First Brew and No Bubbles in Airlock...

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JDRanalli

JDRanalli

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I attempted my first home brew yesterday and I still have yet to see bubbles in the airlock. It has been almost 24 hours since it was transferred to the fermenting bucket.

Can this have something to do with the fact it did not come to a constant rolling boil? I have to use an electric stove and getting it to a boil was nearly impossible.
 
It would be helpful to know the current temperature, yeast variety used, and starting gravity for this brew.

Also, sometimes those buckets do not seal well. Best measure of fermentation activity is a gravity reading.
 
JDRanalli said:
I attempted my first home brew yesterday and I still have yet to see bubbles in the airlock. It has been almost 24 hours since it was transferred to the fermenting bucket.

Can this have something to do with the fact it did not come to a constant rolling boil? I have to use an electric stove and getting it to a boil was nearly impossible.
Click to expand...

What temp did you pitch at? What is the temp in your fermentation area? Did you use dry yeast from a kit? Too many questions to shoot you in a specific direction. Many off the shelf kits may have older dry yeast packets. I assume you made an extract kit for your first attempt.
 
Depending on your cleaning / sanitation /temperatures /yeast/leaks/etc ......you may have a very slow yeast which may spark up soon or you may have shocked and have to repitch soon... we need more info to help you out
 
I had this same concern 2 weeks ago, and it worked out fine. As you will hear repeatedly here, and as you will soon be telling others, airlock activity is not your fermentation gauge. My first 2 5-gal brews bubbled like crazy right away.
My 3rd...nothing. But 2 weeks later, I measured the gravity and compared to the starting gravity advertised with my kit, I was fine. (tasting the sample from the measurement confirmed the fact that there was alcohol in my brew.) The link above to the sticky thread is your friend! Happy brewing!!
:mug:
 
ColoHox said:
It would be helpful to know the current temperature, yeast variety used, and starting gravity for this brew.

Also, sometimes those buckets do not seal well. Best measure of fermentation activity is a gravity reading.
Click to expand...

Current temp: 73 degrees
Pitch temp: 72 degrees
Yeast used was a Wyeast German Wheat yeast
Starting Gravity was 1.050

This was a simple Wheat ale kit

The bucket is extremely tough to seal but we made sure it was completely shut.

Just concerned :)
 
When I first started, I almost wore out the stairs to the basement checking on my brews. Now after a ton of brews I. actaully forget about which beer I have in fermenters. I only go check them just before I am ready to. bottle

I have figured out that the yeast will do it's job. Just let it be and enjoy beer when it is done. I have never had one not finish by just leaving it alone.

Cheers.
 
beerman0001 said:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/
Click to expand...

And by visible signs we don't necessarily mean airlocks. Sometimes an airlock doesn't bubble. It is only a vent, a valve to release excess co2, not a fermentation gauges. Airlocks start and stop as much as from environmetal things like temp, barometric pressure, a truck rolling by, or the dog trying tohump the fermenter, so don't go by what an airlock doesn't do.

Instead, after 72 hours as indicated by the sticky linked by beerman, take a gravity reading...That really is the ONLY accurate way to know what a beer is doing.

But it is NOT unthought of for a beer to appear to be doing NOTHING for the first 3 days....don't worry about it. Modern yeast RARELY does not not work for us anymore. It's not like it was in the 70's...Todays yeast RARELY lets us own.

I pitch my yeast and usually walk away for a month...I hardly ever bother checking....and the yeast has YET to fail to do it's job.
 
Thanks for the info. When I use buckets I always have a hard time getting a good seal. If you push in the middle of the lid and the airlock doesn't bubble then it's not sealed.

If it is sealed, then like the others have said, the yeast is probably just taking a bit longer.
 
Revvy said:
And by visible signs we don't necessarily mean airlocks. Sometimes an airlock doesn't bubble. It is only a vent, a valve to release excess co2, not a fermentation gauges. Airlocks start and stop as much as from environmetal things like temp, barometric pressure, a truck rolling by, or the dog trying tohump the fermenter, so don't go by what an airlock doesn't do.

Instead, after 72 hours as indicated by the sticky linked by beerman, take a gravity reading...That really is the ONLY accurate way to know what a beer is doing.

But it is NOT unthought of for a beer to appear to be doing NOTHING for the first 3 days....don't worry about it. Modern yeast RARELY does not not work for us anymore. It's not like it was in the 70's...Todays yeast RARELY lets us own.

I pitch my yeast and usually walk away for a month...I hardly ever bother checking....and the yeast has YET to fail to do it's job.
Click to expand...

Very good to know, thank you! I will take a second reading tomorrow night. I tried reading that thread and since it's 84 pages long I barely made a dent.
 
I have bubbles! They are very slow, but they are there. Now should I still take another reading tomorrow, or is it good for now?
 
No!! Just be patient for a while. 3 weeks fermenting, 3 weeks bottle conditioning. For now that's where you should aim. Don't worry about checking gravity often. Most of the time I don't check my final gravity anymore until its going into the bottle or keg. Every time you open your fermenter or put something into your wort you open yourself into an accidental infection. Patience is your friend, my friend.
 
JDRanalli said:
I have bubbles! They are very slow, but they are there. Now should I still take another reading tomorrow, or is it good for now?
Click to expand...

Do not uncap it..let it work its magic....you'll see it speed up a bit very soon. It sounds like you may have under pitched and it takes a bit for the yeast to multiple so its doing its job now.

Leave it in the primary for about 21 days and you'll end with a nice surprise.
 

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