I brewed a Belgian Ale using Fermentis Safale BE-256 Ale Yeast on Dec. 20, 2017. The OG was 1.075 and I checked it today on Dec. 25th and it is now at 1.009 and appears to be finished. I think this yeast is supposed to work fast? This is the first time for me to use it and I wasn’t sure.
I’ll give it more time before packaging. But I was wondering if others have used this yeast and if it finished really fast. Thanks - Merry Christmas!
Recipe?
Recipe for 3 gallons in Fermenter:
BIAB mashed grains for 30minutes
1 lb Pilsner Malt
8 oz Wheat Malt
Extract:
4 lbs LME
1ib D-45 Candi Syrup
Hops
18grams Centennial boiled 30 minutes
28grams Saaz added to steep for 10minutes @175F
Yeast
1pkg Rehydrated Safebrew BE-256 yeast
Fermentation Temp. 60-65F
I have not used this yeast before, but for what it’s worth most ales (if properly pitched and rehydrated) are done much faster than most people think.
For example, this fall I brewed up my Old Ale with a 1.105 OG with WY 1028 (about a 200 mL slurry repitch). The beer finished fermenting in 3 days.
Not just ales, where 3-5 days sounds about right. I brew lagers and they always finish in 7 days pitched at 50°F – WHEN the correct amount of healthy yeast is pitched and adequately oxygenated – that can’t be emphasized enough! When I hear about fermentations taking weeks, well that’s when I would really worry. (And BTW overpitching can be as bad as underpitching, likewise over oxygenation, you’ll just get bad beer faster.)