I brewed my first batch of the American Wheat kit on 5/26. I saw aggressive bubbling in my air lock for the first 48-72 hours or so, and then it dropped quickly to almost nothing now. The krausen that developed also has gone away. Should I be worried? It got pretty warm in the North East and I just want to make sure that didn’t effect the yeast at all. Has anyone experienced anything similar/have any tips? Thanks
it will be fine maybe not great(depends on how warm it got and in what part of the fermentation.) but it will be ok. give er a couple weeks. test the gravity to make sure its done. next time keep a close eye on the temp. its something that helps with consistantly making great beer. i like keeping mine in a swamp cooler. it helps prevent great flucuations in temp and allows you to make adjustments if needed.
It will be fine, but for future reference, cooler is better. I shoot for about 63-65 F for most of my ales.
Thanks guys, do you think I should let it stay in the fermenter for another week or so, or is fermentation likely over?
My personal rule of thumb: When it seems like fermentation is complete and the yeast is settled out, then check specific gravity, then wait 3 more days, then check gravity again. If gravity stayed the same after 3 days, it’s done. If not, then wait 2-3 more days, then check again, until the gravity doesn’t change anymore. Once it stays the same, you’re ready to bottle.
That said, if you wait 2-3 weeks leaving it in the primary, it won’t hurt anything and may actually help.
That is, if you’re patient enough as I know you said it’s your first, and we all can remember well how difficult waiting through that first beer was… Good luck!
this is good advise.
[quote=“Silentknyght”]That said, if you wait 2-3 weeks leaving it in the primary, it won’t hurt anything and may actually help.
That is, if you’re patient enough as I know you said it’s your first, and we all can remember well how difficult waiting through that first beer was… Good luck![/quote]
This, also, is very good advice. Patience is usually a good thing in brewing.
Welcome to the best hobby ever.
It’s a fun activity where you actually end up with more beer after than you had before.
Get another kit. Once you have your beer, you’re not going to want to wait another month or two. Start building that pipeline…
Beer of modest S G will be mostly done in 3-4 days, you are good.
The American Wheat was my first as well. One thing I can tell you is that the longer you can leave it after you have bottled, the better. Mine is now 3 weeks in the bottle and the flavors are just now starting to meld together and mellow. I tried it at 2 weeks and it had a bitter bite to it, but it is starting to come around. Like you, it was my very first try at brewing so it was very difficult to wait it out, but I can now see why, and it is certainly worth it.
Congrats on your first brew!
[quote=“JMcK”]
Get another kit. Once you have your beer, you’re not going to want to wait another month or two. Start building that pipeline…[/quote]
Just bought the Dead Ringer kit. Planning on bottling on Saturday- can’t wait! Thanks for all the help, guys! In the process of reading Papazian’s Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It’s definitely easing my mind about the whole process in general, and getting me really excited to continue brewing!
[quote=“samktz”]
Just bought the Dead Ringer kit. Planning on bottling on Saturday- can’t wait! Thanks for all the help, guys! In the process of reading Papazian’s Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It’s definitely easing my mind about the whole process in general, and getting me really excited to continue brewing![/quote]
Great read!! That’s the first book I picked up too when I started, sure does get the wheels rolling.
[quote=“jethrobrewing”][quote=“samktz”]
Just bought the Dead Ringer kit. Planning on bottling on Saturday- can’t wait! Thanks for all the help, guys! In the process of reading Papazian’s Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It’s definitely easing my mind about the whole process in general, and getting me really excited to continue brewing![/quote]
Great read!! That’s the first book I picked up too when I started, sure does get the wheels rolling.[/quote]
I second that. first beer book I read also.
Tasted 1 bottle last night after it’d been conditioning in the bottle for about 10 days or so. Still could use a little more time for a bit more carbonation, but the flavor is good. Really happy with it. Thanks everyone for the help! I brewed a batch of Dead Ringer IPA last night and saw signs of fermentation almost immediately. It appears I’ve caught the bug!
Doesn’t take much, I was hooked after my first batch as well. Very creative and rewarding hobby to have.
:cheers:
