5 replies to this topic

[BarelyBrews]

I am not worried about my brew(Cream Ale) i am using the safale 05. I am getting around 15 airlock bubbles minute yet. And my temp strip says 58 degrees. I imagine my basement is not far behind that temp. I have wrapped the fermentor since the first day and temp has stayed 64 degrees to the now 58 degrees. It's now been six full days and kind of surprised its still chugging along.I usually don't check/or rack for atleast 10 days.I prefer to wait 14 days. Anyone else having longer ferment times in the winter? it's all good though.

[ncbeerbrewer]

I am not worried about my brew(Cream Ale) i am using the safale 05. I am getting around 15 airlock bubbles minute yet. And my temp strip says 58 degrees. I imagine my basement is not far behind that temp. I have wrapped the fermentor since the first day and temp has stayed 64 degrees to the now 58 degrees. It's now been six full days and kind of surprised its still chugging along.I usually don't check/or rack for atleast 10 days.I prefer to wait 14 days. Anyone else having longer ferment times in the winter? it's all good though.

I can't say I personally have had longer ferment times due to the colder weather and temps but based on what you said it sounds like you are fermenting at the low end of the temp range for US-05. I am currently fermenting 10 gallons of Nut Brown Ale for my brew buddy and me and we pitched 1272. Its been bubbling away around 56-58 degrees which is below the 60-72 for 1272 as well. I took a gravity of one fermenter tonight and it was at 1.022 down from 1.070 in 5 days. I would think that the colder you were in the range the longer it could take but then again a good yeast pitch will help the beer chug along too. I have used US-05 several times and it sounds to me like you are doing fine. If you don't check gravities till Day 10-14 I think you will be fine too (Yes I know you are not worried and saying how is my beer?) So to answer your question not really unless I pitched low and kept it cold in the suggested fermentation range. Cheers.

[thool]

I am not worried about my brew(Cream Ale) i am using the safale 05. I am getting around 15 airlock bubbles minute yet. And my temp strip says 58 degrees. I imagine my basement is not far behind that temp. I have wrapped the fermentor since the first day and temp has stayed 64 degrees to the now 58 degrees. It's now been six full days and kind of surprised its still chugging along.I usually don't check/or rack for atleast 10 days.I prefer to wait 14 days. Anyone else having longer ferment times in the winter? it's all good though.

My primary fermentation for ales is typically 3-4 weeks, sometimes longer. I skip the secondary all together for ales with an OG under 1050 or so, and just let the primary do its thing. Then I go to keg for 2 weeks at 35F with 12 lbs of CO2 pressure. That's kind of my secondary there. Also, colder temps will slow it down, so a VERY GENTLE stir after 2-3 weeks helps get the yeast in contact with more of the beer.For heavier ales and all lagers, I do a secondary only after I see no more airlock activity.

[Big Nake]

Yeah, I think it's all good. The combination of the cooler temps plus the fact that US05 likes to attenuate suggests that everything is doing exactly what you might expect. If you mashed low, that may be another contributing factor. Kegdude, sounds like you're making five gallons of cream ale in the winter! Cheers & good luck.

[3rd party JKor]

Six days isn't too bad at those temps. The fact that the temp has dropped from 64 to 58 sounds like the ferment is coming to an end, unless the temp in your basement dropped dramatically in the last few days.

[Big Nake]

Six days isn't too bad at those temps. The fact that the temp has dropped from 64 to 58 sounds like the ferment is coming to an end, unless the temp in your basement dropped dramatically in the last few days.

If he's in Michigan, his basement is pretty cool. When I've gone down to my basement in the past 5 or 6 days, you can feel a distinct drop in the temp. It's freaking cold here!!