2-day fermentation?

I brewed a White House Honey Porter last thursday evening, my first ever brew. The fermentation was up and running by the next day and I could hear bubbles in the bucket the blow off tube was in. After 2-days, however, the bubbles stopped and there’s no sign of activity within the glass bottle. There’s no krausen on the top of the beer and there’s a thin layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Should I give the beer a gentle stir? Perhaps it’s still fermenting but just not bubbling?

Thanks.

Do you have any idea what temperature the wort was at when you pitched the yeast? Chances are, it was on the warmer side and finished up pretty quickly. I would still let it sit another 2 weeks just to make sure the yeast is done and verify that the gravity has stabilized if you have a hyrdometer.

I pitched at 70 degrees. I guess I should just be patient and see what happens.

70 is a little on the high side but shouldn’t produce very noticeable off-flavors. Was this a 1gal kit or a 5gal kit? What yeast did you use?

A hydrometer and a flask for it are cheap investments to add to your brewing equipment. Something like a wine thief to get a sample too. Then just take a reading for about three consecutive days. If there is no change, it is probably done. Most beers end up around 1.010. Don’t return the sample to the fermenter. Drink it or toss it.

For now I would not worry. Buckets have a habit of not sealing tight enough so sometimes you will not see/hear any bubbles from the airlock. Normally primary fermentation takes around a week so I would just give it some time then if you do not have a hydrometer try a sample. If it did not ferment it may taste sweet. If it did it will taste like beer of course. Good beer you made yourself.

+1 I fully agree with Matt & Mark. I have noticed a significant improvement in my beers over the last few years by close monitoring of ferment temps[ ales mostly 65-68 deg.], yeast pitching rates, and pure oxygen aeration [thru a .5ml stone]. These controls on ferms are making a difference. I’m also a big fan of yeast nutrient.