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This is just my first batch so I'm a complete newbie.

I'm brewing a dry euro brown ale (grain + multiextract) and the temperature is between 57-67 f, but my bucket doesn't have a thermometer but I guess the inside is a bit cooler.

I made my wort on sunday the first read of the hydrometer was between 1060~1065. Since this morning I almost get the airlock stop bubblig(I known this is not the best sign for anything but..) and tonight the read is 1010. I was planning to rack it to the carboy on saturday.

But this look-a-like speedy process is freaking me out (is my first batch :D).

any experiences with this behavior?

May be is a silly question but mates the internet is full of contradictory information.

Cheers.

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  • Might be helpful to post the specific yeast strain you used, and the preferred temperature range for that yeast. That's a pretty large temperature range too! I usually keep it within 3 degrees F. – Dale Sep 8 '11 at 23:17
  • If my memory isn't broken it was WhiteLabs american ale yeast. – jlbelmonte Sep 8 '11 at 23:51
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    The optimal temperature range for that yeast is 68 to 72. I'm surprised it attenuated so fast, so far below it's optimal temperature. – Dale Sep 9 '11 at 16:28
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It sounds like you had a very active fermentation. It is not uncommon for the majority of fermentation to be complete in a few days. Commercial breweries strive for this. HOWEVER, this does not mean that the yeast are done with your beer! Even after fermentation is complete, the yeast will clean up after themselves, reducing things like diacetyl. (which causes a buttery smell and/or flavor)

You mentioned racking the beer to secondary in less than a week -- the current thinking in the homebrew community is that using a secondary (except to add fruit or dry hop) is usually unnecessary and introduces another opportunity for oxidation and infection. I routinely leave my beers in primary (plastic buckets) for 3-4 weeks without issue. I have had an issue with moving a beer too soon, however -- it was a butter bomb. Unless you have a reason to transfer, I would suggest leaving the beer in the primary until bottling.

Also, it is possible that this beer will end up at 1.006, or some other number. Your lower reading doesn't prove that it's finished; the yeast may slowly consume additional sugars. I would suggest taking successive readings on multiple days to make sure that the gravity is still not changing to know when fermentation is complete.

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  • Yup! I've noticed the thoughts about racking to a second carboy,I guess I'll need to sell it xD. I have to open the plastic lid for reading the gravity I don't like doing it but I do it carefully. – jlbelmonte Sep 8 '11 at 18:03
  • I mention the successive readings because that's the only way to be sure. In practice, I often just leave my beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, then package. As long as the gravity is in a reasonable range, it's probably done. – Dustin Rasener Sep 8 '11 at 22:09
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    Hang on to your carboy. They are good for adding fruit, as well as bulk aging. For example, I plan to age my Russian Imperial Stout in glass carboys for about a year. This keeps me from tying up a keg for that amount of time, and prevents the beer from being oxidized by the slight oxygen permeability of a plastic bucket. – Dustin Rasener Sep 8 '11 at 22:12
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If you think the ambient temp is getting up to 67F, then its completely likely that the beer in the bucket can get to 72F or more. Fermenting beer actually warms up from the activity of the yeast. So its completely normal to expect a beer to ferment out in 3 days.

There are some flavor issues that come with a fast and warm ferment, but to address your specific question, its completely normal for that to have happened.

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