maybe i'm paranoid

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jgarri1

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I started my first batch ever on Monday night (12/31)..A Sam Adams clone. It was bubbling pretty good yesterday and this morning when I went down to look at the airlock it was quiet. Should I be worried? I am leary to open up the bucket this soon as well.
 
It may be done. You can check the gravity or leave it for the rest of the week - either is fine
 
Welcome to the forum!
The beer will be fine. Depending on the temperature, fermentation can take place quickly, so don't worry. Just let it sit in the primary for at least a week so that the yeast can clean up after itself. Make sure to take a hydrometer reading and see if the beer is around terminal gravity before transferring to a carboy for maturation or bottling.
 
In that time fermentation could have already finished. As a general rule of thumb try not to judge your beers progress by the airlock, the bubbles dont tell you much. A hydrometer will tell you if its done or not.

It sounds fine to me, I would take a hydrometer reading every day for the next couple days and if its the same, your fermentation is done. Then you can rack to your secondary vessel, or just leave it to clear for another few weeks.

Sounds like you have made beer. ::cheers::
 
According to Andy Grove of Intel only the paranoid survive. Someone else I forget who just now said just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

The fermentation process could have stopped if you let the temp. of your beer fall much below the recommended level. If the temp has been maintained then you should be OK.

If not the yeast may have fallen out. If it did get to cold you can warm it back up and swirl the carboy or whatever you are using to get the yeast back into suspension.

Welcome to the forum.:mug:
 
I checked the temp and it looks to be around 66-68 degrees. I hadn't taken an initital gravity reading but did last night after reading teh advice given and it came up at 1.016. Per the recipe the finished gravity should be at a high end of 1.012. Do I need to warm it back up and try to get another blast of fermentation going?
 
jgarri1 said:
Do I need to warm it back up and try to get another blast of fermentation going?

No. Leave it alone, and check it again in a week or so. If it's still 1.016 then it's done (you won't always get to the "target" FG, for a bunch or reasons).

If it's something lower than 1.016, wait another day, then check it again. If it hasn't moved, it's done.

EDIT: by "done", I mean fermentation is complete. Then it's up to you whether you want to (a) bottle right away (b) leave it in the primary a little longer (up to 3-4 weeks total), and then bottle or (c) rack to a "secondary" for a couple weeks of clearing, and then bottle.

Personally, I'd go with (b), but the pros and cons of all these approaches are discussd endlessly here...search for "secondary" and read up!
 
jgarri1 said:
I checked the temp and it looks to be around 66-68 degrees. I hadn't taken an initital gravity reading but did last night after reading teh advice given and it came up at 1.016. Per the recipe the finished gravity should be at a high end of 1.012. Do I need to warm it back up and try to get another blast of fermentation going?

I agree with bike. Sounds like it's doing fine.
 
abracadabra said:
According to Andy Grove of Intel only the paranoid survive. Someone else I forget who just now said just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

I am not sure who else might have said that, but IF my memory serves me, Mel Gibson said that in Conspiracy Theory.
 
So it looks like it is done..the FG hasn't moved from 1.016 since i tested it last wednesday. According to teh "booklet" it is time to rack and prime and bottle. Reading on here though it sounds like I should wait another week or two before doing that. With this being a Sam Adams clone though.,.,how much more clearing will it do? Or is this step simply a matter of personal preference?


The other question is how difficult is it to make a Blue Moon clone for a second batch? Are all recipes "all-grain" or is there an extract kit that I can manipulate alittle bit?
 
There are some easy extract Blue Moon clones, so you should be able to do that. I know that most homebrew stores have kits, and I've heard on this forum that AHS has a good one. We may have one in the recipe database, too.

As for the beer you have now, you can bottle it if you want. Or you can wait another week or so and bottle it then. I would wait another week if it was up to me. The beer can condition a little bit, and any off-flavors you might have will be cleaned up a little as well as some clearing. You'll also have less "stuff" in the bottom of your bottles. Usually 2 weeks or longer is a good bet.
 
So patience isn't one of my virtues. I couldn't wait any longer and bottled my first batch last night. Now for three weeks of hell. Hopefully it tastes alright..next up is for Midwest to hurry my order for the Blue Moon kit so I can get going again...I will say though that after I ordered from there I remembered AHS and checked them out...holy mother what a selection!!

What a great hobby...
 
You bottled an eight day old beer?
Please be cautious of bottle bombs. Hopefully you will be fine but that is pushing your beer quite a bit.
 
Timeline: 12/31---boiled and pitched
01/01- fermentation cooking right along
01/02-- noticed bubbling stopped
01/03-- took 1st gravity reading...1.016
01/04-- took 2nd gravity reading... 1.016
01/07-- took 3rd gravity reading.... 1.016

according to everything I had seen and read here..it appeared pretty safe to call fermentation done. Maybe I did jump the gun a little bit and should have let it rest for another week but I guess if things start exploding I can treat it as a learning experience.
 
Definitely let it age in the bottles for a while.... And if you want to avoid bottle bombs, after about 2 weeks of being in the bottle, move them to a fridge.

If this is your first batch to make, be sure to set aside at least a 6 pack to drink in about six months. In the mean time, get busy making more :)
 
So I bottled the batch up and have an old refrigerator in teh basement that the freezer is used but the lower part isnt at all...I didn't feel that it was on and put the beer in there since it would be nice and dark....next day I go down to check on things to see if I had any bottle bombs as somebody mentioned might be the case...and it turns out that the bottles are chilled...I immediatly took them out and put them in a warm room....to late? I hope after three weeks when I crack a tester it isn't flat because I killed the yeasties.
 
The yeast will be fine with the one day of lower temperatures. Cold puts them to sleep, heat kills them.

A touch of agitation will wake them from the nap that you induced.
 

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