my brewing closet smells like the day after a frat party

hello all. i've been looking around this site for a little, and the other day i finally went out and bought my brewing kit. it wasme with 2 5 gallon buckets, and a bunch of other stuff.

any way...i did my stuff, i boiled(which it never seemed to roll, just a rolling simmer) then i cooled and pitched my yeast.

a few bubbles the first night, then the next morning a few more bubbles..
by the time i got home from work, the airlock was full of foam, and so was the top of the bucket. this was after about 18 hours.

i cleaned out an sanitized the airlock

now its been 48 hours, and there are little to no bubbles in the airlock. did something bad happen?

the closet smells like day old spilled stale beer.
i am brewing the basic ale that my homebrew store sold me if this helps. i just watched the airlock for a minute, it bubbled about 5 times. isnt it a little early for it to be going so slow? does it pick up again?

is the airlock just dirty...there is brown stuff stuck to it.

It's fine. Give it time.

relax. don't worry about the bubbles. Take time to read this http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Think_evaluation_before_action/ it will help.

jonp9576 said:

is the airlock just dirty...there is brown stuff stuck to it.

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Where is the airlock dirty? Picture? Is there still fluid in it?

I'm asking b/c I'm wondering if you had a bit of a blow off.

Otherwise, fermentation can be done in as little as 48, and the smell means your doing it correctly!

smells like pretty much everyones area they keep their Fermenters, cept for you lucky lager people.

moonpile
the foam came up right through and out the top of the airlock. i rinsed it, tried to scrub it out for a little. then i sanitized it and put more water in it and put it back in. its just got a brown tint on it, some darker spots, but its not stoping airflow

also. i am reading a lot about getting oxygen into the wort for fermentation. one post sad to shake it for a few minutes. i shook it for about 30 seconds. should i shake it some more

jonp9576 said:

the closet smells like day old spilled stale beer.

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Breathe Deep Young Brewer....for that is the smell of greatness!

BigKahuna said:

Breathe Deep Young Brewer....for that is the smell of greatness!

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And one that completely fascinates my cat, too. She's been raised right.

i should probably just shut up and wait...

jonp9576 said:

also. i am reading a lot about getting oxygen into the wort for fermentation. one post sad to shake it for a few minutes. i shook it for about 30 seconds. should i shake it some more

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Don't be shaking now once fermentation has started.

jonp9576 said:

i should probably just shut up and wait...

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Start thinking of what you'd like to try for your second batch when that thing is finished....I'm a firm believer in having your second in the Primary within a week after bottling your first batch. It will help you leave that first one alone for a few weeks, and keep you from asking about why your GREEN ASS BEER tastes a bit too bitter.

Keep your Chin Up....All is well, and you're here, and you're brewing...it doesn't get much better than that!

sounds like it's going to be beer! you have been blessed!

Sounds like you might need a bigger bucket for primary? I had to repitch my first batch and it came out great, completely the opposite of spewing out the airlock.

First do a search here for "blow off tube", you can connect a tube and immerse it into a jar of water with a little bleach and fabric softener. Keeps the airlock from clogging, blowing off and spilling beer and Krausen all over your cloths, with the fabric softener you can kill / mask most of the smells.

I agree with everyone else.

I had a batch that I kinda rushed into secondary due to rasberries and it had all but stopped when I stuck it in the secondary. The SG read 1.041 or something like that.. not nearly done.

I left it sit with barely a bubble visable for almost 2+ weeks... we tested it again to see if we had failed and low and behold it measured 1.010 which is spot on with the recipe I used/modified.

Let it sit..... you'd be amazed as I have been at how it works out for the better.

jonp9576 said:

i should probably just shut up and wait...

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This, my friend, is the best advice in this thread. Have patience and give it time. All will be well and you will have beer in a few weeks.

i cant take this waiting. its only been 3 days...i am guessing i should wait at least a week or 10 days to check the sg. my wort had a sg of 1.060 at 73.5 degress. my book said once it stops going down(the same reading for 3 days) then i am good to go to the next step. can i go right into the keg from there, or do i need to use the other bucket that came with my kit that has the tap on the bottom of it.


once i get this into the keg i can starting a new batch,......oh man, i am way ahead of myself

jonp9576 said:

once i get this into the keg i can starting a new batch,......oh man, i am way ahead of myself

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Don't rush it. I have six fermenters because I like to leave my beers in the fermenter a minimum of three weeks before kegging. Ale pails are relatively cheap.