Comments on: Primary Fermentation

By: John

John — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:15:08 +0000

I would give it a few more days. Temperature plays such a big role in fermentation. With the warmer kitchen, you may have kick started the fermentation again. Going 3 weeks isn’t going to ruin your beer.

By: Dusty

Dusty — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:56:42 +0000

Hi John,

So its been 14 days in my primary and I hadn’t seen much activity for the past 4 days.. I moved my bucket into the kitchen to start bottling the night before and now it seems to be slowly active again.. Should I give it a couple more days? What do you recommend it do?

By: John

John — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:50:12 +0000

Hi Dusty,

Some homebrewers pour a little primed beer in a sanitized plastic bottle that is crunched up a bit. As the days go on, the beer carbs up and the plastic bottle regains its form. I used this method to monitor the carbonation on my hard cider. It may take less time than two weeks but it is usually takes that long.

By: Dusty

Dusty — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:52:09 +0000

My first brew I went for HopNog 2011 (IPA) with a brew date of 1/13/2012. Since reading you post I have decided to skip the secondary and just leave it in the primary for 2 weeks.. Question is when I bottle it? Says to leave in bottle for ~2 weeks at 64-72 degrees.. Then I crack one open to test it? How will I know if it has reached the amount of carbonation that it should..? Can this process in the bottle take less time?

Dusty

By: Clint

Clint — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:49:51 +0000

Thanks john, i have a gravity reader just not sure what the F.G. should be for that beer. think i will just leave it for another week, thanks for the help

By: John

John — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:06:19 +0000

Hi Clint,

If your airlock has stopped bubbling, then fermentation may be over. Our thoughts are to leave beers in the primary fermentor for 2 weeks. If you don’t want to wait and you have the tools to take a gravity reading, take one and see if your beer has reached the target gravity. If it has, then prime and bottle it up.

By: John

John — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:03:29 +0000

Hi Bruce,

Maltodextrin is not fermentable so adding more to your fermentor won’t help you get a lower gravity reading. With a starting gravity in the 1.030 range, there aren’t a lot of sugars for the yeast to consume. I would leave it alone for another week and then bottle it up.

By: Clint

Clint — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:15:46 +0000

First time brewer, brewed a Bavarian Hefeweizen, My question is simple i think, my wort after 1 week stopped bubbling, so is it done ready to bottle? or should i let it stay another week? I guess what im asking is if the bubbling has stopped, does that mean the fermenting is done? Thanks

By: bruce

bruce — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:52:06 +0000

I started a Cascade “Imperial Voyage” on 21/12/2011 using 1kg of dextrose/maltodextrin. It fermented moderately after a few days but went very quiet after 8 days. There were still signs of minor activity on the surface, so I left it for a week before checking its SG which had only dropped to 1020 after starting at 1032. Adding a spoonful of sugar produces instant activity, so my question is, should I add more dextrose/maltodextrin? Fermentation temp. has remained between 21 and 27 degrees.

By: John

John — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:18:55 +0000

Warrren – I would bottle it up and let it carbonate. Try letting it clear in the bottle.

Paul – I would use 2 weeks as a rule of thumb. Check your gravity and see if it has reached your target final gravity before you transfer it out of primary to the secondary vessel.