First Brew Fermentation Question

Hi All,

Just did my first batch last night. I have the wort in the fermenter and put it in the closet where it was around 68-74 degrees. Earlier today (in the morning), the airlock was bubbling quite nicely. Now (about 20 hours later), there's not much action. I don't think its bubbling anymore. Should I be concerned? Temperature may have fluctuated a few degrees cooler but that's about it. Do I need to pitch new yeast? Or should I just wait it out? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

-Dave

Just wait, bucket or a carboy? Give it a while, never make a judgement without taking a hydrometer reading. Some conditions cause brews to ferment FAST.

The Pol

Take a hydrometer reading, compare it to your original gravity, and then to your expected final gravity. This will tell you if it's done, stuck, slow or otherwise.

awesome. Thanks for the quick replies... It is in a bucket. I'm going to be using the carboy as the secondary.

Buckets are ok, but sometimes the lids don't seal all that well, allowing the co2 produced via fermentation to escape through other avenues besides the airlock. This is why you can sometimes still have fermentation without airlock activity. For the beginning brewer, a hydrometer is your best friend. The rule of thumb is 1 week in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle.

thanks for the advice scoutman. Maybe next time I will try using the carboy as my primary fermenter. I need to figure out how to use that hydrometer. How often should I take a reading? I'm not entirely sure what my finishing gravity should be (the instructions from the kit just said when the gravity stops dropping.. very specific as you can see...). I'm making a hex nut brown ale and my starting gravity was around 1.040.