Fermentation Time Differences

[DeepEllumBrews]

Can anyone explain to me why a commercial brewery can ferment out and package within 10-14 days and we as homebrewers are in a month long process? just curious what factors attribute to the time difference.

[siwelwerd]

The fact that they tend to pitch approximately a metric shit-ton of very viable, active yeast is probably the biggest reason. One of the main reasons my beers take considerably longer than theirs is that I have little to gain by a quick turnaround. I can ensure a higher quality beer by granting additional time in the fermenter, proper carbonation by doing so a little slower, etc. Having a quicker turnaround can mean millions in savings for a brewery, so they'll fine tune the process to minimize any 'wasted' time. But it's just not worth the effort for most homebrewers.

[DeepEllumBrews]

So it's the amount of yeast pitched?

[beltbuckle]

It comes down to yeast health in my opinion. There is no reason you can't ferment and package an ale in 2 weeks time (excluding high gravity ales say 1065 or 1070+ and lagers). I've gone grain to glass in 10 days, 2 weeks normally isn't an issue. Pro breweries pitch the correct amount of yeast and treat them well (oxygenation, temp control, etc.). If you do the same there is no reason you can't duplicate their time lines for the most part.

[Hop]

Part of it is fermentation. They pitch the right amount of healthy yeast (note that you CAN pitch too much yeast and ruin your beer, so read this to find out the right way to do it). They have perfectly controlled conditions. They can pull their beer out of the fermentor after just a few days to a week. They can filter their beer, which actually does a lot of the same things that aging beer does for those of us who don't necessarily use finings or filtration. The Brew Strong episode on filtration covers that more in-depth. They can also force carbonate their beer, which eliminates the week or two needed to achieve proper carbonation.

What it really comes down to is having predictable results, knowledge and experience, and the right equipment at their disposal for the faster turnaround. We can do pretty much all the things they do, but some of it is a pain and I prefer to brew one or two beers a month to get new beer frequently.

[thatguy314]

If you repitch your yeast a few batches you'll probably be able to get higher quality beer faster.

That said, if you make a low gravity beer with a flocculant yeast, there's no reason you can't finish it and package it quickly.

I've made award winning OBs and an SEB using flocculant english yeast that were packaged w/in 2 weeks.

I've made a multiaward winning IPA that spent 2 weeks in primary, including dry-hopping. However, i put the carboy in the fridge for a day or 2 before packaging to drop most of the yeast.

That said, all these beers certainly got better with a little time on them. Even commercial breweries that package their beer that early, generally give it some time to condition before serving packaging, and probably some additional time before its sold/served.

[mookie1010]

I was shocked when I pulled a pint of my Lagunitas Censored cloneat 3.5 weeks last night and how good it tasted. 1.066 OG, hit terminal gravity in 17 days (maybe less if I'd checked sooner). Crashed it for about 4 days, kegged it on day 22 and today is day 24. Usually it seems like I was still tasting green beer after even 5-6 weeks on medium American Ales.

Needs a little more carbonation, but all the flavors were there. Side by side with a bottle of the commercial will be done tonight. I'm going to have my wife do a blind test - it's one of her favorites.

[brewinhard]

Went for a tour of Southern Tier's new brew facility and when talking to the brewer there, he told me most of their fermentations are done within 3-4 days! Now they typically brew high ABV beers. We were tasting their backburner barleywine that was just 1 mos old and it was fantastic at 10% alcohol with no hotness to it. He said it simply comes down to pitching a huge amount of fresh/healthy yeast that are ready to go to work.