unsure first timer

So, it seems like every first time brewer has a lot of doubts about how their fermentation is going...like me. i have a question about my potentially huge mistake. while cooling my wort, which by the way isnt easy, i forgot to cool my top off water. big problem is that i didnt realize it until after i've poured it in. I'd estimate it was at about 90 degrees and about 1.5 gallons of the 5. OG read 1.041.
So i decided to continue with aeration and pitching the yeast. since im in hawaii, i put the bucket into a water bath to maintain temperature between 65-70. the airlock started bubbling pretty quickly within 12 hours, but stopped completely within 48. is everything going ok? should i be worried about oxidation and not enough aeration?

thanks guys for any insight

Check the gravity with a hydrometer. If the number is the same in 24 hours then the fermentation is done. If it was brewing higher than 75 degrees then it might be done already. That or it is just fermenting really slow

1.5 gallons of 90 water into 5 gallons would have made stuff all diference to the wort temp, maybe a few degrees. Much more improtant to maintain a constant temp once fementation starts, like you did.

It may have finished showing any visible signs of fermentation such as airlock activity but it wont have finished fermenting and I would still leave it for 7-10 days to let the yeast clean up. then I would check the gravity over 2 days and if its the same then its probabl done.
I leave my brews a minimum of 2 weeks then Cold crash at 1-2C for 4-5 days
You can try giving the fermenter a gentle swirl to rouse up the yeast if it has decided to drop out. Just dont shake it which will cause oxidation.

Thanks guys! Just took another gravity measurement. Got 1.024. That's just about 3 days since starting.

1.024 is a tad high. What was your start gravity?

So you are about 3 days in. Don't do anything. Wait. Have a homebrew. I would wait until about the 7th day, then take a gravity reading. I bet you'll find your SG has dropped further. Airlock activity (or the lack thereof) is meaningless.

Most of my beers are done in 4 or 5 days at the 4 th or 5th days I take a hydro sample and another 2 days after the first reading if its the same I rack to secondary. 48 hs after reaching FG its enough for the yeast to clean.

fermentation process aside, how long did it take you to cool wort? Did you take a temp. reading after you added the 90 degree water prior to pitching? I would be slightly suspect of DMS but in all likelyhood your are fine. just let it sit for a bit

mrclean said:

I would be slightly suspect of DMS...

Click to expand...

Um...What? Can you explain how adding water is going to introduce DMS.

kingfish- it is more about the rate at which the wort was cooled rather than the water addition. S-methylmethionine is present in the grain and the decomposition to DMS is driven by heat.

So if the wort is not cooled quickly you will form DMS.

Teruyaki,
You are fine, don't worry about the temp of the top off water, it would cool. If it was too hot when you pitched your yeast, fermentation likely wouldn't have started, but yours did, so you are ok. if the temp is a little warm fermentation will go quickly, and you might end with a sweet burn flavor in the beer, but nothing horrible. Ideal fermentation temps for standard Ale yeasts are in the low 60s. I have a fermentation fridge with a temp control and keeps my fermenting at 61 degrees wooo! Before that I would ferment in the highs 60s sometimes low 70s and fermentation would go much quicker.

All in all, your beer is fine, leave it in the primary at least 7 days, I would say 10 to be safe, then move to secondary if you want to do that for a couple more weeks. Bottle it up, drink it up!

mrclean said:

kingfish- it is more about the rate at which the wort was cooled rather than the water addition. S-methylmethionine is present in the grain and the decomposition to DMS is driven by heat.

So if the wort is not cooled quickly you will form DMS.

Click to expand...

If memory serves, once you get below 170 deg DMS production falls off. So getting from 212 to 170 quickly helps alleviate the problem.

I agree with hercher. Take a gravity reading at the end of the week and compare. Then, start thinking.

thanks maddog!! good to know

Wow, great responses! Feeling a little better about this.

Will be checking gravity again in 2 days to see how it is doing.

I think i cooled the wort pretty quickly. Took it right off the stove and into my sink full of ice and water, and as soon as it warmed that up i dropped into my other sink full of ice and water. That got it down to 80 which is when i started pouring it into my fermentor.