Imperial IPA 7.2 Fermentation Time

Hello,

So for my first batch of homebrew, I choose to do an Imperial IPA...I am having a delay on the start of fermentation time. Currently 36 hours, and no sign..I am wondering if these type of beers typically take longer to begining active fermentation?

You still have time. After 48 hours I would start to worry. Maybe get another yeast ready? Did you shock your yeast by having a too cool or too hot wert temperature? Did you hydrate the (dry) yeast properly? Was your smack pack inflated? Need to know if you want help!

Hi- Thanks for all the tips, I actually had an earlier thread that you helped me on. So I went to my supply store and they gave me a dry yeast. They advised I take a peak and see if anything was going on. When I pulled the lid, there was atleast 4 inches of foam on top...I think I jammed the airvalve in too tight. It looked like the gasket had flipped down. At this point they advised me there may be a pinhole leak somewhere, so I try to make sure the lid was totally sealed. I guess in 4 or 5 days I will get the hydrometer out and check the gravity before dry hopping... Alot to learn.

With a high gravity brew like that you should have a starter as well ...

Okay, I am officially a newbie. My wife was cleaning and said, what is this, a shampoo cap? No, it's the third piece to my 3 piece airlock. Once it was washed, sanitized, and put in place, bubbles away!!!! Wow I am a tool.

Your first brew is a whole new experience.  I hope you did some reading and even better, brewed with someone who makes beer you like.  Sanitation is paramount.  Controlling your fermentation is equally important.  A big IPA is a significant undertaking for your first brew as the fermentation is more nit picky on bigger beers.  I hope you have a great beer and are happy with the results.  If not, don't be discouraged.  good beer is easy to make but can take a couple tries before you work out the system. 

As your first beer, don't get too anxious getting it into the bottle or keg.  give it a couple weeks to fully ferment and clean up some unwanted flavors.  Then exercise extraordinary measures of sanitation when you bottle or keg. 

- Joe

dwb9124,

          Shortly after I answered you I transferred a beer from the primary into a keg. I reused the yeast cake for a similar beer. When I put the cover on the bucket I didn't have it snapped on all the way. After I moved it to the spare bathtub (for protection) I noticed the cover was askew and thought of your problem (almost mine too!). As stated before, if you have a big beer use a starter (ferment with the yeast of choice!) I use pure oxygen when doing a big beer also.

Nice, yeah, lots to learn. Appreciate the help. So many details. I am definitely going to do a starter next time. Do you recomend it for any type of brew? The beer kit instructions said to dry hop after 5 days, and on the 8th day rack. The book I got said let your beer ferment for at least 2 weeks before doing anything, even if signs of active fermentation have stopped. Any thoughts on how long to leave the beer in the fermenter before touching it. A friend said with an Imperial IPA I should leave it in the pail for 2 weeks minimum, and don't crack a bottle for at least 6 weeks..

The majority of fermentation may be complete in 8-10 days but I think most beers benefit from additional days to "clean up" by-products.  The bigger the beer, the longer I'd allow.  Highly variable to be sure.

I just left a Belgian Pale in primary for 30+ days and went straight to bottling (no secondary).    After primary period at ~64F, and I put it in a cooler at 59F and forgot about it for a while. 

I typically wait several weeks at a minimum before bottling, but I always have one concern.  How long will the yeast thrive enough to ensure that bottle conditioning will proceed?  I have never had a problem, but it is always in the back of my mind when I bottle after a long fermentation.

on an IPA or dry hopped beer, I ferment at least 5 days before I start dry hopping.  Usually 7 days.  I usually dry hop 5-7 more before kegging.  I like to give it 2 weeks in the keg to clear up some.

Just checked in on my brew, it's been 8 days in the primary fermenter. Active Fermentation has slowed, just a few bubbles a minute in the airlock. I added the dry hops in sanized bags-thinking I am going to wait until sunday to bottle, maybe a little longer. Question on Gravity. Took a reading, it is 1.05 down from 1.09 on brew day. Original gravity on the kit was supposed to be 1.078, with a final gravity of 1.02. How does the gravity effect the beer? Should I be concerned my numbers are high? What causes this, and does it impact the alcohol volume?

Gravity effects beer in many ways(youll learn about this as you go) such as potential alcohol content and body of the beer. If it finishes higher than it should it could have more body and less alcohol than expected. Also it could be sweeter/maltier. If your FINAL gravity is higher than a few points over the expected you might have cause for concern that fermentation is not complete. If fermentation is not complete and you bottle it your bottles can explode. Specific Gravity can also depend on the attenuation of the yeast or your mash temp. If it was a kit I suspect you had less volume of finished wort (not too big of a deal) which would bring the gravity up. Being a kit you shouldnt  need to worry about mash temps, also Im sure they gave you a yeast with attenuation capable of that style. I would defenitely let it sit in secondary for 2 weeks. Also check your gravity daily for the last couple of days @ the same temp(make adjustments to reading with beersmith for temps over hygrometers calibrated temp). When it stops dropping you should be ok to bottle. If you see any change in gravity DO NOT bottle untill it holds the same for a few days. On the other hand a higher starting gravity will give you the potential for more alcohol! I think youll be ok as long as you dont bottle too early(1.05 is still very high).