carboy. And yes I did taste it and oh my gosh not bad for a three day old beer. This one is going to be stored away with some of my big Belgians, a good 18 months.

 

[1van]

Yeah, I would have left that on the yeast cake...outside of additions I almost never secondary. A beer that big would totally benefit from a long primary, giving the yeast a chance to clean up some of the byproducts produced during a normal fermentation, let alone that fast of a fermentation. a couple of weeks on the yeast cake is nothing

 

[billingsbrew]

We all live and learn!

 

[Cyclman]

I would think overpitching would ferment fast, and if anything have less character than a "properly" pitched beer. I don't see what "byproducts" overpitching would produce...I guess fermenting hot could produce esters, but I don't think yeast clean that up.

If it tastes good, go with it.

 

[paperairplane]

Say what you want, a large pitch of S04 will grind through some sugar.

 

[burninator]

Say what you want, a large pitch of S04 will grind through some sugar.

For sure. Had a stout take off with S-04 and go completely still again within 48 hours. That was no barleywine, though.

 

[billingsbrew]

Like I said there was plenty of yeast picked up in the secondary. And that yeast is continuing to ferment. I wouldn't want it to ferment a great deal more, leaving some residual sugars. It was already 11.2% alcohol by volume. I think it will finish up just fine in a couple more weeks and hopefully drop no more than a couple of points.

 

[hio3791]

I've used S04 quite a bit over the last couple of years. It's a fast fermenting strain that starts up quick and finishes quick. My beers are typically done within 2 or 3 days... but I don't make 1.105 beers either. Once done, I leave the beer in the primary for a least a week before kegging.

As others said, leaving it in the primary, even if you come back 4 - 6 weeks later, is no big deal. Then again, racking it so young into another vessel is not the end of the world as I am sure there is a lot of yeast in suspension that will transfer over and should be able to finish clean up.

When you say you made a one gallon starter, I presume you meant, you re-hydrated the 3 packs of yeast in a gallon of water?

 

[billingsbrew]

Yes it was three packs in a gallon of 1.036 starter. You can already see about a half an inch of yeast cake in the 1 gallon and about an inch in the 3 gallon container already sitting at the bottom. There was a massive amount of yeast in the primary. There's still plenty of fermentation going on. Next time I won't be so hasty.

 

[billingsbrew]

Well it did exactly that, dropped 2 points to 1.018 (11.4 ABV) and that is what I wanted. Will cold crash it for 3 months and then bottle it.