Slow start

I just brewed my first batch on Sunday and am concerned with the rate my airlock is expelling CO2. After roughly 36 hours the fastest the airlock was moving was at a rate roughly one bubble every second and a half. I went to my lhbs and they said that it was probably the temp, I had it in my basement where the dog wouldn't get to it, roughly 60-63 deg. I brought it upstairs, to a warmer location hoping it would speed things up. But it was never bubbling like mad, the fastest it got was the 1.5 second intervals. Should I be concerned?

not again! There is at least 5 similar posts on here poping up every day. Some of the most valubale and comrehensive info right on top of this page under sticky, not to mention the search function.

Lets wait for Revvy

paraordnance said:

not again! There is at least 5 similar posts on here poping up every day. Some of the most valubale and comrehensive info right on top of this page under sticky, not to mention the search function.

Lets wait for Revvy

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Getting on my body armor for when Revvy opens up the hurt locker on this one... :rockin:

I'll say it now... RDWHAHB... and let your yeasties do their work... Look up your yeast, and find their "happy place" when it comes to temperature... Then get them there (wort temp, air isn't usually the same)...

One bubble every second &1/2 is fine... thats 64,800 bubbles a day! ha ha ha

Lets wait for Revvy

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Getting on my body armor for when Revvy opens up the hurt locker on this one...

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Way to welcome a new brewer to the fold guys.


To the OP, sounds like you have the right idea and a great help with your LHBS. Give it a gravity reading in the next couple days to check how things are progressing. Sounds pretty normal so far.

MachineShopBrewing said:

Way to welcome a new brewer to the fold guys.


To the OP, sounds like you have the right idea and a great help with your LHBS. Give it a gravity reading in the next couple days to check how things are progressing. Sounds pretty normal so far.

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Glad we could be of assistance...

For the record, I would wait at least 2 weeks before touching that brew... Without knowing the OG at least... If it's a moderate OG brew, 3 weeks. High OG brew, 4+ weeks... Test with hydrometer and taste the sample afterwards... Do that a few times (post the above time frames) and you'll get a better idea as to what the yeast is doing.

Here is some info that may or may not make the world of difference, the OG was 1.050 which was the low side of what the kit was looking for- brewers best american amber. I do plan on doing a secondary fermentation, the kit I got came with the carboy and auto-siphon so why not. I haven't checked the current gravity, but I will when I get home from work. I will say that giving the airlock a good sniff is encouraging!

Pulled a sample tonight, after I cleaned and sanitized of course, gravity is 1.013 which is where the ingredients kit wants me to be. Gave it the taste test and so far so good, very yeasty but I'm assuming that's common after 4 days of fermentation. Tomorrow I'll rack to the carboy. Thanks for the advice guys!

after 4 days of fermentation. Tomorrow I'll rack to the carboy.

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I would let it sit for at least a few more days and up to 10 more. You want to make sure that yeast clean up all the fermentation by-products and have time to drop out.

Laid back post of the day.
Yeah, there should be no problem. I haven't found a standard ale yeast that doesn't like 62F. Liquid, dry, slurry... it's all the same end result. But bubbles don't indicate anything. I have an IPA right now that didn't bubble once in plastic bucket. Is it done? Maybe. I won't know until I take a reading with my multi-purpose beer reading omni-tool, the magical hydrometer.

Welcome to the forums, I'm new too. It's just a little science, a lot of patience, and some uncommon common sense. If things look like they're goin' wrong just measure it or analyze it. If you have a question, post it. These people are the most helpful crafting group I've encountered.

MachineShopBrewing said:

I would let it sit for at least a few more days and up to 10 more. You want to make sure that yeast clean up all the fermentation by-products and have time to drop out.

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When would you rack over then? The kit says 4-5 days.

Take the instructions and ignore the part about racking to secondary... LEAVE IT ON THE YEAST!!! Let it stay there for at least 2 weeks before you think about bottling it up... I would even ignore the part where it says when to do anything after you put it into primary.

Take another sample at 10 days, use the hydrometer on it and taste it again... Do it again at 12-13 days... Do it again at 14-15 days... Bet dollars to donuts that the yeasty flavor will be gone closer to two weeks. Leaving it on the yeast cake is a GOOD THING...

Kits are notorious for making it sound like you need to rack to secondary. Or, that the brew will be completely done in X days... Let the yeast work at it's own pace, doing what it needs to do to give you a really good brew.

I wish I had known about this site when I first started brewing. I can only imagine how much better my first two brews would have been... Don't get me wrong, they came out pretty damned good, but if I had used these methods, they would have been great.

Take the instructions and ignore the part about racking to secondary... LEAVE IT ON THE YEAST!!! Let it stay there for at least 2 weeks before you think about bottling it up... I would even ignore the part where it says when to do anything after you put it into primary.

Take another sample at 10 days, use the hydrometer on it and taste it again... Do it again at 12-13 days... Do it again at 14-15 days... Bet dollars to donuts that the yeasty flavor will be gone closer to two weeks. Leaving it on the yeast cake is a GOOD THING...

Kits are notorious for making it sound like you need to rack to secondary. Or, that the brew will be completely done in X days... Let the yeast work at it's own pace, doing what it needs to do to give you a really good brew.

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I second all that good advice.

MachineShopBrewing said:

I second all that good advice.

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+1 I agree as well...and if you absolutely wanna see a lot of activity your next batches do a search on yeast starters....ever since I started using them I have a lot of activity and fermentation starts quicker

I got some kits and they said to do x in y number of days but either they forgot to tell the yeast the schedule or the yeast just ignored them and did their own thing. It's best to ignore the arbitrary schedules we humans come up with and let the yeast determine when they are done.

+1 to the post above, give it at least 2 weeks before you do anything more but stare at the fermenter and then get too busy with something so you don't have time to do anything with it for another week after that, then think about bottling. If you get too busy to bottle it then, give it another week. Trust me (us?) it will be just fine.

So everyone agrees it needs to sit in the primary for a few more days. What are your thoughts on going to the secondary? Is it just one more place for it to get contaminated? I know what the benefits are supposed to be, but this is my first batch. And even though my gravity is where the kit said I should end up at, should I still let it sit in the primary? I guess the fact that to get rid of the yeasty taste I need to leave it on the yeast for longer is counterintuitive and is screwing with me a bit.

+2 on using starters... They're like a handful of Viagra for yeast...

When you do use a starter, be sure to have a blow-off tube setup either ready, or installed. The one time I didn't do that, I had foam blow through the airlock (6 gallon carboy too)...

Airlock right after I pulled it off the carboy... This was 6-7 hours after pitching the yeast.


Fermentation was like this for about 3-4 days, before it calmed down...


I've been using washed/rinsed yeast of late. I still use a starter (need to make sure everyone's happy) and get nice steady fermentation speeds. Usually visible fermentation for 7-10 days, then they calm down... Letting them ride for 3-4 weeks has produced really great brews.

One of the important things, is temperature control for your wort. Get it into the yeasts "happy place" for what you want in the brew (more or less esters, citrus notes, etc.) and hold it there during fermentation... Being able to hold the temperature in the desired range is just one more step on the road to stellar brews... :rockin:

18EBrew said:

So everyone agrees it needs to sit in the primary for a few more days. What are your thoughts on going to the secondary? Is it just one more place for it to get contaminated? I know what the benefits are supposed to be, but this is my first batch. And even though my gravity is where the kit said I should end up at, should I still let it sit in the primary? I guess the fact that to get rid of the yeasty taste I need to leave it on the yeast for longer is counterintuitive and is screwing with me a bit.

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NO SECONDARY for brews without multiple flavor additions post fermentation...

Go 2-4 weeks on the yeast.

If you look through the threads you'll see this said about a trillion times already... Typically, people that finally go this route see the light and realize how they've not been getting as good a brew as they could have...

I guess the fact that to get rid of the yeasty taste I need to leave it on the yeast for longer is counterintuitive and is screwing with me a bit.

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The yeasty taste is exactly that, yeast. It means they are not done working yet. Top three things you can do to make your fermentations go great are
1. Pitching enough yeast
2. Adding oxygen
3. Getting the right temperature

The wort is pretty easy to make especially with kits. Fermentation is what will really make your beer. Do some reading and learning on those three things and you will succeed in making beer.

There is sometimes a reason to secondary without adding extra flavors... and that is to free up a primary. I sometimes transfer wort to my bottling bucket and throw a lid and airlock on it just to let it clear before I bottle. There is so little trub & yeast that I just stir in a priming solution, let it sit for ten minutes and bottle.

As far as starters go, dry yeast varieties contain so many cells that a starter isn't necessary. I only recommend them if you want that particular variety of yeast and it is in a liquid solution when you buy it.

mixedbrewer said:

There is sometimes a reason to secondary without adding extra flavors... and that is to free up a primary. I sometimes transfer wort to my bottling bucket and throw a lid and airlock on it just to let it clear before I bottle. There is so little trub & yeast that I just stir in a priming solution, let it sit for ten minutes and bottle.

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This is why I have three carboy's and a corny keg (setup for fermenting)... Even the 5 gallon carboy's (two of them) can be easily used for primary. If I'm about to brew a batch, and I don't have any suitable primaries free, I get one (if something's not about to be bottled)... That's not happened for several batches, so, I'm pretty good... I'm looking to pick up some 7.5 gallon Sanke kegs to use as primaries too... With those in the mix, the chances of me running into a time when I need to free one up, is greatly reduced.

As far as starters go, dry yeast varieties contain so many cells that a starter isn't necessary. I only recommend them if you want that particular variety of yeast and it is in a liquid solution when you buy it.

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I've been using liquid yeast for all my brews... Any brew with an OG higher than about 1.060 gets a starter... I probably don't need to with the washed yeast. For that, I do it more to make sure the yeast are still good, before using them... Make the starter 1-2 days ahead, and you're set... I have used dry yeast for my mead batches... I'm not opposed to either, I just prefer to have more information about the yeast than most of the dry [beer] yeasts seem to provide...

sit back and relax man.

Golddiggie said:

This is why I have three carboy's and a corny keg (setup for fermenting)... Even the 5 gallon carboy's (two of them) can be easily used for primary. If I'm about to brew a batch, and I don't have any suitable primaries free, I get one (if something's not about to be bottled)... That's not happened for several batches, so, I'm pretty good... I'm looking to pick up some 7.5 gallon Sanke kegs to use as primaries too... With those in the mix, the chances of me running into a time when I need to free one up, is greatly reduced.

I've been using liquid yeast for all my brews... Any brew with an OG higher than about 1.060 gets a starter... I probably don't need to with the washed yeast. For that, I do it more to make sure the yeast are still good, before using them... Make the starter 1-2 days ahead, and you're set... I have used dry yeast for my mead batches... I'm not opposed to either, I just prefer to have more information about the yeast than most of the dry [beer] yeasts seem to provide...

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Beginners dont need to worry about all of this...

mixedbrewer said:

Beginners dont need to worry about all of this...

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Quantify "beginner"...

I have 8 batches made to date... Started mid-November last year (2010)...

Personally, I don't F around when it comes to something I'm interested in (and enjoy)... Same thing with photography, computers, cooking, etc... I might start with 'beginner' level equipment, but I typically upgrade to much better/pro level equipment quickly...

The original poster was on his first batch... hmm, maybe you forgot about him?

I have 8 batches made to date... Started mid-November last year (2010)...

Personally, I don't F around when it comes to something I'm interested in (and enjoy)... Same thing with photography, computers, cooking, etc... I might start with 'beginner' level equipment, but I typically upgrade to much better/pro level equipment quickly...

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Hell yeah brotha! That's about how it went for me. I started Oct. '09. Been brewin', reading, and researching like mad since then. I went straight to AG after the first batch and haven't looked back since. Have you picked up a fermentation fridge and controller yet? That and the pH meter are the best investments in my set up that I have made. ROI for those couple of items is HUGE.

MachineShopBrewing said:

Hell yeah brotha! That's about how it went for me. I started Oct. '09. Been brewin', reading, and researching like mad since then. I went straight to AG after the first batch and haven't looked back since. Have you picked up a fermentation fridge and controller yet? That and the pH meter are the best investments in my set up that I have made. ROI for those couple of items is HUGE.

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I'm trying to figure out where I could put the fermentation chamber/fridge in my tiny F'ing apartment... The brewery part is taking over the kitchen.. I've been crawling on craigslist for a fridge/freezer to convert over... If I can clean out the kitchen closet (I only have two closets in my entire place) or make room there to put the chamber, I will... I know that I'll NEED it before the end of spring comes around. Especially with the yeast I'm using, and like to use...

I'll probably order the PH meter at the same time as the barley crusher, next week... I'm interested to know what the water PH is, even though I'm getting good efficiency rates (78-82% so far)...

I had intended to go from extract, to partial mash, to all grain over the span of many brews... BIAB accelerated that process by a factor of about 100... The local group grain buy that's happening is also going to help me to brew more often... Just need that crusher now... Order up some more specialty malts/grains and I can brew at any point...

I hate seeing an empty primary... Hope to have three more come next weekend (7.5 gallon Sanke kegs, fitted for fermenting, doing the cheaper method first, so that I can start using them)... Once I have those, and know how tall to make the fermentation chamber, I'll start hunting down parts and just do it...

I'm interested to know what the water PH is, even though I'm getting good efficiency rates (78-82% so far)...

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pH of the water really doesn't matte all that much. Head over to the brew science forum and read the water chemistry primer sticky. Follow the instructions from AJ to a "T" and you won't have many problems. pH meter is for checking mash pH which drives the beer pH and really affects drinkability.

MachineShopBrewing said:

pH of the water really doesn't matte all that much. Head over to the brew science forum and read the water chemistry primer sticky. Follow the instructions from AJ to a "T" and you won't have many problems. pH meter is for checking mash pH which drives the beer pH and really affects drinkability.

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Read as much as I could without my head hurting (need... home... brew... head... thinking... too... much...)

The water report from the town I live in SUCKS! Almost none of the info I would need, according to that thread... I'll get the PH meter at some point and check the mash PH to see where it's at... I might send a water sample off to a lab at some point, just to see what's in it... I'm getting solid efficiencies, so I'm not that concerned. I'm also getting really good beer every time. So I tend to think that things are within the 'ok' range. I might treat the mash water for a future brew, depending on what I'm brewing...