What happens if you brew beer too long

I suggest you read THIS thread, it's become the "uber discussion" on this topic thread. To Secondary or Not? This is a misoconception that so many people have, autolysed yeast and dead yeast are NOT the same thing. And folks need to grasp this, and quit worrying about autoysis. It's just not an issue for us Autolysis is to yeasts what peritonitus is to humans, it's a specific condition.

Everyone who dies doesn't have their intestines rupture and rotten bacteria dump into their bloodstream. If that were the case every beer we ever make would autolysize Autolysis is not the inevitable end of healthy yeast. It is the unnatural end that is a product of yeast health Or stressed out yeast that will automatically autlolyse Most yeast that folks call dead, is actually dormant. Like most of what's in the bottom of the fermenter when fermentation is complete.

And the yeast is indead dead, a lot of it is canibalized by the living yeast. And the rest, if the yeast was healthy to begin with, is just dead As Palmer and Jamil have said it is a RARE occurance these days that yeast actually dies anymore, let alone actually autolyses. It just goes dormant when the job is done and waits for the next round of sugar much like when we pitch on top of the old yeast cake- which even some commercial brewers do for multiple generations.

The cells rarely rupture and die off. It's not like 30 years ago when most of those opinions that you espouse about autolysis originated from when our hobby was still illegal, and there wasn't a lot of FRESH yeast available to us. The yeast used in hobby brewing was usually in cake form, which came from Germany and England in hot cargo ships and may have sat on a store shelf for a long time Palmer even said this in the broadcast I quote from above- So the whole health and vitality of yeast was different back then compared to now.

Back then it made sense. You had weaker yeast that had finished fermentation that were more susceptible to autolysis and breaking down. Now that is not the case. The bar of homebrewing has risen to where we are able to make beer that has the same robustness as professional beer.

We've gotten our techniques and understanding of what makes a good fermentation up to that level, so you don't need to transfer the beer off the yeast to avoid autolysis like we used to recommend. Old-Ned Well-Known Member.

How long is too long in an Ale Pail? Old-Ned said:. That is actually open in another browser. I'm just saving it for when I can read it all in one sitting. With all of that excellent information being put out there, what is the by-product of not fermenting long enough? What I have read so far is that beer bottled to soon before fermenting has completed will continue to do so in the bottles causing bottle bombs.

All of the grain recipes that I have put together so far have used a yeast called Nottingham Dried Ale Yeast and have all taken a routine 2 weeks to complete active fermentation. At this point, there was no visual or audible evidence of the yeast doing anything.

The beer had also settled out well and created a nice sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. The only exception to this was the Oatmeal and Double Oatmeal Stouts which had a more active fermentation for about the first three days in the fermenter. This recipe became active in the fermenter within an hour and was so vigorous after three hours that the bubbling sounded more like a steady stream of Co2.

The fermenting even caused the wort to circulate within the fermenter. It remained lively like that for about 24hrs and between the second and third day there was no more evidence of active fermentation and nothing audible. It has sat for about 7 days in silence making it an eight day ferment. I bottled the Old Peculiar today. It smelled great and had a nice thick sediment layer on the bottom of the fermenter. While I was syphoning the beer from my fermenter to the brew pot for batch priming, I noticed that the beer still had a good amount of sediment in it.

Will this continue to settle out even in the bottles? Is there a certain amount of head space required in the bottles when bottling? I filled to about 1. Thanks everyone,. TrubHead Well-Known Member. Aceto bacteria often produce ropy strands of jelly which can be a good visual indicator, as can excessive cloudiness, after several weeks in the fermentor although some cloudiness is not unusual, especially in all-grain beers.

Cure: If you don't like the taste, then pour it out. Lactic infections are desired in some beer styles. Brettanomyces is supposed to smell like horse sweat or a horse blanket. Raise your hand if you know what a horse smells like.

From sweat, I mean. I think Brettanomyces smells like leather, myself. Pediococcus can produce diacetyl and acidic aromas and flavors. One man's garbage can be another man's gold though. These two cultures and Lacto bacteria are actually essential to the Belgian Lambic beer styles. Under other circumstances and styles, beers that taste like Lambics would be discarded instead of being carefully nurtured and blended over a two year period.

Lambic beers have a pronounced tartness with fruity overtones. This type of beer is very refreshing and is excellent with heavy food. Cure: Be meticulous in your sanitation or investigate Lambic brewing. Cause 1: Cool Temperatures A beer that has been continually fermenting bubbling for a long time more than a week for ales, more than 3 weeks for lagers may not have something wrong with it.

It is often due to the fermentation being a bit too cool and the yeast are working slower than normal. Cure: This condition is not a problem. Cause 2: Gusher Infection However, the sustained bubbling is often due to "gusher type" infection.

These infections can occur at any time and are due to wild yeasts or bacteria that eat the higher order sugars, like dextrins. The result in the fermentor is a beer that keeps bubbling until all of the carbohydrates are fermented, leaving a beer that has no body and very little taste. If it occurs at bottling time, the beer will overcarbonate and will fizz like soda pop, fountaining out of the bottle.

Cure: Improve your sanitation next time. If the beer seems to be bubbling too long, check the gravity with a hydrometer. Use a siphon or turkey baster to withdraw a sample from the fermentor and check the gravity. If the gravity is still high, in the teens or twenties, then it is probably due to lower than optimum temperature or sluggish yeast. If it is below 10 and still bubbling at several per minute, then a bug has gotten hold. The beer will not be worth drinking due to the lack of flavor.

Cause 1: Too Cool This situation is commonly referred to as a "stuck fermentation" and can have a couple causes. The simplest cause and probably the most common is temperature. As previously discussed, a significant drop in temperature can cause the yeast to go dormant and settle to the bottom. Cure: Moving the fermentor to a warmer room and swirling the fermentor to stir up the yeast and get them back into suspension will often fix the problem. Cause 2: Yeast The other most common cause is weak yeast.

Referring back to previous discussions of yeast preparation, weak yeast or low volumes of healthy yeast will often not be up to the task of fermenting a high gravity wort. This problem is most common with higher gravity beers, OGs greater than 1.

Cure: Add more yeast. Cause 3: Low Attenuating Extracts Another common cause for extract kit brewers is the use of extracts high in dextrins. These are not bad extracts, in fact they are high quality, but their use is better suited to heavier bodied beers like strong ales, porters and stouts, where a high finishing gravity is desired. This committee works best without distractions-- the meetings should be held in quiet, low light areas in a warm room. If the committee was given enough budget priming sugar , then they should arrive at a consensus in about 2 weeks.

If they don't get their act together within a month, then its time to rattle their cages and shake things up a bit. Cure: The yeast may have settled out prematurely and the bottles need to be shaken to get the yeast back into suspension. Likewise if the temperature is too cool in the room, moving the bottles to a warmer room may do the trick.

Cause 1: Too much sugar You used too much priming sugar Cure: Vent and re-cap all of the bottles. Cause 2: Bottled too soon You bottled before fermentation was complete. Cure: Vent and re-cap all of the bottles. Cause 3: Wild yeast A gusher bug has gotten into the beer. Gusher bugs and wild yeasts are a real problem as they will keep on fermenting the beer until there is nothing left but fizzy bitter alcoholic water.

The real danger with overcarbonation is exploding bottles. Bottle grenades can be very dangerous both from flying glass and from glass slivers left in the carpet. Cures: Refrigerate the bottles and drink them while there is still some flavor left. These are primary fermentation and secondary fermentation. Both are generally the same processes but people adapt secondary fermentation as it can give your beer some unique properties, and is in some recipes very vital for the right outcome.

The reason for this is that after this time period your yeast is more than likely completely juiced out, and leaving it for too long increases the risk of oxidation, and thereby a bigger risk of ruining your entire batch. There are certain types of beer that can benefit from staying in the fermenter for longer periods of time. This is usually the case in for example lagers , where their taste and general mouthfeel can get better over time.

The 4-week rule I mentioned earlier especially applies if you are using a plastic bucket as your fermenter. It is almost impossible to make plastic containers completely airtight, so leaving your beer for longer periods in plastic containers has a risk of oxidation. If however, you are using a metal type fermenter, you can usually make them completely airtight.

These types of fermenters will allow you to leave your beer for way longer, up to several months or even a year depending on the type of beer. Check it on Amazon.

Make sure you understand when the fermentation process is over, before continuing. When fermenting, for your own sake make it a habit to understand when your fermentation is complete. TIP: If you are uncertain about whether or not your fermentation is complete just remember that leaving it for a little longer compared to opening it too soon is generally better.

A fool-proof method most homebrewers use is tracking the alcohol content of your beer with a hydrometer Amazon link. Once your beer reaches the alcohol content it's supposed to have, your fermentation is probably complete. As mentioned, however, it may be beneficial to leave your beer for a bit longer, even if the fermentation is complete, as it can condition your beer in a beneficial way, which may give you a better tasting beer in the end.