Newbie question

First time brewer.

Can you tell if fermentation has started if the lid on a plastic bucket is tough to get off?

Thanks in advance
-Pat

Rip that dang lid off of there and take a peek. If you see a sort of tan sludge on top, it’s fermenting. If it looks like you just boiled it, it is either not fermenting yet, or it’s all finished.

[quote=“hawkeye450”]First time brewer.

Can you tell if fermentation has started if the lid on a plastic bucket is tough to get off?

Thanks in advance
-Pat[/quote]

Are you asking whether the pressure from fermentation might be making the lid hard to get off?

Possible. But not what I would consider a reliable indication. Plus I would have to see the bucket and lid in question - some are hard to get off anytime. If it has pressurized to that extent you would likely see action out of the airlock as well.

If you are that curious I’d remove the airlock to let the gas out then see if the lid is any easier to get off.

Thanks guys

But… Somebody has to say it:
Don’t go peaking at your beer or you run the risk of introducing contamination.
She wants to be alone. Leave her alone.
Maybe, if you don’t see any visible signs of fermentation after 48 hours, then spray the rim with starsan and crack the rim to peak. But not before.

I don’t have a huge problem with a quick peek inside. Don’t go poking around every five minutes or anything but a quick look see should be fine.

Leaving it alone is not bad advice by any means. Contamination can happen. But not really something I would lose sleep over.

Especially for a new brewer I like the idea of seeing what is going on in there. Once you have a good idea, leaving it alone then becomes the right idea.

At this point though it is very rare that I would open my fermenter without suspecting a serious issue.

When this beer is over, drill a larger hole in the lid to put a rubber stopper in it. Then you can remove the air lock/rubber stopper and look in. :wink: