1 week into Fermentation

[Grundysidemount]

So I brewed 2 beers (first time) last week.

I did Flashing Lights IPA (FL) and Fresh Squeezed IPA (FS)

Day 1 FL was bubbling and moving and FS wasnt doing anything.

Day 2 FL continued to churn and bubble and FS started very light.

Pictures attached of both beers as of today.

FL in kegerator and FS in Closet. Both beers steady at 68 degrees entire week.

Should I be worried the FS hasn't really been doing much.

 

[BrewInspector]

Nope

 

[Grundysidemount]

Nope

Fair enough hahaha

 

[BrewInspector]

Looks like FS is further along than FL.

Airlock activity is a terrible indicator.
Krausen is better but still not a great indicator of process other than it is occurring.

Since the krausen has begun to fall in FS it appears to be further along than the other which has a higher steady krausen.
Every beer is different and yeast react differently. I would suspect that the closet FS brew also got warmer during fermentation moving it along even without a large foamy surface.
The kegerator kept the other cool for a slower start and prolonged fermentation.

 

[Grundysidemount]

The FS was a 90 min boil. I am assuming that could have been a factor?

 

[BrewInspector]

Not really. At least not that I am aware of.

 

[kh54s10]

Same yeasts for both? Both had yeasts pitched at the same time at the same temperature and everything was the same for both... I don't think so. So, different activity is to be expected.

 

[Chet Ripley]

I'd agree with @BrewInspector. It looks to me like FS has finished the initial active part of fermentation. I wouldn't worry too much. My first brew blew through the initial phase so fast that I was sure I had done something wrong to cause the fermentation to stop prematurely. Turns out I hadn't and the beer turned out fine.

 

[Grundysidemount]

Thanks everyone. I will sleep better tonight!

 

[Kharnynb]

No worries, both have a healthy krausen band, so just give em time to ride it out and take a gravity reading somewhere around 14 days.

 

[Grundysidemount]

Well we are at 3 weeks today and I just dry hopped. I was told to leave it another week, but I do not know If I will have time next week to keg it. Will 2 weeks be too long?

 

[RM-MN]

Well we are at 3 weeks today and I just dry hopped. I was told to leave it another week, but I do not know If I will have time next week to keg it. Will 2 weeks be too long?

Nobody knows for sure if 2 weeks is too long. I have left a batch dry hopping for 2 weeks and it came out good. Mac and Jack's brewery puts a bag of hops into their kegs where it stays until the keg kicks and is returned so it must work for some but a few people have mentioned a grassy taste from leaving hops too long. This my be a water chemistry thing where it affects some but not all.

I've also seen mention that 3 days of dry hopping is enough. Will you have time to keg it then? How long does it take to keg your beer?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

How did the fermentation seem to finish out for these?

What yeast did you use? Dry or Liquid? Did you make a starter? Did you aerate your wort? What temp did you pitch the yeast? There is a reason that "Fermentation Temp Control" and "Yeast Management" take up 2 spots in Palmer's Top 5 Priorities. I would recommend you take any lessons learned from these beers and identify improvements for future beers.

 

[Grundysidemount]

How did the fermentation seem to finish out for these?

What yeast did you use? Dry or Liquid? Did you make a starter? Did you aerate your wort? What temp did you pitch the yeast? There is a reason that "Fermentation Temp Control" and "Yeast Management" take up 2 spots in Palmer's Top 5 Priorities. I would recommend you take any lessons learned from these beers and identify improvements for future beers.

Gravity reading before dryhop was 1.012 for one and 1.016 for the other. Both were 1.066 on the brew day.

Yeast was dry US05, no starter used ( can u explain not sure what you mean)

Aerate wort? It went in from kettle to carboy with auto siphon with no splashing

Pitched at 75 degrees. Fermented at 68 steady.


I did find out i will keg 1 day beyond the 1 week dry hop.

I have one batch in my kegerator at 68 degrees, so I can cold crash it as most I have read this seem popular. The other jumps between 68 and 70 but it's in a closet. Not sure how to cold crash that one. Any ideas?

 

[kh54s10]

Yeast was dry US05, no starter used ( can u explain not sure what you mean)

Aerate wort? It went in from kettle to carboy with auto siphon with no splashing

I have one batch in my kegerator at 68 degrees, so I can cold crash it as most I have read this seem popular. The other jumps between 68 and 70 but it's in a closet. Not sure how to cold crash that one. Any ideas?

A starter is to build cell counts. You don't really want to do this with dry yeasts. The packages contain more yeast than liquid yeast packages. They are also coated with nutrients and other stuff that you will strip off by making a starter. I use 2 packs of dry for anything above 1.075.

Aerating is not so important with dry yeast. The stuff in the coating, but very important with liquid yeast, But either way SPLASH to your hearts content. I have an air pump for aeration, others use oxygen cylinders and an aeration stone.

To cold crash you will need the ability, some way, to get the beer temperature down to a little above freezing and hold it there for at least a day.
No ideas, because I don't know what equipment you have.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Yeast was dry US05, no starter used ( can u explain not sure what you mean)...Pitched at 75 degrees. Fermented at 68 steady.

I just wanted to point out that a healthy fermentation is one of the most critical steps to consistently making good beers. If you had issues, then I would recommend you evaluate your process to see how you can prevent these in the future. With these beers and this yeasts I would expect active fermentation (like shown in the first picture) 2 to 3 days after pitching, with initial signs of fermentation no later than 24 hours.

Aerate wort? It went in from kettle to carboy with auto siphon with no splashing.

This is the only real issue I see from your description. For dry yeasts (assuming an in date pack that has been stored cold) I will 1) aerate my wort with an aquarium pump 2) sprinkle the yeast on the top of my wort once I have chilled to the target pitch temp. I hear that aeration is not important with dry yeast, but I always aerate.

 

[Grundysidemount]

Any idea what this pinkish film is around the top?

I'm kegging tomorrow

It wasnt there on Thurs but came home today and just saw it