This is my first attempt at all grain brewing and was wondering if anyone knows approximately how long the fermentation process should last?
Ales typically take 3-7 days to complete primary fermentation. That’s a very loose “rule” though. If you can post the recipe and you Original Gravity reading the folk son here can probably make a better guess.
My stance is usually “it’s done when it’s done”. Brewing taught me patience (at least a little). ;D
Paul
I agree. Yeasts works on their own schedules. How long it takes for a fermentation to finish is influenced by many factors, The biggest influences are pitching rate, yeast health, available O2 at pitching, wort composition, yeast strain and fermentation temperature.
It’s safest to wait about two weeks for the fermentation to finish in most ales at “room” temperature, but it is always good to check the specific gravity of the beer over a few days to confirm that the reading stays the same. The bulk of the fermentation will be done in a few days, but the beer likes it if you give it some extra time.
It depends on several factors.
- How active was the starter or yeast packet?
- What’s your fermentation temperature?
- Did you oxygenate the wort?
- What yeast did you use, and what was your OG?
In my hands, using a freshly crashed starter of WLP-001, 007 or Bell’s 2HA in a wort of about 1.058 SG and fermenting at 68F, mine will finish reliably in 12 - 14 days. On the other hand the GF’s Kolsh (same conditions but OG 1.045 and WLP-029) is limping along at 24 BPM after only 3 days! Past experience says her brew will be done in 10 days.
Charlie
The 80/- I brewed New Years Day finished in 2.5 days. [emoji15] 1.056 to 1.018 in 2.5 days! The airlock sounded like a playing card in a kid’s bicycle spoke. I fermented 5.5 gal with one pack of M15 in a 7 gal BrewBucket. Krausen coated the entire surface of the inside of the lid. Fastest I’ve ever experienced. Crap attenuation though (M15 doesn’t eat maltotriose).
A finish hydrometer floated 1.018 after I stopped logging:
All of the responses to your question are great. Just to add to it. I have had some beers finish in about three days (but I leave them there a week to allow the yeast to clean up its mess, i.e. diacetyl). My last batch of Tripel was in the fermenter for two and a half weeks at 68 degrees with the Trappest High Gravity yeast strain. So obviously, YMMV.
Checking the gravity several times near what looks like the end of fermentation will tell the story. If it doesn’t change when measured a couple days apart, it’s done.
The info on the triple is good to know. I have one (my first) rolling along right now (OG was 1.084). I used the same yeast too. It’s been almost 2 weeks and has calmed down quite a bit. My plan was to ignore it for another week or two and then decide what I’m doing next.
Paul
Paul:
I brewed it again last Sunday. It came in at 21.65 degrees Plato (1.090). I checked it a few hours ago and it was down to 7.6 Plato (1.030) It’s still chugging along about two bubbles in the airlock every 10 seconds (I took the blow-off tube off today). I used the Belgian Ardennes yeast this time as some of the locals thought it made a better tripel than the Trappist High Gravity strain.
FYI, I switched over about a year or so ago to balling scale measurements as the hydrometers I can get from a scientific supply house are way more accurate than the SG ones you can get online. They come with a certificate of certification detailing their accuracy and have a built in thermometer that tells you how much to add or subtract from the reading (no chart needed for temperature correction!). It is a side benefit of my pro-brewing gig since we did everything in degrees Plato, although a lot of breweries I have been to or helped at in FL still work in SG. Plus, the numbers are smaller and easier to work with IMHO.
Thanks! That’s something to consider since my aging brain is apparently starting to not like math anymore. :
I have high hopes for this beer. Triples were the only beers my wife really loved while we were in Europe last summer. Gotta keep SWMBO happy.
Paul
One thing of note: For an NEIPA it’s important to dry hop during active fermentation for at least one charge - for me that’s at 3 days and then 5 days. This is to try to induce some biotransformation (assuming the yeast you are using is capable of biotransformation, apparently not all are), also to get the beer finished as young and quick as possible, and to hope that the yeast scavenge the introduced o2 from the dry hop charge. So that is something to consider on fermentation time. I attempt to underpitch my NEIPA a little so as to try to drag the fermentation out over 5-7 (or maybe even 10) days. That said, I still always at the very least “proof” my yeast. I’d rather have wort sit around for 24 hours un pitched than pitch in yeast that is going to underperform.