Trying to understand length of time to ferment

[Brewer #442461]

I've made this three times now: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/37534/russian-river-pliny-the-elder-original-

Each time it's come out great. But what I don't understand from this or any other recipe on this site is that they often don't give the length of time, in days, that the brew should ferment for

I ferment in a conical fermenter, dump yeast/trub, and don't rack to secondary. I go directly into a keg.

For this one, I go for 30 days. So when the recipe calls for dry hopping at 13 and five days, I subtract five and 13 from 30 and end up dry hopping 17 days into the ferment and again at 25 days

Am I dumb, and should I just begin the dry hopping within 24 hours when fermentation activity ceases? If fermentation activity ceases on day seven, should I dry hop then, wait 13 days, dry hop again, wait five days, and then dump to a keg?

 

[Donoroto]

First, the time it takes depends on too many things to be able to say how ling it will take. The correct answer is when the specific gravity stops changing. We add a few days to that for a Diacetyl Rest, where the yeast continues to consume off-flavors despite finishing alcohol conversion.

For the dry hop, they mean that you add hops 5 days after you add the yeast, then again 13 days after the yeast, or 8 days after the first time.

If you pitched yeast November 1, first hop is in the 6th (5 days later) and second in the 14th.

All that said: if it comes out good, keep doing it.

 

[jschein]

Two ways to go about it, start dry hopping with a few points left or wait until FG which for you was 8 days.
With the example from your recipe’
1.00 oz (28 g) Simcoe 12.30% A.A. Dry Hop (12 to 14 days total)
0.25 oz (7 g) Columbus 13.90% A.A. Dry Hop (5 days to go in dry hop)’
You should be packaging on day 24 max with cold crashing.
If you go for 12 days dry hop for your fist charge, Simcoe put the Columbus in on day 7 after the Simcoe

 

[Brewer #442461]

First, the time it takes depends on too many things to be able to say how ling it will take. The correct answer is when the specific gravity stops changing. We add a few days to that for a Diacetyl Rest, where the yeast continues to consume off-flavors despite finishing alcohol conversion.

For the dry hop, they mean that you add hops 5 days after you add the yeast, then again 13 days after the yeast, or 8 days after the first time.

If you pitched yeast November 1, first hop is in the 6th (5 days later) and second in the 14th.

All that said: if it comes out good, keep doing it.

Ah, interesting. I thought that like boil hop timing, you're counting backwards from keg day!

Thanks for that correction!

I also suck at testing via hydrometer, so there's that

Perhaps I'll practice tomorrow on my next batch

 

[Brewer #442461]

Two ways to go about it, start dry hopping with a few points left or wait until FG which for you was 8 days.
With the example from your recipe’
1.00 oz (28 g) Simcoe 12.30% A.A. Dry Hop (12 to 14 days total)
0.25 oz (7 g) Columbus 13.90% A.A. Dry Hop (5 days to go in dry hop)’
You should be packaging on day 24 max with cold crashing.
If you go for 12 days dry hop for your fist charge, Simcoe put the Columbus in on day 7 after the Simcoe

A great explanation. Thank you.

I really need to start testing with the hydrometer :/

 

[Minbari]

A great explanation. Thank you.

I really need to start testing with the hydrometer :/

Really should be using a hydrometer anyway. If you bottle, you don't want unfinished beer going into bottles

 

[Zambi]

Really should be using a hydrometer anyway. If you bottle, you don't want unfinished beer going into bottles

But you could use a refractometer as well. If the reading is the same 3-4 days apart, fermmentation is finished.
Note that you will need to use a correction table for the SG as the refractometer reading needs to be adjusted for the presence of alcohol

Advantage of the refractometer is that you only need a couple of drops of liquid for a reading

 

[Minbari]

But you could use a refractometer as well. If the reading is the same 3-4 days apart, fermmentation is finished.
Note that you will need to use a correction table for the SG as the refractometer reading needs to be adjusted for the presence of alcohol

Advantage of the refractometer is that you only need a couple of drops of liquid for a reading

Very true. I used that method for nearly a decade.

You just need to have some kind of measurement

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

I bottled for many years and started the way you do @Brewer #442461; 4 weeks in the fermenter and then bottle. After a while I dropped it to 2.75 weeks, then cold crash, then bottle. For every batch I would take a hydrometer reading before bottling and as long as the gravity was close (±1 maybe 2 pts) to where I expected it to be, I proceeded to bottling. Now that I keg I don't have to worry about bottle bombs so I'll keg after 2+ weeks in the fermenter.

 

[Sandy Feet]

The above explanations are correct. As a general rule 14 days in the fermenter assuming a good yeast pitch and a good temperature will work.

 

[robintes]

But you could use a refractometer as well. If the reading is the same 3-4 days apart, fermmentation is finished.
Note that you will need to use a correction table for the SG as the refractometer reading needs to be adjusted for the presence of alcohol

Advantage of the refractometer is that you only need a couple of drops of liquid for a reading

Very true vs 100mL for a hydrometer (and risking tipping it back into wort? or bin it?)

correction table for the SG as the refractometer reading needs AFAIK this type is not accurate once the wort has any significant alcohol, but it may work usefully when doing comparative readings, days apart - to show when active ferment has stopped? Its no replacement for the usual method of hydrometer OG - FG and FG to FG changes at finish days - but you can waste a lot of sample?

 

[Donoroto]

Very true vs 100mL for a hydrometer (and risking tipping it back into wort? or bin it?)

Taste it, then Bin it (or finish it!). No sense adding bubbles of air and possible contamination for 100 ml.

 

[Minbari]

Taste it, then Bin it (or finish it!). No sense adding bubbles of air and possible contamination for 100 ml.

This!

don't pour it back. O2 exposure and contamination is far too high

 

[Zambi]

Which is exactly why I use a refractometer!
100 ml on my small batch size is quite a lot.
To be honest, since I started kegging I only take gravity readings to see if annd how much I need to dilute my batch