Hello all,
I have decided to start home brew after many long years as a fan of craft beer. I started with a ruby mild that was a blend of specialty grain and extract. The brew went fine and I hit all my numbers. I had a hard time siphoning into my primary and just went for the dump into the funnel which I was comfortable with seeing as how it aerated the wort. My issue is that my fermentation is not as aggressive as I thought it would be. I am on day three and the airlock is generating two to three bubbles every 10-15 seconds. I used sanitizer in my airlock and it is still crystal clear. Shouldn’t I be expecting at more vigorous fermentation? O.G. was 1.049
How was the yeast that you added, was it old? An old packet of yeast has fewer viable cells which can cause a slow start to a fermentation. In the future if you find that your yeast is old you might start looking into doing yeast starters or finding fresher packets. It sounds like its going now so I wouldn’t worry about it. When did you first notice airlock activity?
Vigorous fermentation is not always present. There are a lot of variables on how vigorous the fermentation will be.
At what temperature are you fermenting. I suggest staying at the lower end of the optimal range for your yeast. The yeast will cause the wort temperature to rise 5-10 degrees so keep that in mind. Check out swamp coolers for controlling your fermentation temperature.
Your airlock may or may not bubble much during fermentation. The airlock is just a pressure relief valve to allow co2 to escape. The liguid you use in the airlock should remain clear unless the krausen builds up enough to enter the airlock. It is no problem if you do not have a large krausen.
If you do not already have a hydrometer, get one. After you think fermentation has stopped take readings over several days. When you get the same numbers for a couple of days you can bottle.
The yeast continue to work after fermentation has stopped. They clean the beer in clarity and taste so it is accepted to leave the beer in primary for 3 or 4 weeks, then bottle.
If you follow the recipe, have good sanitation and control your temperatures you should get a great beer.
Welcome and Happy Brewing
:cheers:
Great info,
It is also worth mentioning that I am in a six gallon carboy. My yield was just shy of five gallons so there is some extra space in the primary which could be the reason for a less than vigorous fermentation. I also made a low gravity beer. I will be placing into secondary on friday night which was one week from the brew and will keep in secondary for another week. Having a great time, which is the most important part.
Cheers and thanks a lot.
what temp are you fermenting at? lower temps will take awhile to take off
Check your room temperature. Sometimes I found that too cold of a room shows down the fermentation. I ferment in my basement and have had some beers that got off to a slow start due to too cool of temperatures. In your kit it should have the preferred temperature range for the type of yeast you’re using.
Happy brewing!
