Fermenting down to business.

[CanMan]

Ok so traditionally I've done can goop beer. Fermented out until the airlock stopped and checked FG. Bottled the said goop and done.
I want to know people's opinions on the do's and dont's of fermenting. For the purpose of this question I'll talk Ales.
Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Average time of primary fermentation? For all intense purposes when your fg reaches its lowest point it's done. Which usually occurs around a week for ales. Why leave it for more time ? What's the benefits.

Anyone who wants to have some input id like to know their general fermentation process and why they do it the way they do.
Thanks.

 

[michaeld16]

Diacetyl rest i just leave in fermenter for 2 weeks at fermentation temp and it gets cleaned up

I secondary for sours not for ales

Cold crash if i can be bothered if not after a week in the keg in my fridge carbonating pour off first pint then its clear.

Primary for 2 weeks to allow that extra time for the yeast to clean up

 

[Matplat]

You should read the website www.howtobrew.com all of these questions and more are answered on there. It may take a while to absorb all the information, but seriously if you read and understand every word on that website, your beer will thank you for it!

Matt

 

[Unclestewbrew]

I leave my Ales a minimum of 2 weeks in the FV with stable temp control -18 degrees I usually bump the temp up >20 for a couple of days prior to bottling also
I don't bother with any of the other stuff and I'm completely happy with my beers ,

Cheers Stu

 

[Tropico]

Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.

I cold crash the fermenter with the beer still on the yeast cake for a week or two. Mainly because I keg the beer and it clears it before it goes in the keg. Takes forever to clear just putting it straight into the keg.

I fill a few bottles from what doesn't go in the keg, there is still enough yeast to carbonate the bottles , but it clears up to nice bright beer either way

 

[Diesel80]

Same as Tropico above.
I cold crash fermenters (I have 2x 30L running at once) so It takes time!
Then I leave it for about 1 week then keg slowly gassing.

Cheers,
D80

 

[TheBlackAdder]

I have had no problems with carbonation cold crashing then bottling. It will improve clarity of beer so personally I only bother for brighter (opposite of dark?) beers

'secondary fermentation' seems to be a term that is used a lot of ways. To my understanding, its the fermentation that happens after primary when the krausen forms. So if you are leaving it in the FV for 1 week, you are getting some secondary fermentation. It is said to 'clean up' the taste and I personally have seen big benefits from long durations in the FV (3 weeks +).

The other meaning of secondary is transferring to a secondary vessel. I am skeptical of the benefits of this. Its meant to stop off flavours from the yeast cake in long fermentations or lagering. It is questionable whether risk of infection outweighs reward. However, it can be of use if you are adding adjuncts so that they do not get 'lost' in the yeast cake

Diacetyl rest is similar to secondary fermentation and is meant to clean up 'off flavours'. Just heat up the FV by a few degrees to get the yeast more active when you are close to your FG

 

[danestead]

Ok so traditionally I've done can goop beer. Fermented out until the airlock stopped and checked FG. Bottled the said goop and done.
I want to know people's opinions on the do's and dont's of fermenting. For the purpose of this question I'll talk Ales.
Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Average time of primary fermentation? For all intense purposes when your fg reaches its lowest point it's done. Which usually occurs around a week for ales. Why leave it for more time ? What's the benefits.
Anyone who wants to have some input id like to know their general fermentation process and why they do it the way they do.
Thanks.

Diacetyl - I increse the ferment temp by 4 degrees for all of my beer styles in general, usually about 4 days after ive pitched the yeast or when the gravity is 1.020, whichever occurs first.

Secondary fermentation - Some refer to a second fermentor as 'secondary', some refer to bottling with additional sugar and letting bottle condition as 'secondary fermentation'. If you are referring to the later, yes ive done that on a very limited number of brews ive bottled (I almost always keg). The former, ive never done as the risks of oxidation and infection out weigh the benefits for me.

Cold crash - I always cold 'crash' for generally 5 days to help the yeast flocculate and result in clearer beer. The longer the better to a point but even 1 or 2 days at near freezing temps helps.

Time for primary fermentation - As above, I dont use a secondary fermenter. My beers ferment until FG has been achieved for a minimum of 3 days. For ales, this is commonly around the 9 - 14 day mark depending on yeast. Add some cold crash time and my ales are kegged between 2 - 3 weeks from brew day. Extra days at FG is very important because the yeast eat up most of the off flavours they produced earlier on in the fermentation process.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Agree with all the above. 2 weeks minimum in primary (Primary only) I have left for 5 weeks at most. My beers are getting better if there's any negatives leaving on the yeastcake longer I cant detect it, In contrary if you can lengthen the turnover of your beer the extra age is only good I have found. I got ahead with brewing so many of my brews condition in the keg at room temp for a week at least, Dry hops in a hop sock in the keg. Exposure of beer to the air around you is the risk I don't take anymore. I wont take the lid off the fermenter for any reason. I do have a phobia about opening the fermenter at all!, letting in Wild Yeasts and Bacteria to become part of the mix. I don't do secondaries but if I did I would purge the fermenter with running Co2 into it, as you do with kegging before and while filling and bottling from keg as well. Finings (Brewers grade Gelatin) for lighter/brighter clear beers gently into the keg then circular fill, 1 week carbed in fridge and its good and clear.

 

[QldKev]

From your Q's

Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Average time of primary fermentation? For all intense purposes when your fg reaches its lowest point it's done. Which usually occurs around a week for ales. Why leave it for more time ? What's the benefits.

D. rest. I personally do it, not only on lagers but also on ales. Just bump the temp up a couple of degrees around 80% fermentation. It's not only diacetyl that is cleaned up.
Secondary ferment. Tried it on and off over a few years. Overall I dont do it anymore.
Cold Crash. Must have if you can do it. The yeast and **** drops out and you have an awesome clear beer, beats the secondary ferment idea without the associated drawbacks of aeration, possible infections, etc.
Avg time to ferment. I allow a min 2 weeks for lager or ale, then let the gravity dictate. Different times of year, humidity?, initial O2 levels, magnesium, calcium, water hardness, inital yeast health and numbers, etc all change the real world numbers within my fermenting fridge. My current lager is on week 3, and is just getting ready to be cold crashed for the lagering phase.

 

[Vini2ton]

Secondary fermentation seems to me to be something the yanks crap on about. It's racking and part of the maturation process of many alcoholic beverages. It's not necessary for us homebrewers unless you want to add stuff like fruit, oak, maybe other bacterial cultures such as brett or under-arm odours. Ales are hardy brews that don't need alot of faffing around with. Hang on ...maybe none of it does.

 

[manticle]

Brett is a yeast.

 

[Barge]

Before answering I will say that, for each factor you mention, you should test for yourself. Try to brew a regular house ale recipe that you know backwards and then try the following for yourself to see if you think it improves your beer, or not.

Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
I don't do it. Have never done it. I haven't tasted any buttery flavours in my beer so I don't even think about this. Not sure if I have a high taste threshold or it's not there. See for yourself. Brew your house ale with no d rest a few times and then try a d rest and see what happens.

Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
As said previously. Not really needed

Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Depends. If i feel like bright beer then i will cc. Sometimes I don't have fridge space and sometimes I'm just not worried if a particular batch is cloudy. Even APA/IPA. Sometimes I feel like bright beer, other times not. If you like clear beer then cc'ing is a great step towards that.

Average time of primary fermentation?
Again, depends. Could be a few days or a couple of weeks. Average time in FV would be a week. Sometimes i keg, force carb and drink the next day. I would typically leave for another week or two before drinking though. So, 1 week in primary, 1-2 weeks in keg. I don't brew massive amounts so they're usually consumed within a month of kegging. Beers seem to improve over the first fortnight and then are consistent after that.

Like I said, figure out what works for you and take any and all advice, mine included, with a grain of salt.

 

[droid]

Ok so traditionally I've done can goop beer. Fermented out until the airlock stopped and checked FG. Bottled the said goop and done.
I want to know people's opinions on the do's and dont's of fermenting. For the purpose of this question I'll talk Ales.
Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Average time of primary fermentation? For all intense purposes when your fg reaches its lowest point it's done. Which usually occurs around a week for ales. Why leave it for more time ? What's the benefits.
Anyone who wants to have some input id like to know their general fermentation process and why they do it the way they do.
Thanks.

This is my current regime :
Aerate wort at yeast pitching temp (this might be up to 4degrees lower than target ferment temp)
Pitch yeast that is roughly at wort temp
Turn up ferment temp 2 degrees
Aerate again after a few hours
Aerate after another 8
^^^this is prolly overkill and also risky and a hangover from doing a RIS recently
Somewhere along the line bump the temp again to desired ferment temp, so it feels like I'm ramping the temp up I spose
Once FG is hit, or expected FG then D-rest or raise temp around 4 degrees
At this time dry-hop if doing so usually 3 days, feel like this is guaranteeing terminal gravity
Cold crash for 5 days or more or if no dry hop then bottled of dropped to serving temp in keg and pressurised
Only rack if wanting yeast and would do just prior to d-rest which is also prior to dry-hopping


I think aeration is really important and with a can making sure it's well mixed up and aerated is super important. Then controlling temp for different events is a huge help.
I think of secondary ferment as conditioning

Someone will get the red pen out on the above and I'm ok with that hehe

 

[Tropico]

.
Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.

I raise the temperature as fermentation begins to slow and the yeast begins to flocculate and settle out. Just to keep any yeast that is still in suspension a little more active. That's my reasoning. Call it diacetyl rest, call it secondary fermentation (sometimes I think that this is a throw back to wine fermentation). If diacetyl is a problem, then do it, but personally, I cannot detect it, so it is not a problem for me.

 

[Eagleburger]

Depends on the ale. My current brew I am trying to get heaps of aroma in the glass. So 5 days at 18degC, increase to 21degC over 2 days. Then keg. Increase in temp makes things drop quicker and it doesnt seem to lose as much aroma.

 

[CanMan]

Cheers all. Sounds like in general most just do a couple weeks ferment which gets everything cleaned up from the yeast point of view.

Cold crash to drop the crap out if you want clearer beer. Does this effect the amount of yeast available to carbonate bottles?
And Barge I'm all into experimenting and testing for myself but it's good to know what a good solid starting point is. Or I could just experiment more which means more brewing and drinking.
Boy this pastime isn't rewarding at all .

 

[Barge]

No argument there.

Also, there will be plenty of yeast left to carbonate after cc. You don't need much.

 

[Rocker1986]

Ok so traditionally I've done can goop beer. Fermented out until the airlock stopped and checked FG. Bottled the said goop and done.
I want to know people's opinions on the do's and dont's of fermenting. For the purpose of this question I'll talk Ales.
Diacetyl rest ? Is it worth doing and how many actually do it.
Secondary fermentation? Never done it who does and for what benefit.
Cold crash? Same deal. Who does and what benefit.
Average time of primary fermentation? For all intense purposes when your fg reaches its lowest point it's done. Which usually occurs around a week for ales. Why leave it for more time ? What's the benefits.

Anyone who wants to have some input id like to know their general fermentation process and why they do it the way they do.
Thanks.

I don't do a D-rest for ales as such, but I do raise the temp from 18 up to 21 on about the 5th day, more to encourage it to finish fermenting. Have never had any diacetyl issues in either ales or lagers though.

I don't bother with secondary. To me it's a pointless waste of time that achieves nothing - except in some isolated circumstances.

I cold crash to drop yeast, but also to add finings. I prefer to leave these behind in the FV than have them in the keg. They also work best at cold temperatures. I use isinglass to drop yeast and Polyclar for chill haze. The amount of yeast left in my kegs isn't much more than you'd get in a single bottle, so it's bloody good stuff. Yes, I like my beers clear. :lol:

Yep my ales are usually done in a week. I leave it another few days to let the yeast clean up any off flavours, then CC it for a week or so, then package.

I use this schedule on all ales, similar for lagers but the steps are slightly longer, still only a 3-4 week period from pitching yeast to packaging though.

 

[Alex.Tas]

Cold crash to drop the crap out if you want clearer beer. Does this effect the amount of yeast available to carbonate bottles?

yeah it does. It will reduce the yeast meaning you will get clearer beer, but there should be plenty of yeast still there to carb up your beer. It will take longer to carb up though.

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/21879-how-to-gelatine/
This thread is a good one to check out too. It will reduce your yeast load even further. You need to chill your beer before you add the gelatine.