fermentation start time

Roger · November 07, 2013, 08:25:56 PM

Hey guys I was wondering what has been your fastest starting fermentation? I just brewed a stout today and after 2 hours I decided to check the fermentation chamber and it was bubling away and about 1/2" krausen. Should I be concerned or exited?

Chris Craig · November 07, 2013, 08:38:37 PM

Sounds like you may have over-pitched a bit. Did you use a slurry from a previous batch? The lag phase is important. A lot of stuff happens there. That said, my latest ESB started off really quick. 4 hours maybe...fermentation looked complete after only 2 days.

Roger · November 07, 2013, 10:00:39 PM

I did a 1 liter starter per carboy with one packet of so-4 dry yeast in each started it yesterday afternoon og on the starter was 1.035 I cold crashed it there was about 1/2" of yeast in the bottom I then pitched it at 2:00 by 4:00 it was bubbling away. The og on the wort was 1.058 @ 19○c. I don't think I did anything wrong. I guess I'll wait and see.

Roger · November 08, 2013, 08:21:27 AM

Well maybe I did over pitch. I was reading this morning that your not supposed to use dry yeast in a starter.

Chris Craig · November 08, 2013, 08:47:15 AM

Well, you know for next time. :-)

fakr · November 08, 2013, 10:47:39 AM

Hey Roger, S-04 is very fast acting and aggressive...usually ferments out completely in a couple of days.

for an OG of 1.058, I also would have made a starter or just just throw in 2 packs of S-04.

I haven't used S-04 for quite some time, but I do remember it taking off like a rocket, and the beer turned out great.

I don't think you need to be concerned.

One piece of advice with S-04 though....ferment on the cold side (16C) if you want a bready taste....I've found higher temps (18+C) gives another flavor I'm not really keen on...like butterscotch.

just my 2 cents.

Roger · November 08, 2013, 12:59:58 PM

I just dropped the temp from 19 to 17. Is there anything you guys might suggest to avoid any weird flavours. I don't want to screw up my chocolate stout I put a lot of time getting everything ready. I never thought over pitching would be an issue.

Chris Craig · November 08, 2013, 01:10:47 PM

You won't get any weird flavours. The worst thing that will happen is a lack of flavour. We intentionally put yeast into a less-than-ideal environment to stress them a little bit. This causes them to produce many compounds that we find desirable in beer. If you over-pitch, less of these compounds get produced. It won't be bad beer though. Just less complex.

Read Jamil's Yeast book.