Fast Fermentations?

Just got the 1 gallon starter kit for my birthday about a week ago with an extra 1 gallon carboy (awesome). That day I made the Caribou Slobber that was included in the kit. Unfortunately I don’t think the wort was chilled down all the way before I added the yeast. I think this was the cause of a very aggressive fermentation. I did not know about hydrometers at the time and so did not take the gravity at the beginning. There has not been a lot of activity (CO2 release) since the first couple days but i thought it was too early to rack. I did buy a hydrometer and the final gravity is about 1.020. The beer is very cloudy but I am not sure if it will do any good waiting.

I also just made the White House Honey Porter 3 days ago. No aggressive blow-off but it seems as if it is not releasing anymore CO2 either. I was able to take hydrometer reading for this batch. OG = 1.062, SG = 1.012, not bad but still seems too soon to bottle. The quality again is very cloudy.

Is it because these are just 1 gallon batches?

Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks!

the yeast will take a few days to settle out depending on the type used. If that doesn’t do it try cooling it off some.

give them each about 2 weeks before you bottle - and only if the FG is steady for a couple days. the active part of fermentation usually takes a few days, then slows down.

how much yeast did you add?

Two weeks is pretty minimal. I will rarely take a beer out of primary less than three weeks after brewing, and 4-5 weeks is more typical. The longer it sits, the clearer it gets and for most beer, the better the flavor develops.
As these are your first batches, it can be pretty hard to be patient. The solution to that is to brew some more immediately so you have more sitting in the works that you’ll give time to clear and age properly.

Thanks for the replies. I added half the pack of the yeasts for each kit, per recipe. I will give it some more time. This weekend will be 14 days on the Caribou Slobber and 7 days on the Porter.

I would say 2 weeks is ideal time

Fermentation is affected by temperature as well as the amount of yeast used. The manufacturers’ info on most ale yeasts show a preferred temperature in the mid 60s. That’s beer temperatures. Yeast cells are metabolizing sugar in your wort and in the process they produce heat, just like any other form of life. When they get started reproducing and metabolizing sugar they can heat your beer up a few degrees above the air around the fermenter. In other words, if you want your beer to ferment within it’s optimal temperature range, you’ll need to keep it where the air is in the low 60s or high 50s.

When yeast get above their ideal temperature range they produce some undesirable products, such as fusal alcohols - fusal alcohol has an unpleasant taste and can cause a hellacious hangover, enven with modest consumption.

There are lots of ways to control temperature. Some simple, some sophisticated. Check Nighthawk’s signature line for some great solutions.