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my porter

fermentation time

  • just one fermentation

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • or 2nd fermentation

    Votes: 5 62.5%

  • Total voters
    8

madchef77

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Ok so I am making an all grain porter, yum!  so the recipe we used does not have a fermentation schedule.  Im trying to read up on some stuff but need some help.  From reading I have learned that most dark beers ferment in about 2 weeks then its bottling time!  I have the recipe so if you need information on my recipe on the gravity ect.....  let me know what I can help you with to help me figure this out.  much thanks brewers.
 
There's only one fermentation. The exceptions to that rule could be if you're going over beer strength and using champaigne yeast to finish it or you are adding some other fermentable after the first fermentation.

I think what you are talking about is a secondARY fermentER, which is after the fermentation is over and serves as a clearing tank.

Also you can't judge beers based on their color. You can have a low gravity dark beer like a Southern English Brown that is done in a matter of weeks or an Imperial Stout that could need months.

Porter is such a wide open category it's really hard to guess based on "porter". My Brown Porters which are a close clone of Sam Smith's take about 2 weeks in the fermenter and 3 weeks in the bottle. A Baltic Porter would be completely different.
 
ok, so its a pretty standard porter non the less.  well just may have to play with it down the road. hope it turns out good. thanks for the info.
 
My porter is based on Brewing Classic Styles that has adapted over the years.  It is closer to a brown porter these days though sometimes I toss in some random amount of dark toasted grains.

I found that the ph affects my dark beers much more than the lighter ones which is consistent with what you will read and hear.  I don;t do anything much about it other than adjust my recipe versus water which is all technical and stuff.

I primary all my ales for 2 weeks then keg.  A couple times I went longer.  I have never used a secondary vessel.

/Joe
 
As with Jomebrew, I primary all my ales with no secondary.  I primary for 3-4 weeks rather than 2:

1.  Because I'm too lazy to check the SG repeatedly to be sure its finished....and, I'm not in any rush.
2.  I like a little clearer beer than I can get in the 2 week time-frame.  But, then I can't cold-crash...so, I need the extra time.  Even still the beer clears out further in the keg significantly. 

Fermentation is mostly driven by yeast strain.  Assuming your using a standard ale yeast of either American or English variety the above should work just fine. 

The more important question that you did NOT ask, is what temperature should you use....that will have much more impact on the resulting beer flavor than whether you transfer to a carboy half-way through.

I've gone to cooler temperatures for most everything, because I'm on a cleaner flavor kick these days.  Cooler=64-66F for me versus 68-70 of years past.  I'm actually pitching at 60F, and then letting it free-rise up to ~64.  After 3 days, I raise the temp to ~66-67, and hold it there for the remainder. 

-tch

 
I find temperature is very yeast dependent and somewhat ingredient dependent.

The majority of my beers are done with 1028. Its minimum is 60° but I find 64° is going to be a very long drawn out ferment on most of my beers.
However 3068 lists its minimum as 64°, it had no problem fermenting at 62°.

My porter with 1028 fermented at 68° will try its hardest to sneak above 70°. Other styles with roughly the same ingredients in different amounts have no problem holding at 68°. Holding my porter at 64° is no problem and it's not a 3 week under krausen ferment.

Temperature influence on a porter goes back to a widely varied style. A classic English style porter is going to have warmer ferment temperatures and less hops. A modern American version of a porter is going to be fermented clean and be hopped so high I can't figure out what the difference between it and an imperial stout is. I have no idea how a Baltic Porter should be fermented.
 
ok thanks for the in put again.  we are leaving the room at about 68-70F that is what we are using for all of our dark beers i cant control much right now.  So instead of transferring in to a secondary I should wait 3-4 weeks and leave in bottle.  not to soda kegs yet.

that beholds another question for you beer lovers. 

when i bottle my beer and it sits in the beer bottle for 2 weeks as recommended.  after the 2 weeks are up should I put them in the fridge? or a cooler place? I guess my question is, will they go bad if i leave them warm since the yeast may cause odd flavoring? 
 
After 1 week keeping it warm you are usually good and you can cool it, but I always let it go 2 weeks. then move the bulk to the basement 50 to 58 degrees and a few to the fridge as needed.They will keep better"cool" they dont have to be" cold". I dont have a problem with beer spoilage I can barely get the damn things to age.
 
tom_hampton said:
As with Jomebrew, I primary all my ales with no secondary.  I primary for 3-4 weeks rather than 2:

1.  Because I'm too lazy to check the SG repeatedly to be sure its finished....and, I'm not in any rush.
2.  I like a little clearer beer than I can get in the 2 week time-frame.  But, then I can't cold-crash...so, I need the extra time.  Even still the beer clears out further in the keg significantly. 

Fermentation is mostly driven by yeast strain.  Assuming your using a standard ale yeast of either American or English variety the above should work just fine. 

The more important question that you did NOT ask, is what temperature should you use....that will have much more impact on the resulting beer flavor than whether you transfer to a carboy half-way through.

I've gone to cooler temperatures for most everything, because I'm on a cleaner flavor kick these days.  Cooler=64-66F for me versus 68-70 of years past.  I'm actually pitching at 60F, and then letting it free-rise up to ~64.  After 3 days, I raise the temp to ~66-67, and hold it there for the remainder. 

-tch
Same for me.
 
There are two things that impact my decision on whether to leave in primary or move to a secondary.  One is style the other is clarity.

When yeast has completed primary fermentaion, it will go back and clean up the diacetyl that it produced.  It is important to leave beers where flavors from diacteyl are not acceptable on the yeast cake for about 48hrs. past primary fermentation. 

Example is that you don't want butterscotch flavors in an IPA.  Usually I brew on Saturday.  If I want a clearer beer and no diacetyl then I will wait for a whole week to move to secondary (2-3 days after air lock slow way down).  In the case of a Porter that I just did as so as primary fermentation ended I moved it to secondary to keep some of those flavors.  Another case is wheat beer.  This is a style I do not move to secondary because wheat beer don't clear out and you want enough time on the yeast cake for the yeast to clean up after itself.

In the case you may add a small amount of dry hop to your primary for your porter, you will not want to leave the beer on it for any more than 2 weeks other wise you will get grassy flavors.  So you can leave beer in primary for too long. 

All this depends on what your are looking for in a recipe and the flavors you want.
 
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