All Grain vs Kit fermentation behavior.

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DrCrinkle

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Hello,
I have just made my first two all grain brews having previously been a ‘kit and kilo’ brewer. The fermentation of the grain brews (both IPAs) seems a lot tamer than any kit I have previously done.
They start the same (nothing for a day or so then vigorous bubbling) but the all grain kits have slowed down much quicker and taken longer to finish. What’s that all about?
 
Hello,
I have just made my first two all grain brews having previously been a ‘kit and kilo’ brewer. The fermentation of the grain brews (both IPAs) seems a lot tamer than any kit I have previously done.
They start the same (nothing for a day or so then vigorous bubbling) but the all grain kits have slowed down much quicker and taken longer to finish. What’s that all about?
What yeast have you been using?
 
Well on the kits I’ve used whatever came with the tin and the all grain has been Safale 04 and NBS West Coast Style.
 
I’ll be totally honest here. I’ve had the complete opposite to you since switching to all grain brewing? When ever i did “kits” fermentation always took 12 hours plus before any activity and generally always finish short of the estimated FG. This was always monitored with my tilt hydrometers.

however since brewing all grain, everyone of my brews have started fermenting within a couple hours, again monitored with tilt hydrometers and very active airlocks, and attenuation has always been very consistent. To date, all my all grain brews have been kits from the malt miller and have been superb athumb.. and today i pick up a fridge i bought for controlled fermentation. Are you using yeast nutrient? I have with every all grain brew, most people say it isn’t needed? But i can’t see any harm using it? Though i am still a novice.
 
It's probably the "and Kilo" bit. Your kilo of simple sugar has been replaced by longer chain sugars in an AG wort, and are taking longer for the yeast to consume.

What mash temp are you aiming for?
 
If you are brewing kits with the supplied yeast the quantity in the packet is often on the lower limit of what is needed to get a healthy fermentation on the move. It may even be below if Muntons still supply some of their kits with 6g of yeast which is what they used to do with the Wherry. All of which would explain why some kits take longer to start than AG where the brewer will usually supply the correct quantity of yeast but not of course the other way round.
 
If you are brewing kits with the supplied yeast the quantity in the packet is often on the lower limit of what is needed to get a healthy fermentation on the move. It may even be below if Muntons still supply some of their kits with 6g of yeast which is what they used to do with the Wherry. All of which would explain why some kits take longer to start than AG where the brewer will usually supply the correct quantity of yeast but not of course the other way round.
Definitely true with regards to the packet size of yeast with some extract kits. However the festival kits i did a while back were very comprehensive,and with a generous amount of yeast too.
 
If you are brewing kits with the supplied yeast the quantity in the packet is often on the lower limit of what is needed to get a healthy fermentation on the move. It may even be below if Muntons still supply some of their kits with 6g of yeast which is what they used to do with the Wherry. All of which would explain why some kits take longer to start than AG where the brewer will usually supply the correct quantity of yeast but not of course the other way round.
The OP is experiencing the opposite though.
 
Can't say I've noticed any difference between 1 can kits and AG. But there again the only checking I ever do is a quick peak after the first day to check there's a krausen, and then just leave it alone for a fortnight. Beer doesn't need poking every five minutes!
On the other hand I found 2 can kits to be very problematic. I had one that took 5 weeks to finish fermenting and they frequently stuck at 1020.
 
Just a possibility but have you brewed beer in winter previously I do not have proper temperature control, and beer ferments a hell of a lot slower at 15 degree than at twenty + when I am fermenting in the Spring/Summer.
 
The kits I used were "brewn" rather cold, so I whisked it for a good five minutes, then gently distributed the dry yeast on top. Fermenting within 6 hours.

Allgrain cooled overnight, I didn't bother to whisk, just added the yeast. Fermenting after 12 hours.

Liquid yeast took the better part of a day to do anything, whether extract or AG.
 
I’ll be totally honest here. I’ve had the complete opposite to you since switching to all grain brewing? When ever i did “kits” fermentation always took 12 hours plus before any activity and generally always finish short of the estimated FG. This was always monitored with my tilt hydrometers.

however since brewing all grain, everyone of my brews have started fermenting within a couple hours, again monitored with tilt hydrometers and very active airlocks, and attenuation has always been very consistent. To date, all my all grain brews have been kits from the malt miller and have been superb athumb.. and today i pick up a fridge i bought for controlled fermentation. Are you using yeast nutrient? I have with every all grain brew, most people say it isn’t needed? But i can’t see any harm using it? Though i am still a novice.
With regards to the nutrient i think a lot of people doing AG treat theyre water with salts which contain a lot of the ingredients in the nutrient but i may consider it if i ever struggle with fermentation.
 

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