No activity in my fermenter.....any suggestions?

rhodesie9 said:

I did my first all-grain brew on Thursday. Fermentation was recommended at 70. I put my carboy in the basement and went out of town for the weekend. When I returned on Sunday I noticed the temp at 62. I have since moved the carboy upstairs where the temp has been raised and is holding around 70, but I have not had any active fermentation since I have been home. Should I be concerned?

I did a yeast starter also. Do I need to add more yeast?

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Jay1 said:

I'll bet all the fermentation activity went on while your away. When I pitch with a starter, I get activity in about 6 hours, with peak at about 18. By the third day it's looking pretty boring. If you're sweating it, take a gravity reading.

BTW, what was your OG? And what kind of yeast did you use?

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Hugh_Jass said:

For most yeast strains 62f is no problem.

How do you know there is no fermentation? Is the beer in a bucket or carboy?

Are there any visable signs of fermentation(krausen ring around the top of the fermentor)?

Hydrometer reading?

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Golddiggie said:

Take a gravity reading and compare against the OG reading.

I second needing the OG, current SG, what yeast you used and such. Otherwise, we're shooting blind...

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rhodesie9 said:

I do know that the FG is to be 1.011 per the recipe.

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rhodesie9 said:

My very first batch of any type of brewing. I have it in a carboy. Just doesn't seem like any. There is a slight krausen ring around the top. I thought it might have started and then possible stopped because of the lower temp it was at. I haven't taken a hydrometer reading.

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rhodesie9 said:

I will take a reading tomorrow and see where I am. What is the best way to get a sample out of the carboy to do that?

If I tilt the carboy and use a baster is there an issue if the krausen ring is disturbed?

Thank you for all of your input.

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Hugh_Jass said:

Really, if you definitely have a krausen ring, it's going or done.

Carefully tip the carboy if the baster will not reach. If you knock some of the krausen into the beer, it shouldn't be a big deal. A wine theif would work better if available. If not, a baster will work. Remember to sanitize everything and try not to splash the liquid around to avoid oxidation.

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