fermentation times

[robsan77]

Hi,

Being impatient as I am and wanting to bottle my beer asap I was wondering if anyone could shed some light for me. I understand that depending on many factors could vary the time taken for fermentation but...
My vessels were well pitched and have been sitting at a steady 20c. They went in wednesday. Today they have noticably slowed down.

1) what is the general rule of thumb for knowing when to transfer to bottle (straight to bottle for me as no conditioning casks)
2) How long could I expect fermentation to take for my situation. Using Notts and s04 yeast (in separate fvs of course)

og was 1040
calc predicted 1010 final but this is the batch I mashed to high with so who knows.

Can anyone help me?

thanks

 

[jamesb]

A general rule of thumb is about 10 days.

A better rule of thumb: Fermentation has pretty much finished when you have the same hydrometer reading for a couple of days on the trot. Leave it for a few days after that (as mentioned in another thread) and then bottle. It helps if you can put the beer in a cooler place after fermentation as it helps to drop the yeast out of suspension.

 

[Moley]

I'm afraid you can't rush it too much, it will take as long as it takes.

I also bottle straight from primary and would usually reckon on 2 weeks from start to finish, the yeasties need time to clear up after themselves, and I don't bottle until most of the sediment has been thrown.

 

[robsan77]

What and when would you add finings?