BeerBorg

I haven't used S-04 in about 2 years and did on Friday and boy, did it take off fast and 2 days later, most of the krausen dropped and it's almost silent. I haven't checked the gravity yet and won't for another week but my memory of this yeast from last use was that it took a while to start and wasn't as fast. Maybe it was a smaller beer but for those S-04 users, what do you usually see?

I use s-04 all the time and it always takes off fast and seems to end quickly, as for krausen I wouldn't know, I ferment in SS. After 7 days, I raise the temps from 68 up to 72 for 4 days, then cold crash for 2 days. I don't start to check the numbers until the 10th day. I have noticed that before I started oxygenating the wort, the 04 was slower to take off, but I have seen it take off 18-24 hours after pitching. I use it exclusively in my cream ales, and am thinking about using it in my blonde. I like the fruit notes it brings.

I did oxygenate though not that long.
Its sitting at 66 and I jack it up to 68 to dry Hop (none for this beer) then check gravity then crash.
Oddly the 001 brewed may Monday is still going.

I ferment at 68, and use a 5 micron oxygen wand. How big of a batch is this?

6 gallons (well, came out to 5.75ish). Took the blow off tube off and put on the airlock and there's still regular activity. It's not that I'm concerned there's something wrong, I know it's fine, just been using 95% liquid yeast and my memories of dry yeast, especially 04, make me think it was slow and long.
I like most of my yeast at 65-66 though I think 04 might be better higher for most beers since it will give off fruitier esters but for a brown, I think 65-66 is better. Just my personal opinion.
I have beer!

Do you hydrate your dry yeast? Oh yeah nothing wrong with aggressive fast ferment, but one must remember that there is a lot going on during attenuation. And yeah BEER.

Yes, I did rehydrate though usually I don't.
I'm still gonna let this sit the normal amount of time no matter when it's done. That just works better for my schedule.

This is what happens when you have your water treatment, mash Ph levels and oxygenated wort where they need to be. I know that I can probably pull my Brown using the S-04 after a week but I let all of my beers go 16-18 days just to let them clean up after that feeding frenzy. I let this yeast go mostly 66-68 the whole time. Since I started water treatment and adjusting Ph, it does not matter whether it is liquid, dry or rehydrated dry, most everything I brew now takes off in the 8-10 hour range. Sounds like it is on track to be a good brew

I'm sure it's fine and have no worries.
Just odd that it's almost done and the beer I brewed 4 days earlier is still chugging along, though finally slowing down. Maybe my airlock needs an oil change!

I use to brew an Ordinary Bitter with S-04 and I could brew it, ferment it out, clear and have it ready for bottling after 1 week. It has always been a fast working yeast. I really like how fast and well it clears. I have always used it around 66*. There is a distinct character from S-04, some love it, some hate it. It's a very "bready" yeast, not like bread crust with certain malts, but like raw bread dough along with some tart/fruity esters. Fermentation temp seems to effect that differently.

What kind of beer was it?

A brown ale. This morning it looks like it's done.
But that 001 from 1 week ago is still doing some gurgling. I'll check gravity on both this weekend.

Madbrewer wrote:I use to brew an Ordinary Bitter with S-04 and I could brew it, ferment it out, clear and have it ready for bottling after 1 week. It has always been a fast working yeast. I really like how fast and well it clears. I have always used it around 66*. There is a distinct character from S-04, some love it, some hate it. It's a very "bready" yeast, not like bread crust with certain malts, but like raw bread dough along with some tart/fruity esters. Fermentation temp seems to effect that differently.

What kind of beer was it?

Beer-lord wrote:A brown ale. This morning it looks like it's done.
But that 001 from 1 week ago is still doing some gurgling. I'll check gravity on both this weekend.

I haven't used S-04 in a while, because for most of the beers I brew, I like a cleaner fermenting yeast, but I think the bread character is a great choice for a brown ale (and a reason I should reconsider using S-04 when I brew those). One thing I remember about S-04 is how flocculant it is. As I recall, the trub it produced was so compact that I had to practically power-wash to get it all out, even without cold crashing.