Stopped bubbling, Ruined?

First batch of home brew. One Gallon Red ale kit. Bubbled nice for two days then I checked this morning and it has stopped bubbling. The Temperature was 60 degrees, so I moved it to another area where it is usually 68-75. Aerated it and let it sit in dark area at about 70 for the last 8 hours. No bubbles. Did I ruin my batch or will the yeast wake up again?
EDIT: Can’t take a gravity read my Hydrometer showed up busted! :evil:

Nope… Although aerating past fermentation didn’t do you any favors. Bubbles can show up anywhere from two days to two weeks. Moving to a slightly warmer spot and gently swirling the yeast into suspension might squeak a couple more gravity points out of your fermentation, but the yeast is done when it’s done. Let it sit on the yeast to clean up a bit and call it good. If you really aerated, introducing oxygen, you may have a slightly stale beer. Still beer, but not the best beer you could have made. Relax, and see this beer through to bottles. And get a gravity measuring device to ease your mind a bit. Welcome to the hobby… Ask away, as everyone here is super helpful as you learn this stuff.

[quote=“highliner”]First batch of home brew. One Gallon Red ale kit. Bubbled nice for two days then I checked this morning and it has stopped bubbling. The Temperature was 60 degrees, so I moved it to another area where it is usually 68-75. Aerated it and let it sit in dark area at about 70 for the last 8 hours. No bubbles. Did I ruin my batch or will the yeast wake up again?
EDIT: Can’t take a gravity read my Hydrometer showed up busted! :evil: [/quote]

Maybe someone with more experience can correct my thoughts -I am semi experienced (~40-45 batches, plus avid reader of this forum etc) but I will say a few things

  1. Bubbling stopping after a few days doesn’t mean that much. usually it will slow way down. I THINK you would of been fine had you left it. 60 degrees is a BIT on the low side (I am for 62-64) but not out of range. I will say there is NO WAY it is done after 2 days anyway, so a hydrometer reading would of been pointless anyway

  2. I fear you really should NOT of aerated it again. you don’t want to introduce oxygen back into it after the initial aeration. How much this hurts I am not sure, but I don’t think it was a good thing. terrible? maybe not, but will have some impact

  3. 68-75 degrees (especially the 72-75 range) in my opinion is way to high

Is it ruined? I am not sure. but if you are looking for an honest answer I will try to give you one and again say I don’t think it will turn out quite as well if you would of just left it alone.

What to do with this batch now then? I would at least move it BACK to the cooler area, and if you don’t have a hydrometer, wait at least 2 to 2 1/2 weeks (3 would be ideal).

last comment, if you got the kit from NB, if you tell them the hydrometer showed up busted I think you will get a new one from them maybe. could get it in time to test in 2 - 3 weeks at least

I guess maybe I used the wrong term. I did not remove the bung or the airlock, but I did spin the contents of my bottle to get the yeast that had settled at the bottom of it reintroduced to the liquid. So I guess aerate was not the right term. I really appreciate the help. I am going to get a new hydrometer, the pack of 4 one gallon carboys and start making one gallon a week til I get to drink my first batch. like Pale Ale and IPA’s, trying to find one I like before I move to 5 gallons.
Thanks again! :cheers:

I’ll try.

Agree, except that a hydrometer reading wouldn’t be pointless, as it would tell you if the fermentation is stuck or just winding down. But it is certainly not done yet, and there is no harm in giving it more time.

There will be no impact as he corrected by saying he gently swirled the yeast back into suspension. If he had aerated, worst case is the beer would have had some cardboard flavors. More likely would be that it wouldn’t last as long in the bottle - which I’m sure is not going to be an issue with a first brew of 1 gallon.

[quote=“fullhousebrew”]3) 68-75 degrees (especially the 72-75 range) in my opinion is way to high

Is it ruined? I am not sure. but if you are looking for an honest answer I will try to give you one and again say I don’t think it will turn out quite as well if you would of just left it alone.

What to do with this batch now then? I would at least move it BACK to the cooler area, and if you don’t have a hydrometer, wait at least 2 to 2 1/2 weeks (3 would be ideal).[/quote]
Yes and no. 68-75 degrees is way too high to get the best flavors from the yeast, but the critical period for this is the first two-three days of fermentation. After that, the yeast won’t produce the same effect with too warm temperatures. In fact, warming up after a few days can help ensure good attenuation without producing off flavors. And once you do warm up, don’t cool it back down (unless you are experiencing an out-of-control fermentation like can happen with Belgian beers at the height of activity). Cooling late in the fermentation will hurt attenuation and could cause the yeast to stall.