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Author Topic: Fermentation ended very fast  (Read 678 times)

Offline philvt11

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Fermentation ended very fast
« on: April 27, 2020, 11:03:31 am »
Hi All,

I'm new to home brewing and had a question on the fermentation differences for different beers.  I made an IPA recipe two fridays ago and it's been 10 days and there was still good bubbling up until today indicating a good fermentation.  My dilemma is that I made Kolsch recipe this last friday and it was fermenting and bubbling well but today it's already stopped completely.  Is there something wrong that the Kolsch stopped fermenting so fast and much sooner than the IPA?  The weather has been warm and both primaries were at around 70F, but I read online that most Kolsch recipes say to do it cooler around 60-64.  Not sure if that will affect or speed up the fermentation.  Do I need to worry that anything is wrong with the Kolsch?  I'm not sure but I don't think you should be opening the lid during primary fermentation so I will just let it sit for now until racking next weekend.  It just seems strange that after 3 days it has already stopped.

Thanks,
Phil

Offline BrewBama

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Re: Fermentation ended very fast
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2020, 11:08:01 am »
Temp does affect yeast performance.  You were probably a little hot at 70*F. If you can control temps you’ll improve your beer IMO.

Good idea not to open the fermenter.

I recommend taking a hydrometer reading to determine fermentation progress vs relying on an airlock bubbling.


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Offline Visor

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Re: Fermentation ended very fast
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2020, 11:40:02 am »
  Different wort + different yeast = different fermentation time. I did an ESB Saturday & used Winsor yeast for the 1st time, this morning at ~40 hours since pitch it's all but finished. Exact same recipe with the other yeasts I've used in it take 7 or more days to finish. As BrewBama said check the gravity & if possible purge the FV as best as you can with CO2.
I spent most of my money on beer, tools and guns, the rest I foolishly squandered on stupid stuff!

Offline philvt11

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Re: Fermentation ended very fast
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2020, 12:48:59 pm »
Thanks for the feedback to both of you!!