Primary Fermentation in 5 days ?

[cletushomebrewing]

Hi Guys,
Just wondering if you have even seen primary fermentation be over in as little as five days? I am new to all grain and we did our two first all grain brews on the weekend. A Rye IPA and a coffee stout. Apparently the airlocks are not bubbling as much so my brew buddy wants to rack to secondary. My worry is that the Rye IPA recipe says 10 days of fermentation and the stout says 2 weeks......Even if he is not seeing activity in the airlock would fermentation still be taking place? Just dont want to mess up our beers. The OG was 1.070 and 1.065 for the beers respectively so I would assume there is plenty of sugar to ferment. Any and all advice appreciated.

 

[shanecb]

Yes, fermentation could still be taking place even without any airlock activity. Measuring with a hydrometer is the only surefire way to know fermentation has finished.

And yes, I've certainly seen fermentation over in as little as five days, and even less.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Yes, the only way to know if the beer is done is to take a hydrometer reading. The longer you wait the better they will be. I highly doubt a stout will be ready in two weeks. That is the minimum I would wait for the IPA to be done.

What yeast did you use?

 

[bleme]

To add to the above, moving to a secondary before the yeast drops out is completely pointless. Let it clear up first.

 

[TopherM]

I've seen active fermentation complete overnight. As everyone else, said, there can still be fermentation processes taking place without visible airlock activity. Hydrometer readings are the only way to know for sure, BUT you also don't want to keep opening and closing the fermenter.

Once active fermentation is complete, bulk conditioning processes start, so there is ZERO harm in leaving it in primary for the full 10 days. Your beer can only benefit. However, lots can go wrong if you rack too soon.

Patience is one of the most critical ingredients in beer. Let this one sit.

 

[sweetcell]

a mantra you'll hear on the board is that "air locks are not a reliable indicator of fermentation."

and once active fermentation is done, there is a "clean up" period during which the yeast digest or reabsorb by-products they made during fermentation. a number of these, like diacetyl and acetaldehyde, are the source of off-flavors. so you'll get better beer if you let it sit for in primary for a few days even though it looks like fermentation is done.

yeast don't have calendars and don't have watches. you should take a recipe's instructions ("wait 10 days") as a suggestion. many recipes that come with kits tend to emphasize speed and ease over quality of beer.

patience is arguably the most important ingredient in brewing. don't rush you beer. waiting a few extra days will only improve it.

 

[xjedifishx]

Having the same scenario in which I don't mind waiting 2 weeks. My question is more of when I can pursue my dry hopping since the active fermentation is slowly completing. My airlock bubbles once every 75 seconds or so but I don't want to take a hydrometer reading until I'm ready to dry hop to reduce exposure time. I think a week in the primary should be sufficient but I figure I'd ask more seasoned brewers to make sure...?


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[BigFloyd]

Having the same scenario in which I don't mind waiting 2 weeks. My question is more of when I can pursue my dry hopping since the active fermentation is slowly completing. My airlock bubbles once every 75 seconds or so but I don't want to take a hydrometer reading until I'm ready to dry hop to reduce exposure time. I think a week in the primary should be sufficient but I figure I'd ask more seasoned brewers to make sure...?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

You can dry hop in the primary just fine after it's hit FG so long as you're not planning on harvesting/reusing the yeast cake. Otherwise, there's no need to transfer beer to a secondary for dry-hopping. You can leave it in the primary until it's ready to bottle.

Even after the beer has hit FG, fermentation clean-up activity continues to take place over about the next 3-4 days.

 

[Indian_villager]

Yes they can be done fermenting in a week and pending on the strain of yeasts I've even seen some clear out in that time. What is a few days of waiting to be sure going to cost you? Relax you will thank yourself later.

 

[cletushomebrewing]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I convinced my brew buddy to wait til next week at least.
to answer the question. The yeast in the stout is Safale S-04 for the stout and WLP013 London Ale Yeast for the Rye IPA.

I am a little nervous about doing the OG to see if fermentation is done. The two recipes show a target but does every beer reach that ending OG ? This was my first All grain so while we were shooting for 1.073 for hte Rye IPA we only ended at 1.065......not sure if that messes with our final OG.
Also worried about infection if I pull the lid off the primary too soon.

 

[sweetcell]

The two recipes show a target but does every beer reach that ending OG ? This was my first All grain so while we were shooting for 1.073 for hte Rye IPA we only ended at 1.065......not sure if that messes with our final OG.
Also worried about infection if I pull the lid off the primary too soon.

no, you won't necessarily hit the FG that is indicated by the recipe. this information is a target, a goal, but depending on your process your beer may end up lower or higher (for a new brewer, it will typically be higher).

yes, having a lower OG (1.065) will affect your FG. holding all else equal, a lower OG will result in a lower FG. think of it in terms of percentage: the yeast will decrease the gravity by, say, 75%. 75% of 1.073 is 1.018. 75% of 1.065 is 1.016. the reality is a little more complex than that, but you get the idea.

it's not pulling the lid off too soon that is the risk, it's pulling the lid off too often. don't open it more than you have to (taking a gravity sample after 10 days or more constitutes "have to" )

 

[cletushomebrewing]

no, you won't necessarily hit the FG that is indicated by the recipe. this information is a target, a goal, but depending on your process your beer may end up lower or higher (for a new brewer, it will typically be higher).

yes, having a higher OG (1.065) will affect your FG. holding all else equal, a lower OG will result in a lower FG. think of it in terms of percentage: the yeast will decrease the gravity by, say, 75%. 75% of 1.073 is 1.018. 75% of 1.065 is 1.016. the reality is a little more complex than that, but you get the idea.

it's not pulling the lid off too soon that is the risk, it's pulling the lid off too often. don't open it more than you have to (taking a gravity sample after 10 days or more constitutes "have to" )

Thanks. That makes sense. I really appreciate everyone's feedback

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I convinced my brew buddy to wait til next week at least.
to answer the question. The yeast in the stout is Safale S-04 for the stout and WLP013 London Ale Yeast for the Rye IPA.

I am a little nervous about doing the OG to see if fermentation is done. The two recipes show a target but does every beer reach that ending OG ? This was my first All grain so while we were shooting for 1.073 for hte Rye IPA we only ended at 1.065......not sure if that messes with our final OG.
Also worried about infection if I pull the lid off the primary too soon.

Nope, they don't always hit "estimated FG" right on the numbers, so don't sweat that unless the numbers are way off.

Since you're doing the both of them together, let's make it straightforward and easy. Give them both 14 days in the primary, get a reading. Take a second one four days later. If they're the same, you can bottle if you wish or give it another few days to clear some more.

 

[TopherM]

It's pretty typical on your first AG to undershoot the OG a little bit. Recipes are usually formulated at 75% efficiency, so that just means you got a lower efficiency, which is to be expected when you are doing the process for the first time. 1.065 compared to 1.073 is pretty irrelevant. At that level, you got a 74% efficiency, which is very solid. The beer should end up practically the same.

 

[cletushomebrewing]

Thanks guys. Can someone point me to a link about how to calculate efficiency? I bought the Palmer book but I haven't been able to figure it out.

This was my first brew with my mash tun and I want to make sure I can lock things down for the next brews.

 

[TopherM]

Here you go. And just remember, the point isn't particularly to maximize this number and get higher efficiency, it's to get CONSISTENT efficiency so you always know how to adjust based on your equipment and so you have repeatability in your batches! If you can stay at a consistent 74%, you'll be golden!

http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/

 

[cletushomebrewing]

Consistent efficentency. Ok that makes sense. Because then you know how to adjust your malt bill in order to get the beer you want based on a recipe.... right?
Slowly this is starting to make sense