Worryingly quick fermentation

[Sando]

Hi all

I've just completed my first ever brew and everything seems to have gone ok apart from fermentation which seems to have stopped very quickly.

I used Safale SO4 which I know is a fast fermenter, but I pitched around 15:00 on Saturday (17th) and this morning (Mon 19th) there's no airlock activity. In between I had good fermentation and a healthy kreusen (sp?) was formed which has since dropped back into the beer.

The SG was 1.051 and this morning I had a reading of 1.016, which is very nearly in range of the recipe FG, but it just seems to have happened extremely quickly.

I made a starter out of 11.5 gs of yeast (this is for a 5 gallon brew) and also sprinkled a few more grams on dry to compensate for loss during a wee explosion in the starter bottle I also pitched at a slightly high temp (29C) as cooling was taking too long.

When I took the gravity reading this morning I decided to sup the sample instead of chucking and it alteady tasted absolutley wonderful (very similar to Black Sheep). So I'm guessing everything is ok, but as a noob I'm just a bit concerned as to how fast everything has happened. Should I leave it in the FV for a while longer or just go ahead and keg?

Cheers for any advice

Sando

[sparky Paul]

If you're fermenting in plastic, you'll probably find that it has slowed down and the small amount of CO2 now being produced is finding its way past the seal on the lid or elsewhere. It sounds fine, and at 1016 you're probably not far away from the FG.

Keep taking hydrometer readings until you see 2-3 days at a steady gravity before kegging.

[Sando]

Ok will do. Thanks for the advice (and reassurance!)

Sando

[Sando]

Cheers for that Chris. Guess I got spooked because with the reading up I've been doing I was expecting fermentation to last around 5-7 days. Seems I've a lot to learn about the characteristics of different yeasts - I look forward to learning !

Sando

[boingy]

S04 is the Linford of yeasts.
Sometimes it gets to the finish line without needing to take a breath....

[Sando]

Still amazed I can drink something I only brewed on Saturday and it's already tasty and recognisably beer (although obviously still unfinished). I reckon I could get into this home brewing lark.

Sando