Fermentation stopped...HELP!

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808beer

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On monday I did my first brew. Recepie was a Pale Ale. ;)
I assume I did everything correct according to the recepie directions except taking a hydometer reading after cooling the wort (I forgot).
I used 2 packs of Dry Muntons yeast. On monday afternoon I already saw bubbles comming out of the air lock about 2 bubbles per minute. My room temp is about 70 deg.

On tuesday morning I saw no bubbles at all. I called my homebrew shop and they said to let it sit till friday because it is still fermenting on its own. But does the airlock still need to be bubbling?? :confused:

It is now wednesday and still no bubbles. Should I stir up the batch or let is sit? Im getting hella worried, dont want to screw this up.
I also pressed down on the bucket lid to see if there was still pressure. The airlock bubbled a little then sucked some water in and some fell in the batch. About less than a teaspoon of water from the airlock feel through. Could this ruin everything? :eek:

I lose sleep over this, please help... :(
Thanks 808
 
I just went through the same thing. A ferment can finish in two days I left mine for 5 days then checked the gravity and it was close to target confirming all was fine.
 
Relax, Drink a brew.

Do you have a hydrometer?

If so, check it and tell us what it is now.

If not, just let it go 7 days and transfer to a secondary container.

Let it sit 2 more weeks then prime and bottle.

I'm betting that you're fermenting in a bucket and the lid isn't on tight and you can't see what's going on.
 
808beer said:
I used 2 packs of Dry Muntons yeast. On monday afternoon I already saw bubbles comming out of the air lock about 2 bubbles per minute. My room temp is about 70 deg.

On tuesday morning I saw no bubbles at all.
With two packs of dry yeast, your fermentation likely went crazy Monday night, and was mostly done by Tuesday morning. Like Scott said, relax and have a brew.
 
As for the water from the airlock getting into the bucket: you are probably OK. I would not worry about it (there's nothing you could do at this point anyway, so why bother worrying?) If the water was clean (ie; you didn't spit into it) there should be no issue.

Also, if you want a warm fuzzy feeling that things went OK with fermentation, you can pull the airlock out of the lid and take a peek inside the bucket. If you see a couple inches of gunk clinging to the wall of the bucket just above the surface of the beer, your fermentation went just fine. That gunk is the residue left over from the foamy kraeusen that had formed on top when the yeast were partying while you weren't looking. :)

-walker
 
This is why people buy hydrometers. I purchased one when my third batch "stuck" at 48 hours. It was down to 1012 and ready to move. Don't forget to drink the sample & take notes!

The water shouldn't be a problem, but you can use cheap vodka in your bubbler to be really safe.
 
Thanks for the tips. Ill check the airlock when I get home. I will let everyone know how things are going.

Thanks again
808
 
I racked the beer into the secondary fermenter. I took a hydro sample and it came out to 1020. I didnt take the first hydro reading. Is this still good?
I also drank a sample and it taste pretty good.

So far the beer sat in the primary for 4 days. How long will it have to sit in the secondary??

Thanks for all of your support.

808
 
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