Hi All, just brewed my 1st batch of beer using one of the starter kits. My question is I don’t see much bubbling activity in the airlock. My buddy at work said I should be seeing some activity. I brewed it on Saturday afternoon. Once in the bucket, i followed all the instructions and then added the yeast. I then put t in a cool dark place, down cellar, which is about 55 degrees. Is that too cold? I brought it upstairs after work today, it’s about 62-64 in the house. Is there a way to check it, or should I just leave it be?
Which recipe/yeast? 55 is pretty cool for most of them.
You likely did the right thing by bringing it upstairs. I usually ferment mine at 60-64 degrees.
Don’t worry until another day or two has passed.
I’m guessing you are using a pail. If you have a long spoon, sanitize it and give it a stir. Or swirl it around.
You won’t hurt the beer by opening the lid.
Sometimes the CO2 will escape from the lid and not activate the air lock. No big deal. That won’t hurt your beer either.
Like mentioned, 55* is a little on the colder side for an ale. It will take off at that temp and make a nice beer. But it will take a little more time than if it was at 60*.
55 seems a bit cold. my basement is a constant 65 and i think thats cold. make sure to put your beer somewhere a bit warmer than that when conditioning. i had my fist batch conditioning at 65. after 10 days still pretty flat. moved them to a much warmer room. within a day they were 10x more carbed up.
55 seems a bit cold. my basement is a constant 65 and i think thats cold. make sure to put your beer somewhere a bit warmer than that when conditioning. i had my fist batch conditioning at 65. after 10 days still pretty flat. moved them to a much warmer room. within a day they were 10x more carbed up. what are you brewing anyway?
55 seems a bit cold. my basement is a constant 65 and i think thats cold. make sure to put your beer somewhere a bit warmer than that when conditioning. i had my fist batch conditioning at 65. after 10 days still pretty flat. moved them to a much warmer room. within a day they were 10x more carbed up. what are you brewing anyway?
[quote=“Nighthawk”]Sometimes the CO2 will escape from the lid and not activate the air lock. No big deal.[/quote]I agree that your ambient temp was probably a little low, but this point is important - a bubbling (or not) airlock isn’t a good indicator for what’s going on inside the fermenter. If your bucket’s lid is the kind without the rubber o-ring, it’s unlikely that you’ll get a good enough seal to make the airlock bubble, too.
Ok. wednesday I took the lid off, and it looked clear on top, not a lot of foam like what I saw in the video that came with the kit. I sanitized a long spoon and gave it a good stir. It did smell really pretty good though. I want to check it again tomorrow. If it is not foamy, should I add more yeast? If so, what kind should I get? There is a brew shop not too far away from here, I can just go get some.
I just got my first starter kit last week and cooked up a batch of Caribou Slobber. I saw bubbles in the airlock after about 12 hours. The room temp was around 72 degrees when I started(a little high, according to the yeast manufacturers website) and I had it cooled down to 68 by the next day. Eight hours after I noticed airlock activity, nothing. I freaked out a bit and cruised some forums for advice. From what I gather, we should both be ok. I know I’m probably in no position to be giving advice since this is my first batch, but my plan is to just let her be and keep my fingers crossed. Oh, and I got a hydrometer today too. I’m assuming I should be able to tell if it has properly fermented if I take a potential alcohol reading and it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 2%. I’m basing that on the Northern Brewer video on how to use a hydrometer, he got a PA reading from the Caribou Slobber of 7% before fermentation, and 2% after. Since the Caribou Slobber is a kit, you should get close to the same PA reading before fermentation every time you make a batch? Right?
Agreed, on the cool side but not bad if expected. My Basement is at 56 and it takes a little bit to get going (48 hours for most but 80 hours is not unheard of) and the fermentation takes longer (2 weeks to drop high kruasan (sp?)) but the final product is smooth.
Bottling is another matter. Need to move the bottles upstairs for two weeks to carb then back down to condition and wait. In to the fridge 2 days before i want to drink.
Don’t worry to much moving it to warmer temps will help.
Chappy, You mention that there was a little foam on top. Quite possible fermentation is done and the krausen has mostly dropped. Or that it just started.
Does it have an alcohol smell to it? Do you have a hydrometer to take a reading?
It never hurts to have a pack or 2 of dry yeast on hand.
Josh, correct that using an extract kit you should get the same OG each time. There could be a small variation in the sugar content of the extract. And depending on human error in water volumes, you should be able to get the same OG.
When I took the lid off, it was 4 days after brewing. Would the fermentation have happened that quickly? I was going to go to a local brew supply shop and pick up some more yeast. Any consequences to adding another packet?
It did seem to have an alcohol smell. I can pick up a hydrometer while I am there. What should I see for a reading if all is well?
[quote=“Chappy58”]When I took the lid off, it was 4 days after brewing. Would the fermentation have happened that quickly? I was going to go to a local brew supply shop and pick up some more yeast. Any consequences to adding another packet?
It did seem to have an alcohol smell. I can pick up a hydrometer while I am there. What should I see for a reading if all is well?
Thanks,
Chappy[/quote]
If all is well your fermentation is done or still progressing. FG would be about 1.015 to 1.010 for the fermentation to be done. Fermentation is done when SG reading is the same over a period of a few days. If fermentation is still progressing your SG will be higher than 1.015; approximate number.
