When Do You Consider Fermentation Done?

LindyBrew

LindyBrew

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I'm always hesitant to call fermentation done when i'm getting gas bubbles every 15-20 seconds but perhaps most people would consider fermentation done at that point. Other than being abundantly cautious it'd be great to hear from you all what your take on this is. If i could rack it off sooner than i do now with no effect it means it gets to my glass that much quicker!
 
usually 10 days to 2 weeks and most ale yeast are done, but the actual way to tell is if the final gravity is the same for 3 days
 
LindyBrew said:
I'm always hesitant to call fermentation done when i'm getting gas bubbles every 15-20 seconds but perhaps most people would consider fermentation done at that point. Other than being abundantly cautious it'd be great to hear from you all what your take on this is. If i could rack it off sooner than i do now with no effect it means it gets to my glass that much quicker!
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It isn't done at that point. The yeast need time after active fermentation to clean up nasties like acetaldehyde and diacetyl. If you can bring yourself to let the beer sit for a week or three before bottling, it'll be much better.
 
Nosybear said:
It isn't done at that point. The yeast need time after active fermentation to clean up nasties like acetaldehyde and diacetyl. If you can bring yourself to let the beer sit for a week or three before bottling, it'll be much better.
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Interesting! What off flavors are produced by the presence of acetaldehyde and diacetyl?
 
Acetaldehyde lends a cidery, green apple flavor that's undesireable. It's not usually a really harsh flavor, but if it's really present it can taste pretty off and not clean. Diacetyl can be like a cloying, slick buttery or butterscotch flavor. In low concentrations it's okay in some styles, but it can make a beer undrinkable if you have a low threshold for it.
 
id not call it done if airlock still active. i like the trusty hydrometer approach myself stable over 3 days. im not a patient brewer:rolleyes:.
 
Good question.
The answers will vary but that depended on a lot of factors such as;

Yeast health
Pitch rate
OG / FG
ABV
Ale fermentation
Lager fermentation
Temperature

I'm sure I'm missing some but the point is, there are a lot of factors.
Good luck and keep brewing!
Brian
 
Nobody mentioned diacetyl.... By itself it's very buttery, think butterscotch. When it oxidizes, think rancid butter.
 
Well considering the hops bill on this Pliny clone i'm gonna let this thing sit for quite awhile before i rack it off. One of the things in the back of my mind is yeast autolysis and some of the off flavors that may come from sitting to long and having that process start. After reading some of Palmers books i think i have almost too much information rolling around in my head causing me to second guess certain things.
 
LindyBrew said:
Well considering the hops bill on this Pliny clone i'm gonna let this thing sit for quite awhile before i rack it off. One of the things in the back of my mind is yeast autolysis and some of the off flavors that may come from sitting to long and having that process start. After reading some of Palmers books i think i have almost too much information rolling around in my head causing me to second guess certain things.
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It's a Pliny clone? If it were me, I'd make sure fermentation was done and give the yeast a few days to finish cleaning up and bottle or keg fairly soon. I don't like my highly hopped beverages sitting around long.
 
itll be fine dont worry if you took all the necessary sanitary steps you can leave her in the primary for a couple of weeks!
 
thunderwagn said:
It's a Pliny clone? If it were me, I'd make sure fermentation was done and give the yeast a few days to finish cleaning up and bottle or keg fairly soon. I don't like my highly hopped beverages sitting around long.
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Yeah the dry hoping schedule is 5 day addition and then 12 day addition so it'll be in there at least another week or two. I'll probably just give it 4 total then rack off for some bottles and some to a keg. I'm gonna pull a sample tonight to get a reading and then see where i'm at friday.
 
I let my ales go three weeks in a FV, whether primary or secondary. Fermentation is complete for my normal beers. High gravity beers take more time.
 
If anyone out there is near Russian River Brewing or in the SF Bay area and can get a bottle of Pliny I'd be willing to work something out to get one! Never had it and would love ot have it for comparison.
 
Realistically with how many beers I have kegged right now I should probably start leaving them in the primary longer. I have no real need to clear them out faster other than I'm bored and need something to stick the next batch in. The question is do I spend $35 on a carboy or $50 on a corny keg? I think the long term decision is rather obvious.
 
Hawkbox said:
Realistically with how many beers I have kegged right now I should probably start leaving them in the primary longer. I have no real need to clear them out faster other than I'm bored and need something to stick the next batch in. The question is do I spend $35 on a carboy or $50 on a corny keg? I think the long term decision is rather obvious.
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I mean come on what’s $15 among brewers.... now if someone could develop some kind of FV that could convert magically into a keg that’d be sweet.
 
LindyBrew said:
I mean come on what’s $15 among brewers.... now if someone could develop some kind of FV that could convert magically into a keg that’d be sweet.
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it is a ferm vessal ask boomerbrian :).
 
I have a friend that is fermenting in the keg, but I'm not there yet.
 
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