I recently got the 1 gallon starter kit…along with the quadcore kit…figured I might as well try a bunch of small bunches before I graduate to something bigger. First batch was the plinian legacy…it’s still in the closet fermenting. Second batch was the caribou slobber…brew went great…
…and then.
Our basement is about 62 degrees…so I cooled the wort down to 60 degreesish and then put it in the basement…within 12 hours it was bubbling right along and the wort temp was up to 68. Checked it in the morning and fermentation had turned violent so I quick sanitized a tube and removed the airlock to place the blowoff tube in. Checked it later that night…still bubbling happily. The next morning the temp had dropped to 66 and there was no activity in the carboy…so I brought it up stairs where it’s generally 68-70 degrees. Still no activity in the carboy…is this normal? It’s still going to sit in the closet for two weeks…but should I be worried?
Welcome to brewing, sounds like you are diving right in - that’s the right approach for learning how this works.
Sometimes the beer can ferment pretty fast and be done with the active portion in just a couple of days. It depends on the yeast strain, how much yeast was pitched and how healthy it is, the temperature, the level of oxygen in the wort, and the recipe you used. In other words, lots of factors. But just because the airlock stopped bubbling doesn’t mean the beer is done. The yeast still need some time to clean up after themselves, then drop out of suspension. I would leave it until the beer looks clear or at least two weeks. You can cause problems by trying to rush the beer, but it is almost never bad to give it extra time.
+1 More time the better. Sticking with the standard two weeks for the slobber should just be fine.
Also, take note that fermentation does raise the temperature of the wort a bit, even if ambient temperature seems a little off and that fermenter is roiling with activity those yeasties are happy. Some yeast just have a large temperature range so there is less to worry about there.
I’ve fermented a pale ale (SF-05 yeast) in a crawlspace in Juneau, AK that stays a constain 55. and it turned out fine.
Lastly, the hydrometer is your friend in this instance - fermentation times can vary hugely and though my rule of thumb is the more time the better, if you have a sheen of a surface and yeast are out a solution and you have two consistence hydro readings, you’re good to go.
The slobber kit…if I recall correctly…fermented out fast for me too. I believe that the yeast is just a quicker variety. (I used the dry US-05). I’d let her go for the two weeks, bottle and let it set. it’s good at two weeks, better at two months!!!
Caribou Slobber was my first kit and it fermented out in 36hours. I called NB support because I didn’t think that was possible. I do have a problem where I have no central heat in my house (Texas) I heat with wood. not usually a problem but the 2nd day on it fermenting I was gone and my house got down to the 40s inside. So even though I had a fast ferment I also did not get a total fermentation. I stirred it up a bit, added some nutrient, heated it up did whatever I could think of. It fermented out a bit more but it still stayed rather high. It tasted fine but the ABV was low. Also what I found is when I bottled it the left of sugars went nuts on the priming sugar. It carbed up in two days I had to put all of it in the fridge to stop it from exploding. Some of it wouldn’t fit and it got VERY carbonated. lol
