VegasBrewMan

Recipes 

Ok, so I have read on here that people were having problems with their fermentation process not starting right off the bat.

Mine started within about 3 hours and had serious bubbles in my airlock; however my issue now after about 72 hours the bubbling has stopped completely. I cannot find anywhere on this forum where this is talked about so maybe one of you guys can share with me what's happening here? I am sure everything is going to plan and fermentation is still happening, but just want to make sure.

chmarkham

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thats it just clean up time for the yeast now

iambeer

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Did you take gravity readings? If you don't have a hydrometer, you are in the dark. I would just let it sit for 14 days or so to finish, settle and clear, then rack.

VegasBrewMan

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Ok, I was just checking. I will sit and let it do its thing for the next week and I will get a hydrometer this weekend and get a reading.

iambeer

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Once you have a hydrometer, you can take two readings spaced at least 3 days apart and then compare the readings to see if there is change. If not, then sugars have been converted. I broke my hydrometer recently and this was not a problem, I just had to be patient and let the yeast take its time.

VegasBrewMan

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Also, maybe a stupid question...but what do you mean by "rack?"

makomachine

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Rack = remove from primary fermentor to a secondary, bottling bucket, keg, etc. It's a transfer.

You are in no hurry and fermentations go through their own timeline. Leaving it sit longer is always a safe choice. The advice of taking a reading with a hydrometer is a good one - it tells you current gravity (how much sugars are left) and if that doesn't change in 3 days, and you are near the recipes projected final gravity, you are safe to move it to the next step. I like to give my beers a minimum of 10 - 14 days in primary and leave them a little longer to let the yeast clean up after themselves and floculate (drop out of suspension to the bottom).

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iambeer

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Not stupid... ask away. It means transferring beer to something else, like bottles or a secondary.

This page has better info though (and worth browsing other areas). http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Racking