jgarri1

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I started my first batch ever on Monday night (12/31)..A Sam Adams clone. It was bubbling pretty good yesterday and this morning when I went down to look at the airlock it was quiet. Should I be worried? I am leary to open up the bucket this soon as well.

rdwj

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It may be done. You can check the gravity or leave it for the rest of the week - either is fine

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Iordz

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Welcome to the forum!
The beer will be fine. Depending on the temperature, fermentation can take place quickly, so don't worry. Just let it sit in the primary for at least a week so that the yeast can clean up after itself. Make sure to take a hydrometer reading and see if the beer is around terminal gravity before transferring to a carboy for maturation or bottling.

Brakeman_Brewing

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In that time fermentation could have already finished. As a general rule of thumb try not to judge your beers progress by the airlock, the bubbles dont tell you much. A hydrometer will tell you if its done or not.

It sounds fine to me, I would take a hydrometer reading every day for the next couple days and if its the same, your fermentation is done. Then you can rack to your secondary vessel, or just leave it to clear for another few weeks.

Sounds like you have made beer. ::cheers::

abracadabra

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According to Andy Grove of Intel only the paranoid survive. Someone else I forget who just now said just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

The fermentation process could have stopped if you let the temp. of your beer fall much below the recommended level. If the temp has been maintained then you should be OK.

If not the yeast may have fallen out. If it did get to cold you can warm it back up and swirl the carboy or whatever you are using to get the yeast back into suspension.

Welcome to the forum.

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jgarri1

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I checked the temp and it looks to be around 66-68 degrees. I hadn't taken an initital gravity reading but did last night after reading teh advice given and it came up at 1.016. Per the recipe the finished gravity should be at a high end of 1.012. Do I need to warm it back up and try to get another blast of fermentation going?

FlyingHorse

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No. Leave it alone, and check it again in a week or so. If it's still 1.016 then it's done (you won't always get to the "target" FG, for a bunch or reasons).

If it's something lower than 1.016, wait another day, then check it again. If it hasn't moved, it's done.

EDIT: by "done", I mean fermentation is complete. Then it's up to you whether you want to (a) bottle right away (b) leave it in the primary a little longer (up to 3-4 weeks total), and then bottle or (c) rack to a "secondary" for a couple weeks of clearing, and then bottle.

Personally, I'd go with (b), but the pros and cons of all these approaches are discussd endlessly here...search for "secondary" and read up!

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abracadabra

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I agree with bike. Sounds like it's doing fine.

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rabidgerbil

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I am not sure who else might have said that, but IF my memory serves me, Mel Gibson said that in Conspiracy Theory.

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jgarri1

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So it looks like it is done..the FG hasn't moved from 1.016 since i tested it last wednesday. According to teh "booklet" it is time to rack and prime and bottle. Reading on here though it sounds like I should wait another week or two before doing that. With this being a Sam Adams clone though.,.,how much more clearing will it do? Or is this step simply a matter of personal preference?


The other question is how difficult is it to make a Blue Moon clone for a second batch? Are all recipes "all-grain" or is there an extract kit that I can manipulate alittle bit?