Extremely fast fermentation, is this normal!?!

[Rhys79]

I started a batch of Coopers Real Ale Wednesday night. It's been right about 4 days now, and the fermentation seems to have stopped as of yesterday morning. The airlock bubbled a little for about 24hrs or so, then nothing. This is only my second batch, so I'm still new to this. I went and picked up another packet of yeast at the LBS, figuring I had a stuck fermentation. I went ahead and rehydrated and pitched the second packet of yeast, and then it dawned on me I should check the SG. It was already down under 1.020 (OSG 1.052)!!! I'm assuming the extra yeast won't hurt anything?? My first batch (granted, completely different brew and yeast...), took a week to finish fermenting. I figure I'll give it a couple of days and check the SG again, and if it hasn't changed, I'll go ahead and bottle it. Also, I stuck my nose over the bucket to smell it, and it had a very strong, burns your nostrils when you inhale odor. Is that just due to the CO2 sitting on top, or something else??

TIA!!

 

[Chello]

fast fermentation is common, but your beer will benefit from sitting on the yeast for atleast a week if not longer.

My fastest was my Rye Pale Ale which is still in the primary, but it went from OG 1.043 to 1.010 in under 18 hours from the time i pitched.

Well i actually used an old yeast cake, but it was showing signs of active fermentation within 30 minutes.

 

[WortMonger]

I had a bit of the same, pitched on top of a cake and she took off a couple of hours later spewing out the CO2. I ferment under pressure and it had already exceeded my set 10 psi. Today I checked it and it had spewed a little yeast out of the adjustable relief valve onto a towel. It will be done in 2 days max. Sometimes they just take off like rockets, sometimes they take off like a lead balloon. This one is headed for the moon! Good luck on yours and I bet it is done. Just give it time and patients and everything will come together perfectly.

 

[BierMuncher]

Fast fermentations and stuck fermentations don't usually go together. Stuck ferments show signs of weakness early on.

I've had beer ferment out completelyin 24-26 hours. It can be normal depending on the grain make-up and the yeast (strain and amount pitched).

I'd follow your normal fermentation/conditioning protocol and not worry about it.

That burning whiff you took was the CO2. Same thing that happens when you pour a 7-up into a glass and take a whiff.

 

[Rhys79]

That's just it, it didn't show hardly any signs of fermentation. However, I started it late in the evening on Tuesday, and didn't check it again till wednesday evening. So if it fermented in 18hrs or less, that would explain why I didn't see much sign of fermentation. It's in a plastic pale, so I can't really see what's going on. I only have the air lock to go by, and it was only burping every minute or so by wednesday evening. I'll let it sit till the middle of next week before I syphon it off and bottle. I think I'll give my carboy a shot for the next fermentation so I can see what's going on. Thanks for the reassurance, I was a little worried I had a batch go bad...

 

[Rhys79]

Another quick question. How long should I leave it in the primary before I rack to a secondary? It seems to be done fermenting, should I go ahead and transfer it to my carboy or leave it in the primary for a few more days and bottle?

 

[solidghost]

Best to leave it longer, like for 3 weeks.
Aging the beer in the primary seems to work better than in bottles I think

 

[mrk305]

Some of us don't use a secondary at all. Sometimes I will leave it in the primary for three weeks then bottle. Sometimes I use the 1-2-3 method. One week in primary, two weeks in secondary, three weeks in the bottle. A total of three weeks fermenting and clearing is a pretty good rule.

 

[blakermagee]

Hi all, brewed, I think my third batch, last night and put in fermentor at midnight. Woke up at 8:30 am the next day and it seems that fermentation has run its course... there is a nice thick layer on the bottom of the carboy. I used yeast from my previous batch and had that in a starter 24hrs earlier, pitched it and went to bed. I added some more yeast just to be sure (the packet that came with the kit). I figured this couldnt hurt and could give some interesting flavor if nothing else. Has anyone seen/had this fast?

 

[RabbidPossum]

Hi guys, I was kind of worried because I'm reading in lots of comments (and I had some conversations before about it) that an average ale fermentation should take about 2 weeks if not longer.
At this moment I got a Double IPA (OG 1080) in the primary, has been there for 5 days and is already in 1020 and the yeast is sinking to the bottom. I used a couple of sachets of dry yeast "Lallemand Munich".
And for example, at the brewery where I work, our beers take an average time of 3 days in the primary fermenter (open square vessels) and I'm talking about gravities of about 1048.

 

[sweetcell]

I'm assuming the extra yeast won't hurt anything??

nope, the extra yeast won't hurt. at worse it's a waste, it probably wasn't needed. but your beer will be fine.

It's in a plastic pale, so I can't really see what's going on. I only have the air lock to go by, and it was only burping every minute or so by wednesday evening.

this is a tough one to learn/accept, especially for new brewers, but: air lock activity isn't a measure of fermentation. you can have bubbles without fermentation (CO2 being released due to temp or air pressure changes, for example), and you can have active fermentation without bubbles: if you're using a bucket, it's quite possible that the CO2 is finding another escape route. maybe your lid doesn't seal 100%. maybe the gromet holding in the air lock isn't tight. etc.

so while it's neat to see the air lock go blup blup blup, you shouldn't panic if it isn't or assume all is good if it is. air lock activity is *often* associated with fermentation but it isn't a 1:1 relationship. the only certain way to know if fermentation is happening is to take gravity readings. if the gravity dropped between readings, you had fermentation and may well still have some going on. if gravity is stable for 3 days, then fermentation is done.

and just because gravity is stable doesn't mean you should bottle immediately. the yeast will continue to clean up their by-products after fermentation is done, so don't be in a hurry to move the beer. let it sit for a while while the yeast take out the trash. this clean-up doesn't involve any sugars so the gravity doesn't change during this phase... but there is still activity going on.

Another quick question. How long should I leave it in the primary before I rack to a secondary? It seems to be done fermenting, should I go ahead and transfer it to my carboy or leave it in the primary for a few more days and bottle?

I think I'll give my carboy a shot for the next fermentation so I can see what's going on.

as others have mentioned, the need for secondary is debatable. i'm another believer in skipping secondary for most beers. just leave it in the primary for 3 weeks and rack to a bottling bucket directly from there. the advantage is that you can use your carboy instead of a bucket and you can watch the yeast do their beautiful fermentation dance.

 

[sweetcell]

Has anyone seen/had this fast?

sounds like you pitched a lot of yeast, and because the population was so high it got down to work quickly. what was the OG of this beer? and have you take a gravity reading recently? that will tell you if fermentation is complete. let us know!

Hi guys, I was kind of worried because I'm reading in lots of comments (and I had some conversations before about it) that an average ale fermentation should take about 2 weeks if not longer.
At this moment I got a Double IPA (OG 1080) in the primary, has been there for 5 days and is already in 1020 and the yeast is sinking to the bottom. I used a couple of sachets of dry yeast "Lallemand Munich".
And for example, at the brewery where I work, our beers take an average time of 3 days in the primary fermenter (open square vessels) and I'm talking about gravities of about 1048.

when people say that "an average ale fermentation should take about 2 weeks if not longer", not all of that time is active fermentation with CO2 production, krausen, etc. part of that time is the above-mentioned clean-up period, and some of that time is to allow the yeast to settle out ("flocculate") and for the beer to clear.

you can't compare what happens at a commercial brewery to what we do on a homebrew scale. their fermenters are much larger, they have much more control over the process, they have tools we don't, etc. that beer is done in 3 days partially because it's a relatively small beer compared to your DIPA. also, even though it's done fermenting in 3 days i strongly suspect it's not ready to drink yet. chance are it gets moved to a bright tank. commercial breweries need to do this so they can free up the fermenter for the next batch. again, this isn't a concern for homebrews. don't compare your process to the big boys... it'll only cause angst

 

[RabbidPossum]

sounds like you pitched a lot of yeast, and because the population was so high it got down to work quickly. what was the OG of this beer? and have you take a gravity reading recently? that will tell you if fermentation is complete. let us know!



when people say that "an average ale fermentation should take about 2 weeks if not longer", not all of that time is active fermentation with CO2 production, krausen, etc. part of that time is the above-mentioned clean-up period, and some of that time is to allow the yeast to settle out ("flocculate") and for the beer to clear.

you can't compare what happens at a commercial brewery to what we do on a homebrew scale. their fermenters are much larger, they have much more control over the process, they have tools we don't, etc. that beer is done in 3 days partially because it's a relatively small beer compared to your DIPA. also, even though it's done fermenting in 3 days i strongly suspect it's not ready to drink yet. chance are it gets moved to a bright tank. commercial breweries need to do this so they can free up the fermenter for the next batch. again, this isn't a concern for homebrews. don't compare your process to the big boys... it'll only cause angst

Thanks a lot, and yes, after is fermented we leave it with the fermenter cooler till is cold enough to move it into a conditioning tank for the secondary.

 

[RabbidPossum]

By the way, once you have the FG that you were looking for, do you transfer to the secondary or do you put your primary inside a fridge to cut the yeast activity? Because what I use to do is to place the primary into the fridge for about one day.
Also, you leave your secondary at room temp. or you place it in the fridge? I mean, if you cut your fermentation at about 1014 because you want to, once you transfer to the secondary the fermentation will keep going if is at room temperature, right?

 

[RM-MN]

By the way, once you have the FG that you were looking for, do you transfer to the secondary or do you put your primary inside a fridge to cut the yeast activity? Because what I use to do is to place the primary into the fridge for about one day.
Also, you leave your secondary at room temp. or you place it in the fridge? I mean, if you cut your fermentation at about 1014 because you want to, once you transfer to the secondary the fermentation will keep going if is at room temperature, right?

You don't refrigerate to stop the fermenting. The yeast stop fermenting when they have eaten all the sugars available. The recipes should be designed so that happens when you have reached the predicted FG. The yeast may ignore that prediction though.

You can refrigerate the fermenter when that has happened to make the yeast settle faster but it isn't necessary as time will do the same thing.

 

[RabbidPossum]

You don't refrigerate to stop the fermenting. The yeast stop fermenting when they have eaten all the sugars available. The recipes should be designed so that happens when you have reached the predicted FG. The yeast may ignore that prediction though.

You can refrigerate the fermenter when that has happened to make the yeast settle faster but it isn't necessary as time will do the same thing.

But what if I want to get some unfermented sugar in the final beer and avoid to have a light body? Cooling down seems to be the only option there, right? Do you think that is gonna affect badly the final result?

 

[sweetcell]

But what if I want to get some unfermented sugar in the final beer and avoid to have a light body? Cooling down seems to be the only option there, right? Do you think that is gonna affect badly the final result?

if you use cooling to stop fermentation:
1) you'll make inferior beer since you're stopping fermentation before it's done and thus the yeast won't clean up after themselves.
2) you can't bottle condition, since you're not sure how much sugar you have left in there, hence how much more sugar to add. you'll have no way of knowing where carbonation will end up.
3) you'll need to keep the bottle or keg cool at all time, until emptied.

as mentioned previously, adjusting FG isn't something that you do at the end of fermentation. by then, the die has been cast. instead, you do it with the recipe (amount & type of malts), during the mash (via temperature) and at pitching with yeast selection.

 

[RM-MN]

But what if I want to get some unfermented sugar in the final beer and avoid to have a light body? Cooling down seems to be the only option there, right? Do you think that is gonna affect badly the final result?

You get the extra body and some sugars from the type of malts you use. If you only use malt extract, you are limited by the manufacturer's recipe. As soon as you learn that you can steep grain, you can add something like Caramel 10 to increase body and sweetness because it has sugars that your yeast cannot digest. If you want a little darker color and different flavors, add Caramel 20 or 40 or 60, each number being a bit darker and with different flavors.

When you cool the fermenting beer, you don't stop the fermentation, only slow it down and if you bottle it you have to warm it back up to carbonate. Now how will you tell how long to keep it warm to get the carbonation you want and not have it continue until the bottles explode.

 

[DPBISME]

I started a batch of Coopers Real Ale Wednesday night. It's been right about 4 days now, and the fermentation seems to have stopped as of yesterday morning. The airlock bubbled a little for about 24hrs or so, then nothing. This is only my second batch, so I'm still new to this. I went and picked up another packet of yeast at the LBS, figuring I had a stuck fermentation. I went ahead and rehydrated and pitched the second packet of yeast, and then it dawned on me I should check the SG. It was already down under 1.020 (OSG 1.052)!!! I'm assuming the extra yeast won't hurt anything?? My first batch (granted, completely different brew and yeast...), took a week to finish fermenting. I figure I'll give it a couple of days and check the SG again, and if it hasn't changed, I'll go ahead and bottle it. Also, I stuck my nose over the bucket to smell it, and it had a very strong, burns your nostrils when you inhale odor. Is that just due to the CO2 sitting on top, or something else??

TIA!!

Unless I am brewing a High Gravity Beer my "visable" fermentation is stopped after a three days.

I just did a low gravity beer which took four days (maybe five for the one using BRY-96) but my fermentation temps were very low, been chill in the basement...

I think you should be fine...

Burning nose... sounds like CO2 to me or the aromaics from the hops... very highly concentrated in the gas in the bucket.

 

[m3n00b]

I brewed a 1.07 dubbel that got to 1.015 in 2 days and didn't budge for another week. Used wlp550 I believe with a 2l starter.

 

[RabbidPossum]

if you use cooling to stop fermentation:
1) you'll make inferior beer since you're stopping fermentation before it's done and thus the yeast won't clean up after themselves.
2) you can't bottle condition, since you're not sure how much sugar you have left in there, hence how much more sugar to add. you'll have no way of knowing where carbonation will end up.
3) you'll need to keep the bottle or keg cool at all time, until emptied.

as mentioned previously, adjusting FG isn't something that you do at the end of fermentation. by then, the die has been cast. instead, you do it with the recipe (amount & type of malts), during the mash (via temperature) and at pitching with yeast selection.

Right, this makes sense, and sorry to be a pain but now that you mencion it, how can I know how much sugar to add in order to get a good but not excesive carbonation? And also, is it not given by the actual fermentable sugars left in the beer?

 

[RM-MN]

Right, this makes sense, and sorry to be a pain but now that you mencion it, how can I know how much sugar to add in order to get a good but not excesive carbonation? And also, is it not given by the actual fermentable sugars left in the beer?

As I mentioned above, when it is ready to bottle it will have no fermentable sugars left, you have to add what is necessary for carbonation. I use this calculator for my beers. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

 

[sweetcell]

Right, this makes sense, and sorry to be a pain but now that you mencion it, how can I know how much sugar to add in order to get a good but not excesive carbonation? And also, is it not given by the actual fermentable sugars left in the beer?

to that last part: no. you want to completely ferment out all the fermentable sugars in your beer, and add priming (carbonation) sugar afterwards. by fulling consuming all the original sugars, you know that only the priming sugar will make into the bottle - this gives you precise control over how much carbonation you'll get.

to figure out how much to add, use a priming calculator like http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/. pick a style (or the number of volumes of CO2, if you know that), plug it in and away you go. "Current temperature of beer (F)" should in fact read "highest temperature at which active fermentation ended".

 

[RabbidPossum]

to that last part: no. you want to completely ferment out all the fermentable sugars in your beer, and add priming (carbonation) sugar afterwards. by fulling consuming all the original sugars, you know that only the priming sugar will make into the bottle - this gives you precise control over how much carbonation you'll get.

to figure out how much to add, use a priming calculator like http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/. pick a style (or the number of volumes of CO2, if you know that), plug it in and away you go. "Current temperature of beer (F)" should in fact read "highest temperature at which active fermentation ended".

:rockin:

 

[WeirdBrwer]

OMG SO TOPICAL! Okay so my brewing experience is moderate at best. I brewed a brew with the following ingredients.

2 lbs German Munich
2 lbs Pale planet
3.5 lbs extra pale LME
Centennial Hops 1 oz
Chinook hops 1 oz
5 TSP standard Northern Brewer yeast nutrients
1 Whirlfloc tablet

Partial mash meaning 3 gallons finished added to an additional 2 gallons water. All room temp

Used one packet American Safale yeast.

Not kidding, and for regional understanding, I live in SW Ohio (Lima)

3 days in 7 % ABV. I did a half brew so I steeped grains and rinsed the grains with 155 F water to get to 3 gallons extract. Like I haven't even bottled it and drank 24 ounces and DUDE. IDK something doesn't add up here. But what? I am novice in the fine details. But I never use tap water, always pre-packaged. How? It should be noted I have never divved into water PH, but even on an imperial stout with the exact same water and nutrients I have never ran into this. What did I do?

 

[VikeMan]

What did I do?

Is your question "How did I get a 7% ABV beer with these ingredients in a 5 gallon batch?"

It's not possible. Not even with 100% brewhouse efficiency (which is also impossible). Not even with a more attenuative yeast strain than the one you used. Either something in your description is off (e.g. actual batch size, or ingredient amounts), or your measured original gravity and/or final gravities are off, or you calculated the ABV incorrectly.

What were your original and final gravities, and how did you measure them?

 

[sweetcell]

3 days in 7 % ABV. I did a half brew so I steeped grains and rinsed the grains with 155 F water to get to 3 gallons extract. Like I haven't even bottled it and drank 24 ounces and DUDE. IDK something doesn't add up here. But what? I am novice in the fine details. But I never use tap water, always pre-packaged. How? It should be noted I have never divved into water PH, but even on an imperial stout with the exact same water and nutrients I have never ran into this. What did I do?

how do you know it's 7% abv? what was your OG and FG?

you say "something doesn't add up", "i have never run into this? - what doesn't add up? run into what? the ABV, or something else? the flavor?

 

[WeirdBrwer]

how do you know it's 7% abv? what was your OG and FG?

you say "something doesn't add up", "i have never run into this? - what doesn't add up? run into what? the ABV, or something else? the flavor?

TOTALLY misread the final reading. However, it's still pretty high. SG was 1.050, the final is 1.008 so 5.5 %? Am I measuring this correctly? This only my second run with a hydrometer. The flavor is clean, somewhat bitter with some grapefruit and citrus notes, the grains I used are very mild flavored so it's pretty balanced. Not carbed yet but I decided to just bottle it. This is my first full experimental brew where I just based it on hops and malts I've used and liked. And for full clarity I will break down all the things I've done that are new for me.

I admittedly typically don't rinse my grains with hot water to level the wort, usually doing a combination of BBIAB and partial mashing to top the boil to 3 gallons before Hop additions as I only have an induction burner at 1200 watts full so a 5 gallon boil pot isn't possible. I did the full hour steep, lifted the bag, set a mesh and strainer over the pot, and began boiling half gallon increments to pour over the grains. Something I haven't done before.

I used a full 3.5 lb LME for the first time, usually using 1.5 lbs gold malt for it's rather well rounded flavor results.

The part that didn't, and still doesn't for me is the final abv so quickly building. It was 3 days, although it's less shocking now that I've learned I misread. I would still like to know if 5.5% is normal with the ingredients I used, as I typically aim for session drinks with lower ABV.

I also admit I was a bit foggy from the results when I first posted because... Well, it's definitely stronger than what I am used to my final product being hehe.

 

[sweetcell]

TOTALLY misread the final reading. However, it's still pretty high. SG was 1.050, the final is 1.008 so 5.5 %? Am I measuring this correctly?
I would still like to know if 5.5% is normal with the ingredients I used, as I typically aim for session drinks with lower ABV.

yes, 5.5% sounds right. calculators like Beer Priming Calculator - Brewer's Friend make it quick to confirm.

I did the full hour steep, lifted the bag, set a mesh and strainer over the pot, and began boiling half gallon increments to pour over the grains. Something I haven't done before.

pouring boiling wort over the grains might not be a great idea. pouring wort that's less than 170*F is typically recommended.

I would still like to know if 5.5% is normal with the ingredients I used

have you tried plugging all the ingredients into a recipe calculator, and see what the estimated OG is? the Brewer's Friend website linked above has a recipe builder. have you tried plugging all the ingredients into a recipe calculator?

 

[WeirdBrwer]

yes, 5.5% sounds right. calculators like Beer Priming Calculator - Brewer's Friend make it quick to confirm.


pouring boiling wort over the grains might not be a great idea. pouring wort that's less than 170*F is typically recommended.


have you tried plugging all the ingredients into a recipe calculator, and see what the estimated OG is? the Brewer's Friend website linked above has a recipe builder. have you tried plugging all the ingredients into a recipe calculator?

That explains why it's a rich copper over a darker straw color. I'm looking into Brewer's friend now. I want to make my own recipes.

Though I've never looked into PH. I typically just use 6 gallons of distilled water from a store nearby and work with that. I usually end up with tenty five 24 ounce medicine bottles (From a buddy who loves Red Stripe), and I boil the bottles for ten minutes, allow them to cool then bathe in Star Sans for 10 minutes 6 hours before I bottle to be safe. I take the sanitation part of brewing extremely seriously since I live in the Rusts of the USA.