First time brewer first time question. First day of fermenting airlock bubbling like crazy. Day 3 still getting burps of air but only two or three times a minute. Is this normal for it to slow down burping that fast? I added yeast when wort was at 70 degrees and keep it in a controlled temp room at around 70 degrees. What should I expect throughout fermentation and when should i be worried that my beloved brew may have failed? At what point should i stop fermentation and move on to secondary fermentation?
When yeast consume sugar, they produce alcohol and CO2. CO2 pressure builds up and the air lock bubbles away. No more sugar to eat, no CO2 produced, no air lock activity.
You will know that your brew has failed when you taste it and it is disgusting. Highly unlikely outcome.
The only way you can stop fermentation is to kill the yeast. If you do this you will not be able to carbonate in the bottles. You let the yeast do their thing until there is nothing to do.
IMO, there is no need to transfer to a 2nd vessel. Leave in this vessel for 3-4 weeks. Then bottle. After you have 2 hydrometer reading that are the same, 2 days apart.
In the mean time, read every post on the 1st page of the General Discussion, Extract/Partial Mashing and Yeast/fermentation. There is a wealth of knowledge there.
Also, How to Brew
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/index.html
, or pick up a hard copy.
