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Fermentation done in 4 days?

B

Bach7210

I made a batch of cream stout this past Monday night.  After 2 days the fermentation was very active.  The airlock was bubbling like  crazy.  The next day, all activity had stopped.  Could the process be done that soon?  This is the first brew I've ever made so I made a rookie mistake and forgot to take a starting gravity reading.   :-[  I used White labs burton ale liquid yeast and it says on their website that the attenuation % should be around 65-73%.  Anyone have any idea what the final gravity should be?  I'd hate to bottle this stuff up and be left with 40 - 16oz glass shrapnel bombs sitting in my spare bathroom's shower.  I've read a good rule of thumb for fermentation completion is 2 weeks.  Should I just wait it out?
 
I would say unless you’re doing a BIG beer (high OG like barley wine…), two weeks is VERY excessive...

I have let my brews sit for around 6 days in the primary before racking and have had no problems, and even at 6 they were probably done fermenting in about 4...

I have experienced what you are (vigorous bubble for short period... like 24 hours), and everything turned out a.o.k.  ;)
I have also made a cream stout and the final gravity (although it does depend on your recipe) of mine was around 1.015.  the recipe i had called for the FG to be between 1.010 and 1.020

Let me know if this helps, and how everything turns out...

When it comes down to it I have thought I ruined any number of batches along the way, but have not ended up disappointed yet!!  That being said... definitely take a SG reading... you know... shrapnel bombs and such...   :p

Also, if anyone in here tells you different, they're probably right, as i am not an expert... i have just had the same question before and learned MY answer by the results... mmmmm
 
I would take a gravity reading today and in another day or two.  If it is stable you are ok to bottle.

It won't hurt anything to leave it in primary for 2 weeks (or more).  I done that often and there is never a problem.

Don
 
John Palmer quoted the yeast mfg's last night as saying that for a "normal" (now what about beer is normal?) ale, the yeast has done everything it is going to do in 4 days.  

Let it sit for a couple of days to clarify, then bottle.

Everythings fine.

Fred
 
Do what Shakey_Dog said and take a gravity reading and in a day or two take another, if's stable (close to the same readings) then yes it's done... But let's get into what you didn't tell us... Where is your primary? What, or more to the point where are you keeping your primary? If it's just sitting in a room somewhere, it may have just stalled.

Don't take offense to the questions, but you did say this was your first batch correct? Well, my first batch fermented sitting in the dining room (in the fall, hadn't turned on the heat, and my apartment stayed at a pretty constant temp all day). It may be too cold or too hot where you are fermenting and your yeast just went dormant.

But you still need to take a gravity reading to see where your beer is, without it, any answer is just a quess at best. "Active" fermentation doesn't mean anything except your yeast is active... Counting bubbles out of the airlock is no indication of fermentation being "done" or not, it just means your fermentation is making more co2 than you have space for. It's gotta go someplace, right?

But the ultimate answer is, yes, your beer can be done fermenting in 4 days.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and advice.  I took a gravity reading on Saturday and it was at 1.020  When I called the company that I bought the kit from they said average for this recipe is around 1.022  I'll take another tonight and see if I am still around there.  

I have my fermenter sitting in the coolest place in my house.  It is in the spare bathroom shower.  I think it is a bit too warm yet (I live in the desert) so I am planning on trying the wet towl and the bucket suggestion I read about somewhere.  

Yes, this is my first batch ever.
 
Congrats on your first batch ;D

It will be the best beer you have had yet!

Don
 
Thanks!   :D

I'm super charged about the whole affair.  I went ahead and bottled it up last night.  I took another gravity reading and it was exactly the same as 2 days ago, so I figure I'm fine.  

Not so sure I  enjoyed the bottling experience, haha.  My filler got stuck a few times and I had some and I had some overfilled bottles...the horror of it all seeing your creation spill out on the floor!!  

These next 2 weeks are going to kill me.  But, I know the wait will be worth it.
 
I had that same spill problem with the basic bottle filler...

use this one...

http://www.sfbrewcraft.com/bottle.html#

locate on that link the plastic bottle filler w/ spring

it is $3 and the valve at the bottom is spring loaded isntead of gravity stopped...   WAAAAY BETTER!!!  ;D
 
Yup the next two weeks will kill you... anticipation. but save some and let it age for a couple of months and see what it's like then.  ;)

Brew on
 
Thanks Saylinaway for the link.  I'll have to pick one of those up before the next batch  ;D
 
7210, I've been brewing for many years and will politley warn you; if your beer tastes bad not to freak. Just let it set a while. most of my beers set in a fermentor for weeks to condition in a larger mass ( be it primary, secondary, or even tertiary). Most of my stouts don't get touched for a year after bottling. I have several batches in the cellar right now. The first batch of beer I made was BAD! I choked down almost all of it to get my bottles back. The few I didn't drink were some of my best beer ever a year and a half later. Time and patience is everything in homebrewing. Never throw away beer you are disappointed in. Just let it set. ;)
 
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