Lightning attenuation

[jayhawk]

I brewed a porter on Oct 18. OG was 1070, and four days later it had plummeted to 1017! Is this normal? The beer tastes great. Right now it is @ 1015. I used Wyeast 1056 American Ale with 1.5tsp yeast nutrient in the boil. I had a regular single infusion mash @68C for 60 mins. Anyone else with similar experiences?

[Freon12]

Yes, but only if I use a large starter. I am not lucky enough to get freash enough yeast to do that. Starters have had airlock movement in less than 6hrs before and final gravity in 4days.

The key may be lag time.

Cheers,
Freon

[jayhawk]

I am guessing the lag time was very small for this batch. I brewed, pitched, then was gone for two days, so I can say how long it took to get going. I only pitched a 600ml starter, but I think the yeast nutrient in the wort must have kickstarted everything. Anyway, I am not complaining.

[bredmakr]

I am not surprised by the performance of WYEAST 1056. I have had similar results when the yeast is fresh (less than a month in package). This strain of yeast is known for being a great attenuator.

[stumpwater]

When I brew my porter (recipe posted on site as stumpwater's midnight porter) I get similar fast fire results. At the 4 day mark, I crash the temp down to 6C and let it sit at that temp for about 11 days before kegging. It turns out smooth! It was hard for me to believe the results considering how quickly this beer moves along but you can't argue with the results.
(p.s. can you mail beer? I would like to try one of those porters. I live in Ontario)