Before now, I typically fermented 4 days or so until things slowed up, raised temp incrementally for 3 or 4 days to do a diacetyl rest, then returned to ferm temp for a few more days to finish conditioning, then cold crashed and bottled.
Now that I have a keg system, I’m wondering if I can cut some of that time in the carboy out, as I’m planning on letting it carb up under low c02 pressure in the keg (I think typically a week?)
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Well, by my schedule, you’re moving a lot faster than I do already.
What does your typically fermentation schedule look like Denny (I know it varies depending on the beer, but just an average) ?
For me its typically 2 weeks in the primary then straight to the keg. I crash chill the keg to 40F carbonate at that temp. Then condition in the keg as long as the beer style requires with the exception of big beers.
+1, I typically go 2 weeks for ales, 3 for lagers then straight to the keg.
I rarely get my beers out of the carboy in under four weeks. After which I keg them.
[quote]I rarely get my beers out of the carboy in under four weeks. After which I keg them.
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Why 4 weeks? I’m just curious, not doubting anyone’s technique or process, btw
I have three small children and not enough time for brewing.
I also tend to brew larger beers and like to give them some time to finish and settle.
But the main reason is simply time management. Or the lack thereof.
Probably a topic for a different thread, but I’ve found that my yeast gets less flocculent after the second generation, which leads to more time for clarifying.
3-4 weeks in primary, then keg usually. Sometimes, if I need to add other fermentables or I’m not happy with the clarity, I rack to secondary for 4-7 days.
Sounds like I’m right on average…
2 weeks in primary, then straight to keg…I have a good pipeline, so I usually naturally carbonate for 2 weeks in the keg
If I am doing something with fruit, I will move to a secondary for a week for better clarity
For ales I will leave in the primary for 10-14 days then rack to a keg. For force carbonation, I cash cool and then FC, serving about a week after. For natural keg conditioning, I’ll leave it at room temperature for 3 weeks, then crash cool. I’ll let settle/ clarify after that for three days before I drink it.
The time allowed is style dependent and brewer personal preference in my opinion.
Jonathan
You guys are real fast, I keep the primary for 3 or 4 weeks and then keg condition for 6 to 8 more before I drink them. I can taste the aging.
I try to single primary ferment for 3 weeks, give or take a few days but I dry hop a lot and feel the 3 weeks help.
Also, when I’ve fermented for only 2, I’ve found my beers to green and I have longer time in the kegerator. Bottom line, either way for me, It’s usually about 4 weeks from boil to first, good, tasty beer.
Sometimes I naturally carbonate but I’m quickly moving past that.
I’m starting to get a feel for which ones I can move along and which ones I can’t. Was a little disappointed in a smoked porter I did, and after some time sitting in the keg, it’s improved a LOT.
Yep - I love conditioning in the keg.
It takes up less space, frees up a carboy, and is a LOT easier to purge before racking. I clarify, dryhop, and add fruit right in the keg.
Lagering is easy too, since you can use your kegerator instead of your temp control for primary fermentation.
When I pull a keg out that didnt turn out too well at first, try it again and its much improved - THAT’s one of the great feelings in homebrewing!
Then you’d be a great candidate as a lager brewer.
I wish I had more space in my kegerator for kegs to condition/lager.
2 weeks in primary for Ales and 3 weeks for Lagers on average. Could deviate due to bigger beers, lot’s of hops, etc… Keg condition 2+ weeks for ales and 4+ weeks for lagers depending again on the style and whether I have room on tap…
Dave
OK it seems my times are a little faster than most of you, I seem to be able to get my lagers down very close to FG in about 10-12 days, then I warm it up for a few days for a diacetyl/maturation rest, then crash cool and keg usually with 16 days of brewing. This is based off some info from Kai’s site. Specifically, very similar to Schedule F here: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers#Maturation_of_the_beer.
Seems to be working for me, but the question is… you guys who leave lagers in primary for 3-4 weeks, how does this affect the viability of the yeast cake for re-use? I can’t imagine your yeast is bubbling away for 4 weeks, and I always thought that (based on Mr Malty’s calc) that the viability of yeast drops precipitously within a couple weeks… obviously you can build up a starter again, but I prefer having a yeast cake that I can get out of the primary and re-use within a couple days… would this be possible if the beer was in primary for 4 weeks instead of just 10-14 days like I’m used to?
-red
[quote]I wish I had more space in my kegerator for kegs to condition/lager.
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+1
+1
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I wish I had more kegs to condition!