fermentation question

[rje66]

Have a kit on at moment,  started Tue  eve, very active all day Wed, then slowed down to a few bubbles  every few mins, now there is a little activity. It had a good krausen at beginning. I have a heat belt on. Normal behavior or action needed?

[Parky]

Sounds like you had a pretty vigorous fermentation there, but nothing major to worry about

It may simply be that the fermentation temperature is a little higher than it should be.

In my experience a very active fermentation like this can create a few off-flavours, so to counteract this I would certainly keep the beer in your fermentation vessel for 3 weeks, giving the yeast a chance to clear up any unwanted by-products.

One thing you can certainly do is check the temperature you're fermenting at, depending on the kit and yeast you're using it may be a little high. If you're running too high a temp. simply adjust for the rest of the fermentation.

Also useful to know - Are you using the yeast that came with the kit? Did you rehydrate the yeast before pitching? What temperature did you pitch at?

Just out of interest, what kit are you using, and how did your brew day go?

[rje66]

Hi Paul, thanks for replying,
Yeast was from kit and wasn't dehydrated, should I do this in future?,
Temp was 20 deg c when I sprinkled it over top

Ferm. Temp now is 22.5 ish, too warm???
It's a muntons brown ale, with a bit of hacking, brew day all went ok.
Thanks
Richie

[LordEoin]

That all sounds fine but next time bring the fermentation temp down somewhere around 18-20.
It'll ferment a bit slower and cleaner

[rje66]

Should I take heat belt off???

[LordEoin]

nah, it sounds like the fermentation is probably mostly done now, so don't worry about it

[Parky]

Hi Ritchie,

Yeast was from kit and wasn't rehydrated, should I do this in future?

There are varying opinions on this (as with many things in brewing!), but my own preference would be to rehydrate - in my mind this gives the yeast a head start before pitching into the wort . Here's an article that might be useful - http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/rehydrating-dry-yeast/

Temp was 20 deg c when I sprinkled it over top
Ferm. Temp now is 22.5 ish, too warm???

Agree with LordEoin here that the temps were a little high, not too high, maybe just a few degrees above optimal. You might consider taking the brew belt off if it means you can get below 20, even though fermentation may be mostly complete, as it means that at least no more off-flavours will be created as the yeast works it's way through the remaining fermentables.

It's not unusual for a fermentation to finish quickly like this, but I've found that a little cooler and slower will produce a better beer. That being said, maybe some of the fruity esters produced at higher temps will suit the brown ale, only time will tell. Some more reading material for you - http://beersmith.com/blog/2012/03/07/esters-in-beer-brewing/

Hope it all goes well, and let us know how it turns out