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Sword147

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TLDR - OG to FG fermentation is only taking 2-3 days and has a potentially overripe Banana smell, but no off tastes. Brew day to keg in 6-7 days. Should I be letting the yeast rest longer?


Hey everyone,

I have made 8 batches of all grain homebrew up to this point, all being 1 gallon brews.

I have predominantly brewed brown ales and have had some minor success. The first two that I made came from recipes on this site and the other three batches have been my recipe where I've made slight tweaks to the grains.

My overall brewhouse efficiency is around 60%, but I don't use any special equipment to try and increase.

Where my major issue is coming in is with fermentation. I have only used Safale brand dry yeast, and typically they're s-04 British ale yeast. These yeasts are working too fast for me to keep up. Within 2-3 days it'll take an OG around 1.040 to 1.004-1006 and leaves the beer with an off sweet smell. My guess would be overripe banana, but my nose barely works.

Is it common for yeast to take wort from OG to FG in just a couple of days? Yeast temp range is mid 50F to mid 70F. I keep it under the sink around 72F during fermentation.

I have been going from brew day to 2ndary to forced carb kegging in a 6-7 day turn around time.

Should I be letting my beer ferment/rest longer to help remove that smell or am I doing something incorrectly?

It is not resulting in an off taste and most of the beers are quite drinkable, almost like a roasted new castle.
 
At 72F you will have a quick fermentation. Yeast go faster the warmer they are. They also create more esters when they are warm, which is what the banana smell is. If you could ferment a little cooler you should be able to reduce or eliminate it. If temp control isn't possible try using a more heat tolerant yeast.
 
TLDR - OG to FG fermentation is only taking 2-3 days and has a potentially overripe Banana smell, but no off tastes. Brew day to keg in 6-7 days. Should I be letting the yeast rest longer?


Hey everyone,

I have made 8 batches of all grain homebrew up to this point, all being 1 gallon brews.

I have predominantly brewed brown ales and have had some minor success. The first two that I made came from recipes on this site and the other three batches have been my recipe where I've made slight tweaks to the grains.

My overall brewhouse efficiency is around 60%, but I don't use any special equipment to try and increase.

Where my major issue is coming in is with fermentation. I have only used Safale brand dry yeast, and typically they're s-04 British ale yeast. These yeasts are working too fast for me to keep up. Within 2-3 days it'll take an OG around 1.040 to 1.004-1006 and leaves the beer with an off sweet smell. My guess would be overripe banana, but my nose barely works.

Is it common for yeast to take wort from OG to FG in just a couple of days? Yeast temp range is mid 50F to mid 70F. I keep it under the sink around 72F during fermentation.

I have been going from brew day to 2ndary to forced carb kegging in a 6-7 day turn around time.

Should I be letting my beer ferment/rest longer to help remove that smell or am I doing something incorrectly?

It is not resulting in an off taste and most of the beers are quite drinkable, almost like a roasted new castle.
First, you're only fermenting a gallon and if you're putting the entire sachet in, you're seriously overpitching your yeast, meaning you're adding a lot more than you need for healthy fermentation. So yes, given that you're putting so much yeast in, a fast fermentation is not out of the question. "Overripe banana" is isoamyl acetate, a chemical yeast give off normally associated with hefeweizens. I never thought I'd say this, but pitch less yeast. That packet of dry yeast is good for 5 gallons of normal-strength (1.055 or less) wort.
 
First, you're only fermenting a gallon and if you're putting the entire sachet in, you're seriously overpitching your yeast, meaning you're adding a lot more than you need for healthy fermentation. So yes, given that you're putting so much yeast in, a fast fermentation is not out of the question. "Overripe banana" is isoamyl acetate, a chemical yeast give off normally associated with hefeweizens. I never thought I'd say this, but pitch less yeast. That packet of dry yeast is good for 5 gallons of normal-strength (1.055 or less) wort.

I am only putting in about 2-3 grams of the 11.5 gram packet
 
It's probably the temperature then, what yeast? Banana is actually wanted in hefe's and a lot of Belgian beers, personally I don't like it at all and try to avoid it.
 
It's probably the temperature then, what yeast? Banana is actually wanted in hefe's and a lot of Belgian beers, personally I don't like it at all and try to avoid it.
For brown ales, I've used Safale S-04 British ale yeast

For Light Ales, I've used Safale S-05
 
It's probably the temperature then, what yeast? Banana is actually wanted in hefe's and a lot of Belgian beers, personally I don't like it at all and try to avoid it.
Yep. Troubleshooting one element at a time. Neither of those yeasts are big isoamyl acetate producers so I'd discount the idea that it's the yeast strain. Maybe temperature? And are you using only part of the sachet then throwing the rest away? If not, if you're keeping an opened sachet of yeast around, you may be getting some contamination.
 
Yep. Troubleshooting one element at a time. Neither of those yeasts are big isoamyl acetate producers so I'd discount the idea that it's the yeast strain. Maybe temperature? And are you using only part of the sachet then throwing the rest away? If not, if you're keeping an opened sachet of yeast around, you may be getting some contamination.
I am keeping the open sachet. I am not pouring yeast back into the packet and I immediately seal the packet back up after pitching. It has been a consistent issue regardless of no sachet or not. I'm going to try and find a way to cool the beer during fermentation.
Thanks for everyone's help!
 
It will change the beer but think about Kviek yeast........it loves to be hot.
I have used it about 3-5 batches and it is great in the Sierra Nevada clone I just kegged!
 
I have 3 different strains of Kveik right now because I love that stuff, I literally ordered one from Norway that I'm excited to try in a Pale Ale this weekend. The OYL-061 from Omega works great and likes it hot. You might want to try it out, it ferments really clean if you pitch at normal levels. They actually recommend a serious under pitch to get the traditional flavours.
 

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