How long for water bath fermentation?

[locolorenzo22]

So I brewed a Saison about a week and a half ago, and have kept the fermentation bucket in a water bath at 55-60 for about 5 days, and have let it slowly come up since that. The water is now at 65 degrees. Krausen has dropped quite a bit since Saturday. Am I probably okay to let it come up to room temp and then check gravity?

 

[mkirkland]

I think youll be fine after about 5 days to raise the temp

 

[flars]

Fermentation may be done. This depends upon the yeast used though. Some yeasts can take a long time to drop the last two or three gravity points. You should be good to have it at room temperature now.

Gravity readings should be more than three days apart if the yeast you used is one that takes its time to finish.

 

[Wynne-R]

Check gravity? Always a good idea. It seems you’re on top of it, with tight temperature control and an awareness of the need to ramp it up after the fermentation is mostly done.

Package it when it’s done. Most beers are better fresh.

Thank you very much for not referring to a water bath as a ‘Swamp Cooler’.

I have been cooling with water for ten years, and it enables you to package beer more quickly, without flaws that need to be “conditioned out”.

Forget calendar brewing, use your hydrometer.

 

[Owly055]

I use Danstar / Lallemand Belle Saison yeast for my saisons, and often ferment them at ambient temps with no attempt at temp control. I want the funky yeasty estery fruity character that a Saison yeast produces. At low temps it's very subdued... I've used it at low temps for Belgian Wit beers, at higher temps it's very "in your face" Belgian, but without the clove flavors some Belgian yeasts throw. Of the yeasts I use, this is one of my favorites. My inclination is to "turn it loose" to do what it will at whatever temps it sees. With some yeasts temp creates "off flavors"............ With Belle Saison, they aren't "off flavors" but Saison flavors......... I don't stress about temps........ I know what I'm going to get, and I'm cool with it. I've fermented from the 50's to the 90's ........ and I prefer the higher temps.


H.W.

 

[Calder]

That is cool for a saison. I usually have a heating element in my water bath for them.

For most beers, once you are a few days into fermentation, you can ignore temp control.

 

[locolorenzo22]

Thanks all for your advice. I decided to go ahead and remove the beer from the water bath. There's still some krausen on top, so I'll wait until sunday, and then take an initial FG reading. That'll put it at about 2 weeks, hopefully, the yeast will pull out some and settle.