fermetation done after 48 Hours

[MRMARTINSALES]

Hi,

I did a all grain brew on saturday and pitched my Safale 04 yeast at 3pm. OG WAS 1.041 (10.5 Brix on Refractometer)

As it stands now the refractometer reading is 5.5 which by using the refractometer tool on beersmith is suggesting that my beer is 4% abv which is what i want it to be.

Ive been fermeting at 18 Degrees C for nearly 48 hours.

It seems too quick but is it possible that it is ready?

Thanks

[BOB357]

S-04 is a beast, so it may well have completed active fermentation. Be sure to recheck gravity in 2 or 3 days to be sure and then leave it for at least a week to allow the yeast to clean up any byproducts produced during fermentation. I have had problems in the past when rushing to package beers brewed with S-04. It can leave a very yeasty flavor.

[MRMARTINSALES]

Thanks BOB357.

Can you or anybody else answer my next question.

What would a commercial brewery do here? As far as i believe once it hits the gravity required they drop the yeast out of suspension straight away.

Am i correct?

Thanks

[Oginme]

A commercial brewery has different targets and goals from home brewing.  Generally, the commercial brewers I know and have talked to would dump the trub and collect the yeast for the next batch once active fermentation is complete (generally 48 to 60 hours after starting).  They would also keep the fermenting beer going in the fermenter for a proscribed schedule based upon their known history of brewing that particular beer.  Most generally will ferment for 4 to 7 days before moving the wort to a bright tank to free up the fermenter for the next batch.  Those that do keep it in the fermenter longer will, once again, follow a set schedule monitoring the fermentation profile they have built for that particular recipe.

Remember that they brew a number of recipes over and over again, so they have each well documented on how everything should behave and thus know when something goes awry in their process.

[Ck27]

Hi,

I did a all grain brew on saturday and pitched my Safale 04 yeast at 3pm. OG WAS 1.041 (10.5 Brix on Refractometer)

As it stands now the refractometer reading is 5.5 which by using the refractometer tool on beersmith is suggesting that my beer is 4% abv which is what i want it to be.

Ive been fermeting at 18 Degrees C for nearly 48 hours.

It seems too quick but is it possible that it is ready?

Thanks

It is posaible, 1056 and US-05 have done it to me. I have also experienced blisteringly fast ferments with Imperial Yeasts Belgian Strains.

[brewfun]

What would a commercial brewery do here? As far as i believe once it hits the gravity required they drop the yeast out of suspension straight away.

Am i correct?

Kind of.

First, congratulations on a speedy and apparently healthy fermentation that hit your target gravity. Great job! this means that you hit the perfect apex of pitching rate, oxygenation, gravity and fermentability.

I expect primary ale fermentation to take about 70 hours. Pretty much everything is still in suspension at that point, which is what I want, but the beer still has a half point of alcohol it'll produce. The temperature is held for another 6 to 9 days (depends on alcohol content), until the beer passes acetaldehyde and diacetyl tests and doesn't smell "raw." At that point, the trub has collected and is dropped, along with spent yeast (the thickest portion), the beer is crashed about 10 degrees and that will precipitate what I'll harvest. I get about a gallon (3 liters) per barrel (or hectoliter) for repitching.

I've discussed fermentation with Scottish distillers, who are fascinated at how long brewers will let beer sit. The simple fact is that beer yeast isn't finished just because it doesn't look busy.