Fermentation can take 24 to 72 hrs to show visible signs.

actually - just did a bit of reading there and it's answered my question, basically bubbling isnt a good indication of whats going on - cool, was getting worried!

I had the same question a few weeks ago when I started my first homebrew.

BaronVonMclaughlin said:

I'm sure this has been asked before but I cant seem to find it - started my first brew on friday night, was bubbling away all day saturday and sunday but it seems to have stopped today (monday), seems to be no activity at all - is that normal?

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It's normal. If your seals are all good, the presence of vigorous bubbling means fermenting. It more or less stops bubbling when active fermentation is over. The next step is to give the beer a little time for some of the yeast to drop out of suspension.

This thread kept me going after no real signs of fermentation after 48 hours. This is my first brew (since one kit 16 years ago) and I did a full boil. I have an IC but was not prepared for the wort to take just over 2 hours to cool and I had rehydrated my dry yeast way early.

I thought my yeast had sat out for too long. I thought my airlock wasn't tight enough.

AND THEN TODAY IT WAS GOING OFF LIKE A ROCKET! Full krausen and bubbling every half second. I noticed this at like 68 hours after pitching this am so it was probably active sometime over nite.

Be patient fellow noobs! My 60 min IPA is ALIVE!!

I've got my fourth home brew batch (pumpkin recipe I made up) in the primary now. Been in there almost 72 hours now without a single bubble out of airlock the entire time. I've read that the airlock shouldn't be relied upon to gauge if fermentation is happening, so I peeked in through the side of the lid and saw this...

View attachment 146107

It appears that I may have fermentation taking place, but not sure. I used 2 packets of Safale US-05 dry yeast in the 5gal batch, rehydrated it, and pitched it once wort reached ~75degF, and have maintained at ~68degF since. But I forgot to aerate wort and didn't realize it until the 48 hour mark. Would this be causing the lack of bubbles out of airlock? I've checked the lid seal, no leak. I will check the gravity this evening at the 72 hour mark. Any advice on whether I should pitch more yeast if gravity has not changed? Thanks.

brewbee74, that attachment isn't coming through for me. can you upload using something like imgur?

i would guess that 2 packs of rehydrated s-05 pitched into 75 degree wort may have already finished fermenting. that's a whole lot of yeast

can you take a gravity reading?

I'm curious how you checked the lid seal.

One tip to check your lid seal is to gently press down on your bucket lid. If the lid is sealed, you'll get a bubble or two out of the airlock.

I bought a brand new bucket and it didn't seal properly. My trusty 7 gallon that I bought 9 years ago still seals like a champ.

progmac, here's another attempt at including the image. Let me know if it works. It's just not producing the volume of krausen I've experienced with my previous three batches (not to mention the lack of bubbles in airlock). Just took a gravity reading. OG was 1.062, it's now at 1.020, so it's looking promising. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Bleme, I used the method uatuba mentioned. I pressed down on lid, causing a bubble out of the airlock.

Every fermentation is different. I've even split a 10 gallon batch into 2 buckets, same yeast, same temperature, and they turned out noticeably different.

I just searched for the "No fermentation after XX hours, what do I do?" Thread and found this one and several others. As recommended, I pulled a sample after 40 hours with no blowoff and no bubbles in the airlock. I could see activity before I even checked the gravity. It's got a head and plenty of CO2 bubbles.

It even tastes sorta like beer. It's my first brew from a Cooper's English Bitter Ale kit. Assuming it gets better from this point, it won't be half bad when finished. Good to have someplace to get some of the details left out of the books.

Just came in to post that my 4th batch was going on 60 hours in the carboy with NO signs at all. The wort looked like flat iced tea -- no bubbles ay all. I left it alone. Did not open it up and waited like everyone said.

When I got home from work at 70 hours - BOOM! activity.

I was very relieved.

Now i understand the meaning of RDWHAHB

The last 2 batches I've brewed have used US-05. I've started cooling my wort much more before pitching, so I am getting it down to about 64 where I intend to ferment, where before I was pitching as soon as I got the wort in the bucket in the high 70s and letting it cool with the yeast in it.

Anyway, these last 2 batches have taken about 36 - 40 hours to start fermenting. The 1st one, I pitched the yeast dry. The second, I re-hydrated and also used yeast nutrient. No difference. Is the slow starting caused entirely by the cooler wort? Is there anything I can and/or should do to get it started quicker, possibly pitch a little warmer?

The original post says "It is preferable to have a brew start fermenting as soon as possible. If you follow correct and advised procedures then I say most brews see activity in 6 to 18 hours." I'd like to get into the optimal time-frame if possible.

dave8274 - define "start fermenting"

if i pitch in the 59-62 range and hold the temp there, lag time is usually 24-36 hours for me with rehydrated yeast and using pure oxygen. this is time until i see bubbles on the surface of the wort. bubbles from the airlock may not happen for another 12 hours.

lag time is less if pitching an active starter. can't say i've noticed a difference in the finished beer.

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

dave8274 said:

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

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And the yeast isn't sitting there doing nothing during that 'lag' time. They are consuming oxygen and reproducing. It has nothing to do with your beer being protected or not. They will protect their territory just as aggressively as they do during their anaerobic phase.

dave8274 said:

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

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i'm incredibly guilty of 'peeking.' i probably open my beer two or three times within the first 36 hours. i like to smell it and check for bubbles on the surface. much as i feel like i can taste the gravity of wort, i feel like i can smell how far along fermentation is.

progmac said:

i'm incredibly guilty of 'peeking.' i probably open my beer two or three times within the first 36 hours. i like to smell it and check for bubbles on the surface. much as i feel like i can taste the gravity of wort, i feel like i can smell how far along fermentation is.

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good to know im not the only one who needs to peak and take a whiff of my beer.

Time for me to be a noob:

So I did my first ever brew Monday night in my apartment using the NB deluxe kit (Irish Red Ale). Storing the carboy in my guest bathroom (dark, 76* in my apartment) . The brew went well, the only place I may have faltered is cooling the wort down (ran out of ice), I had it cool but not sure cool enough. Monday night and into Tuesday there was a lot going on in the carboy. Some foam lot of bubbles in the wort, etc. No bubbles up in the airlock though. Each day since has been fewer and fewer activity (bubbles in the wort smaller and less frequently). Now it looks like what is attached. Just some small gatherings of bubbles. I've never had anything going on (bubbling) in the airlock so I am starting to get nervous. I didn't get anything in the kit to take a reading so I'm looking for help (or someone to say everything looks fine give it another week and then move on to the second fermentor dude).

It looks fine but your 78F is too high. There will likely be some solvent flavors in there. In the future, pay attention to your yeast's optimum range and try to get it at least 5F below the maximum.

bleme said:

It looks fine but your 78F is too high. There will likely be some solvent flavors in there. In the future, pay attention to your yeast's optimum range and try to get it at least 5F below the maximum.

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You referring to keeping the room 5 degrees below the maximum temperature or during the pitching process making sure the wort is that temperature? My apartment is a constant 76* (not 78).

Optimum temp for the yeast I'm using is 57-70*, and keeping my apartment that temperature would be freezing (smaller apartment) so I may have to look into other alternatives to keep the carboy that temp through the fermentation process, unless you are just referring to the pitching temp of the wort.

WoodsonNoles said:

Time for me to be a noob:

So I did my first ever brew Monday night in my apartment using the NB deluxe kit (Irish Red Ale). Storing the carboy in my guest bathroom (dark, 76* in my apartment) . The brew went well, the only place I may have faltered is cooling the wort down (ran out of ice), I had it cool but not sure cool enough. Monday night and into Tuesday there was a lot going on in the carboy. Some foam lot of bubbles in the wort, etc. No bubbles up in the airlock though. Each day since has been fewer and fewer activity (bubbles in the wort smaller and less frequently). Now it looks like what is attached. Just some small gatherings of bubbles. I've never had anything going on (bubbling) in the airlock so I am starting to get nervous. I didn't get anything in the kit to take a reading so I'm looking for help (or someone to say everything looks fine give it another week and then move on to the second fermentor dude).

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Your beer looks to basically be done with fermentation, but leave it for another week or so.

You definitely fermented too hot. Ambient air temperatures are generally 2-10°F lower than fermentation temperatures. If your air temp is 76F then your beer fermented anywhere from 78F-86F; and most likely it was 80+F the whole time. Yeast LOVE heat and do their job faster the hotter it gets (to a point around 105F) which would explain why your fermentation was so quick; the problem is that they create off/undesirable characteristics at higher temperatures. While the beer will certainly be drinkable, it would have been even better if fermented at a lower temperature.

Simply putting your carboy in a bucket with cold water around it would have kept it at or below ambient during fermentation (swamp cooler method). Adding a frozen water bottle twice a day would help keep the temp a few degree lower than ambient (refreezing them once thaw). You might have been able to keep the fermentation temp around 70F using a swamp cooler, but you should really find a spot in your place that maintains a slightly lower temp.

And if you put your fermentor in the tub of water, with a t-shirt over the fermentor, wicking up the water, and a fan blowing on the t-shirt, you can drop up to 15F, depending in humidity. Because water is such a better conductor than air, the temperature difference inside your fermentor is practically nothing.

There are a few other options too, like an insulated bag, for REALLY limited space.

Probably unnecessary panic on my part but I am brewing a Vanilla Stout using liquid yeast and I pitched my yeast about 11PM on Tuesday night. There was no visable signs of fermentation at all until this morning when I have a bit. (Picture below) Am I OK or should I repitch. My wort is sitting in my laundry room with a space heater to keep the temp between 70-75. Normally I wouldn't worry but if I don't get yeast today, I won't be able to repitch till monday night at the earliest.

Steve

Sounds like lag. It should be fine.

I ended up reptiching the yeast Sunday morning (after things progressed farther than the above pic but not much). And this morning I have......

Making me much happier.

Newbie here, I brewed my first batch (Caribou Slobber from NB), I can't seem to find an answer, but how do I know when I can transfer to a secondary? Is there a specific gravity # I'm looking for? My brew started fermenting like crazy within 8 hours, and its been a week, seems like nothing is going on anymore. Its in my basement which is ~68 degrees.

Mach1dmb said:

Newbie here, I brewed my first batch (Caribou Slobber from NB), I can't seem to find an answer, but how do I know when I can transfer to a secondary? Is there a specific gravity # I'm looking for? My brew started fermenting like crazy within 8 hours, and its been a week, seems like nothing is going on anymore. Its in my basement which is ~68 degrees.

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It is fine to transfer. At 68 degrees, most of your fermentation will be over with 96 hours or less. Even if it isn't quite done (though it probably is), plenty of yeast will remain to finish things up in the secondary.

I'm currently brewing Superior Strong Ale (Midwest) and seem to experiencing lag in fermentation. It's a big beer with an original OG of 1.067 (mine was 1.062) and came with 2 packets for dry yeast. I brewed it and let it sit for 3 weeks in the primary. Midwest says on the kit it's an 8 month kit but a lot of the reviews said 1.5 to 2 months for them worked just fine. After 3 weeks my gravity was just 1.032. I didn't notice any bubbling in the airlock on the bucket the whole time. I waited another week and it was still 1.032. So I transferred it to the secondary, pitched more yeast and even added some yeast nutrient. It's been about 2-3 days I've still not seen any bubbles. The temp has constantly been around 66 so I'm not sure what the problem is...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/superior-strong-ale-kit.html

Noob here. I brewed the Brewer's Best Red Ale on Saturday. After cooling my OG was at 1.042. I then aerated with a wisk and pitched a dry yeast pack (did not rehydrate). I then put the fermenting bucket in a tub filled with water. After 24 hrs the there was no airlock activity so I opened the bucket and it looked like iced tea (no bubbles, no froth). I resealed and replaced the external water in the tub to warm the beer. I have now waited almost 4 days and still no airlock activity and the beer looks the same. I took a hydrometer reading and it now reads 1.039 so does that mean it has started fermenting? The temp of the external water is 64 degrees so i assume the beer is close to that. Do I need to go warmer or repicth?

Why is you bucket sitting in a tub of water? I'm guessing that it's just to cool and your yeast is asleep. I would try warming the room to about 70 and give it a couple of days. If nothing happens repitch.

During the cool months I ferment my beer in our laundry room where I keep a small oil filled radiator space heater to keep it at a nice 70 degrees.

Steve

sak1134 said:

Why is you bucket sitting in a tub of water? I'm guessing that it's just to cool and your yeast is asleep. I would try warming the room to about 70 and give it a couple of days. If nothing happens repitch.

During the cool months I ferment my beer in our laundry room where I keep a small oil filled radiator space heater to keep it at a nice 70 degrees.

Steve

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I have it sitting in water to try and reduce large fluctuations in temperature when the heater kicks on and off as the room I have it sitting in is smaller and further away from where the thermostat resides.

I will try to move it to a warmer room and hopefully soemething changes. Thanks for the suggestion!

Hi All. Figured this would be a good place to post a noob airlock question.

I brewed my first batch on Tuesday. Finished around 11 PM. Hydrometer will be procured tomorrow.
Anyhow, yesterday, after almost 24 hours, no bubbling in the airlock and I realize no big deal. Yet, it's the S type airlock, all liquid was on the outflow side and almost overflowing. Good sign. I also just gently pushed on the top of the Fermenting bucket and I could see the pressure push the water further. Assuming this is a good sign.
This am, both sides of the airlock were even, but low. Then, couple hours later, they were both even and up to the max line. No sudden temp change. It's in my basement and a constant of about 67-68 deg.
So, guess the question is why the water was low, then back to Max later?
Once I get a hydrometer tomorrow from the LHBS, should I go ahead and take a reading or wait for a full week?
Any other tips is appreciated. I brewed the NB caribou Slobber.
Oh, what should the final gravity be when it's done fermenting?

Thanks and appreciate ALL the advice I have read on this forum.

Rambuck said:

So, guess the question is why the water was low, then back to Max later?

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All I can figure is you have ghosts. Or you don't remember refilling it that night you drank too much.

For future reference, the 3-piece can handle more gas than the S type do.

After a bit of reflection, I think I screwed the pooch when I pitched the yeast. SWMBO, yeah, I'll blame her. She was giving me grief about the smell and standing over me complaining, so I sprinkled the dry yeast in, sealed it and carried it straight to the basement. I still see no signs of fermentation after 60 hrs and shining a light on the bucket, I can see stuff caked on the sides of the bucket and the lid. Also, wort is still at the 5 gal mark with nothing on top. I will buy a hydrometer and more yeast after work. It will be 72 hours tonight. Is that to late to pitch in more yeast?

As long as your sanitation was good, it will be fine.

bleme said:

As long as your sanitation was good, it will be fine.

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Thanks. Must have been a quick fermentation. Just checked and the SG is 1.02. So all is good. Sample tastes good. Beginners nerves I guess. Lol
If nothing else, found a great upstart LHBS called Buckeye Brewcraft in Westerville Oh.

Just my experience with this problem and a Belgian Dubbel.

After it finished the boil it was cooled down to about 63 degrees. I know now this was way too low a temperature. (1st mistake).

Pitched the yeast on a Wednesday from a vial of WLP530. I did not make a starter. (2nd mistake)

by Friday evening....Nothing...no Krausen...noting moving in the airlock.....nada. 530 is supposed to be a vigourous yeast, so I was sweating it big time. I had to go out of town on Saturday. After speaking with the wife that evening....still nothing in the air lock. It was now going on 72 hours and I was getting very concerned.

Finally Sunday morning she sends me a text of it going crazy bubbling away.

This beer turned out just fine.

I know that you open yourself up to all sorts of issues if your fermentation does not start quickly, but I thought I'd share that it's not always the end of the world.

Hi all -

I brewed my very first batch of beer ever 2 days ago, and I have the feeling I'm displaying all of the hallmarks of a newbie in terms of fermentation worry. But I thought I'd check in anyway.

It's an oatmeal stout, made using a combo of grain and extract. I used a dry yeast - Nottingham.

After about 30 hours, the beer started fermenting with a vengeance. It was bubbling up and out of the airlock. The thermometer temp displayed 71 degrees at that time, and I believe this stout should ideally be fermenting at around 68 degrees.

So at suggestion of a few if my far more experienced friends, I placed the bucket outside for a little bit to get the temp down. I also inserted a run-off tube where the airlock normally goes so the bubbles could transfer to another empty bucked (instead of all over the floor.

After about 20 minutes outside, I saw the temp decrease to 66 degrees an pulled it back inside, while leaving the run-off tube in. It's now 5 hours later, and I don't see any visible bubbling. I've replaced the tube with the airlock again, and the temp currently reads 70 degrees (and has been holding steady there for a few hours.

Before anyone asks, I did make sure to thoroughly sanitize the run-off tube and bucket before using them.

My questions are these:

1) Is it ok that I'm no longer seeing visible bubbling through the airlock?

2) Is there a good means for me to tell if fermenting has merely slowed down vs. stalling?

3) Have the temp fluctuations noted below done any harm to the process?

Thanks in advance,

Patrick (Extreme Newbie)

Patric

I'm also newer to home brewing. I've noticed nobody has commented yet so ill do what I can for ya until a pro steps in.

Your fermentation may have just slowed down. Since yeast is obviously a living thing It may not have liked the temp drop. I would give it a day and see what happens. Worst case scenario pull out a sample and measure your FG and see if its close to 1.0. If it is chances are your done. And since its a stout and not a high ABV you prob didn't have much sugar to convert to CO and Alcohol anyway....

If your gravity is still high and still no fermenting I would pitch another small batch of yeast and see what happens..... Or. This is going to sound weird. I had this happen once and old folklore from my Italian grandfather suggested adding 1 (ONE) small drop of olive oil to my batch. I tried it. Annnnd it worked. Cant explain how but it did. No bad taste in my beer as well. I have heard similar not so successful experiences.

Last thing. Relax. Have a beer. Brewing is simple yet complicated. Starting out new your going to have lots of questions on why and how. I hope I was able to help some. Best of luck!

Saluté