Fermentation too fast?

[steve5815]

Started fermenting my second brew on wednesday of last week, SG was 1.040. Took a reading tonight, monday, and SG is 1.012, my first brew took 10 days to get to this SG reading, is there a problem with such a fast fermentation? How much longer do I need to leave in FV before I barrel. I am going to use a beer engine to deliver my beer, the last brew I made i followed Jims instructions, adding finings, priming sugar and gelatine when barrelling and leaving 4 weeks to condition, can I use another method to condition my brew ready for drinking?

[Naich]

How fast a fermentation happens depends on the temperature and how much healthy yeast you start off with. I don't think 5 Days to ferment the bulk of the wort isn't excessively fast. The SG normally zooms down initially and then slows down towards the end, so it'll probably take a few more days to get to the final gravity. You should leave it until you take the same gravity reading for 2 days, but it won't harm it to leave it longer than that. I tend to leave mine 10-14 days before kegging or racking prior to bottling, but it is normally down to it's final gravity in about 7 days. Your barrelling method sounds OK, although I'm not sure what you mean by "finings... and gelatine"; the gelatine IS usually the finings.

[steve5815]

Just read Jim`s instructions again, yes think I misread. Added priming sugar and finings then ordinary sugar and gelatine, looks like I done same thing twice!

[Horatio]

As Naich said; 5 days is not too quick to drop from your OG to the current reading. My beers generally ferment out in 3 to 5 days at which point I transfer to a polypin and leave for anything upto three weeks before I bottle. They usually drop a final few points in the polypin. I never use finings after the boil personally as fortunately my beers are always clear before I bottle them.