My English brown ale enjoy first fermentation for 10 days, after 7 days in secondary its above 1.020. I Wonder if adding some fresh yeast will kick up and put me in to the 1.010 for bottling?
Including things like OG, yeast strain, and fermentation temps will help get you the answers you are looking for.
A couple things.... It's usually better to leave in the primary until attenuation is finished or nearly finished before moving to secondary. You may have slowed down the fermentation by racking early. Most beers don't need a secondary. You can simply leave them in primary until the yeast have cleaned up any off flavors, then bottle or keg. Also, telling us your recipe would help (an HB42 said).
Sorry for being short on info. We are doing here an english brown ale. 6.5 Lb Maris 1 Lb C120 8 Oz Flaked Corn 4 Oz Carafa Spacial II 4 Oz Biscuit Wyeast #1469 O.G. 1.058 I move to secondary in order to age with oak chips.
What was the mash temperature? A 1.058 beer could be finished at 1.020. On my system a mash of 160 F (71 C) would give you about that level of attenuation.
I mash at 152F for 20 Minute and 40min @ 158F. now I am at 1.018 and CO2 is bubbling out. That's my way to know that fermentation is still going on
If you are collecting gravity readings, a common rule of thumb is if the gravity is the same for 3 days in a row, you are probably at terminal gravity. Exceptions to this would probably not apply to an English brown ale, such as lagering, fermenting with Brett, making a wild ale, etc.
What lagering get to do with my Brown Ale ? Using the "condom" method I still having some CO2 release, meaning some organism is chowing sugar. Thanks for the 3 days rule.
I'd be careful with a "3 days rule". Certain flocculant or temperamental yeast strains could easily seem to be inactive for 3 or more days, only to start back up again when conditions are right. If you are bottling, this could be the difference between properly carbonated beer and exploding glass bottles. CO2 release does not mean something is producing CO2. For example, increasing the temperature of a beer will lower the solubility of CO2 in solution and will cause gas to escape, even though no fermentation is happening. So, do not use airlock activity as a surrogate for what you should really be measuring-- specific gravity. Really the best way to know if you are done fermenting is to do a fast-ferment test. http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fast_Ferment_Test
Air lock was never been my indicator, I use my nose my eyes and hydrometer. Actually in the last 10 days ambient temperature dropped from 80+ to 65. I assume that the next 10 days will tell me if and when to bottle my beer. Thank you for your replay
In the first post, your gravity was above 1.020, and 2 days later you indicate it dropped to 1.018. Based on this, your beer is still fermenting and not done. I suggested the 3 day rule, and under this rule you would wait for the gravity to stop dropping and remain the same for at least 3 days. You can certainly wait longer, and in fact it would be of no harm to give it another 2 weeks after the gravity stops dropping in your secondary. The fast ferment test referenced above may well be a better test. However, it is too late to run this test on this batch of beer, as you need a sample of the fresh wort and the yeast it calls for before fermentation. Your latest post indicates another factor that needs to be considered, which is the sharply dropping temperature of your beer. Some ale yeasts will crash at the temperatures you are approaching. If anything, it is better to start out cool and gradually warm up to ensure that yeast can finish when it is near the end of fermentation, but you are going the other direction with your temperatures. I would try to keep it no cooler than it already is, and warm it to 68-70 if you can, if you want to ensure the yeast achieves its maximum possible attenuation. My mention of lagering in the post above was an example of an exception to the 3 day rule, and I apologize if that was confusing. That is an instance where the 3 day rule should not be applied.
Thank Thanks for your answer, I realize that its still fermenting, some one suggested to physical rouse the yeast some offer to warm the ambient. I conclude that waiting another 10 days in the temp range will do.
