Did I ruin it?

I got anxious and pitched the yeast into the bucket when the wort was still quite warm, around 90 degrees. It fermented like crazy for 2-3 days then stopped. It has been in the fermenter 5 days with little to no activity. This was to be a honey pale ale but it is quite dark.

Probably not. Time will tell.

Don't do that!

When you mention "activity" do you mean the airlock was bubbling? If that is the case then know that you shouldn't use the airlock as a judge of fermentation progress. I've fermented brews with nary a bubble and they turned out fine. The best test is to take a gravity reading with a hydrometer. I say let it sit for a few weeks and proceed as normal.

Out of curiosity what style of beer was it and what yeast were you using?

Yes, by activity I meant lots of bubbling in the airlock. It was to be a honey pale form the White House, Obama's beer.

The yeast type I cant remember, I bought it at my local brew shop.

Your yeast were working fine since it was active. I don't think 90 degrees killed them, just got them hungry/very active. What is your gravity reading?

Check your gravity and compare it to your original sample. Its the only way to truly tell if you are fermenting.

Airlock activity doesn't mean it's stuck, stopped, or anything... Check gravity. If you get your recipe final then your good. How long has it been there. I usually leave mine for 3 to 4 weeks.

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It's been in for 5 days now. I am brand new to this, I love it.... I don't know how to measure the gravity and what to look for. A real newbie sorry.

brianmcdonald said:

It's been in for 5 days now. I am brand new to this, I love it.... I don't know how to measure the gravity and what to look for. A real newbie sorry.

Click to expand...

NP, 5 days is way too early... always leave it in longer than you want to, and then leave it in for longer than that. Are you doing a secondary? Measure gravity by using a hydrometer, did you get one with your kit?

Yes I have a secondary. No I didn't get a hydrometer, but I can get one locally.

I never measured any of my beer with a hydrometer when I was a newb. Just leave it alone for at least 2 weeks, maybe longer if you can. I can make an argument that one does not need to measure gravity as it's not absolutely essential at first (in my opinion). Lots of people go out and buy X, Y, and Z in the beginning when X, Y, and Z aren't as nearly as important as A, B, and C.

I know you said you really like this, so a hydrometer or refractometer would be a good investment in the future. Can't lie there as it will allow you to measure your efficiency and let you know when your beer is finished fermenting, especially bigger beers. Talk to your LHBS or read the forums/watch a YouTube video on gravity readings. However, if you give your beer time and be patient when the yeast is doing it's thing, you'll be fine without all the bells and whistles at first. Taste it and if it tastes like warm flat beer, give it another day or so just to be safe and then bottle it. Just my two cents in case you don't want to spend another $10-$15.

Thanks so much.

Unless it's a stout or some high alcohol content brew, it should work out ok if you leave it in the primary for 2 weeks, then transfer it to the secondary for another two.

Since you don't know what your starting gravity was, the hydrometer would mostly be useful for identifying when fermentation has stopped. You're looking for consistent readings over three days. That's unless you know what the final gravity reading should be.