air lock not bubbling and sludge at the bottom of my first brew! what do i do?

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treybrew

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I starred brewing a harvest nut brown 3 days ago so it has been in the fermenting bucket for almost 30 hours now and it hasn't bubbled like I've read it should and there is a light tan colored sediment at the bottom? Im not sure whats wrong or whats happening i did everything by the book and all ingredients exact? Any ideas this is my first shot at brewing so any advice will help.
 
I'm new too, and no expert. I had great anxiety over what you are now dealing with. However, I'm still curious about your method. I brewed my first ever batch from a kit about 2wks ago, and just transferred to a secondary carboy a few days ago. Did you use a kit? Sanitize? Dry/liquid yeast? Sprinkle dry yeast into wort? Pitch yeast at a cool temp?

I went the hard way and overboard on being careful with equipment and extra steps. I just brewed my second batch yesterday, and it started activity in under 3hrs. 18hrs later, it is now a carnival in the carboy.

Every book, forum, and article I've read emphasizes yeast and sanitation. I pulled the dry yeast from the fridge before I started and let it warm to room temp. When the wort came off the heat, I rehydrated in 1L boiled/cooled water @ 99°F in a glass flask. After I got the wort chilled to 82°F and aerated, it went into the 6.5gal carboy. Then I chilled the yeast to 82° by putting the flask into a bowl of cold tap water. Then I poured it into the carboy, put a stopper/airlock on and placed it on the counter.

All this was not in the instructions. I've been reading two books and various forums before and in between my two attempts. I did not realize how complicated in CAN get become of you study it enough...

From what I've read, the yeast may have been damaged somewhere along the way. I would think that less than perfect sanitation would still allow for fermentation to begin if not complete.

I say don't give up and try again, but review your steps this next attempt.
 
The brown stuff on the bottom is called Trub which just proteins and yeast. If you did not do a yeast starter. It may take up to 72 hours before you see any airlock movement or movement form the yeast. Just a little more, just because the air lock is doing anything it could still be fermenting. Check your bucket lid and airlock. Make sure it is air tight. Dont worry your still making a great brew. The first couple brew sessions seem like everything is going wrong. But in fact its going the way it should. As the saying goes RDWHAHB - Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew.
 
IEvery book, forum, and article I've read emphasizes yeast and sanitation. I pulled the dry yeast from the fridge before I started and let it warm to room temp. When the wort came off the heat, I rehydrated in 1L boiled/cooled water @ 99°F in a glass flask. After I got the wort chilled to 82°F and aerated, it went into the 6.5gal carboy. Then I chilled the yeast to 82° by putting the flask into a bowl of cold tap water. Then I poured it into the carboy, put a stopper/airlock on and placed it on the counter.

.

You should cool the wort to 70F, 82 is a high temp to pitch in. Possibility of killing the yeast is greater. Pitch at 70F
 
70°F IS better. I ended up at 82° after topping off with freezer-chilled water. I chilled the kettle wort to 145° when I mixed it. I guess I should have put the bucket in the tub afterwards. Either way, there's always next time to correct these missteps. I was so focused on matching temps.



image-713905332.jpg

Here we are at 20hrs after inoculation. The clumps are swimming around(so weird to watch).
 
But so great at the same time. I just stare and watch, If you dont have a chiller just do an ice bath to get the wort to 70F.

ps: your fermenter looks awesome now I miss mine.
 
You should cool the wort to 70F, 82 is a high temp to pitch in. Possibility of killing the yeast is greater. Pitch at 70F

:confused:

He's cooling down properly rehydrated yeast from 90-82, how's 82 more likely to kill his yeast? You want your cooled wort and yeast to be within about 10 or fewer degrees of each other for flavor purposes, but it seems unlikely that he's risking yeast death for dry yeast at those temps.
 
:confused:

He's cooling down properly rehydrated yeast from 90-82, how's 82 more likely to kill his yeast? You want your cooled wort and yeast to be within about 10 or fewer degrees of each other for flavor purposes, but it seems unlikely that he's risking yeast death for dry yeast at those temps.

I have read over and over that anything higher than 70 is always at risk of killing yeast. Unless there is a difference in yeast dry/liquid? I could be wrong but 70 is a good practice. I do 70F only no higher sometimes lower 68ish. I never use dry so maybe dry yeast need higher temps?
 
Nottingham, for example, is instructed to be proofed in water between 90-95 F. It seems unlikely that dry yeast manufacturers are telling us to kill our yeast before pitching.
 
I have read over and over that anything higher than 70 is always at risk of killing yeast. Unless there is a difference in yeast dry/liquid? I could be wrong but 70 is a good practice. I do 70F only no higher sometimes lower 68ish. I never use dry so maybe dry yeast need higher temps?

I'm not sure who has even written something close to that. You are not killing yeast if you pitch higher than 70. Many brewers ferment at mid-90s. So 82 is not going to hurt. Not to mention what others have said about rehydrating in 90+ temp water. You will get some more esters and fusels forming.

And yeast are yeast. Regardless of dry or liquid. They are still the same species.
 
I'm not sure who has even written something close to that. You are not killing yeast if you pitch higher than 70. Many brewers ferment at mid-90s. So 82 is not going to hurt. Not to mention what others have said about rehydrating in 90+ temp water. You will get some more esters and fusels forming.

And yeast are yeast. Regardless of dry or liquid. They are still the same species.

Thanks for clearing that up, I will now burn my brewing books :mug:

Another question with your ferm temps of 90F, If you ferm at high temps, I have been told by judges including a master judge that high temp fermentation you risk high levels of diacidal I dont know how to spell it please forgive me on spelling.
 
It's diacetyl which is a di-ketone compound, meaning it has two carbon-oxygen double bonds, where as alcohol is C-OH. Basically it gives a buttery taste and "slippery" mouthfeel.
 
Thanks for clearing that up, I will now burn my brewing books :mug:

Pitching at 82 degs will not kill of yeast cells, but more than likely cause them to stress and create non-wanted esters in the brew.

"Another question with your ferm temps of 90F, If you ferm at high temps, I have been told by judges including a master judge that high temp fermentation you risk high levels of diacidal I dont know how to spell it please forgive me on spelling."

I believe he is right and wrong here. Lager yeasts, when pitched at high temps, will create more diacetyl, but higher temps later in the fermentation help the yeast clean this up.
 
So back to the OP, I think there's quite a few variables, but waiting more seems to be the right answer IMO.
 
it takes much more then 82 to kill yeast, Remember just becuase an author has been published as a succesful brewer does not mean they are an expert on micro biology. Fermenting temp is one of those topics that is so personal its hard to really determine right from wrong.
 
Well i pitched at 80° and sanitized everything as best i could but it seems to release some air at times but others its not active at all? Im just going to leave it alone and bottle in a week or so just like the book says. Thanks for all the input guys I'm glad I'm not the only guy who thinks everything is wrong with my first brew..... haha
 
Well i pitched at 80° and sanitized everything as best i could but it seems to release some air at times but others its not active at all? Im just going to leave it alone and bottle in a week or so just like the book says. Thanks for all the input guys I'm glad I'm not the only guy who thinks everything is wrong with my first brew..... haha

My first brew fermented around 80 and was still good, beers that came after tasted even better because I learned about the importance of fermentation temperature. The yeast won't die at 80 or 90 degrees, the heat drives them to a reproduction and eating frenzy which which can lead to sharp alcohol flavored beer.

If you are only 3-4 days into fermentation, do yourself a favor and don't bottle in another week. The beer will more than likely turn out better if you let it sit untouched for 2-3 weeks, many people leave it alone for even a longer period.

This phenomenon has something to do with the yeast cleaning up the by-products they produce during the intial stages of reproduction or initial fermentation. I don't remember which stage.

There are many post on the subject but to put it in real basic terms. (I'm not a biologist or chemist) Our little yeast buddies (and you'll come to love them the more your brew) make crap along with alcohol and CO2. Once the sugar is all eaten up they still want a few midnight snacks and look for any leftover food which they find in the crap they produced during the beginning stages of life in their wonderful new paradise of fresh wort. They chow down again, neutralize their byproducts, rebuild their little yeast bodies, sleep and drop to the bottom of the fermenter while dreaming of their next life; a nice big fermentation vessel of fresh wort.

Note: This comment was extremely non technical, wrote after a stressful few days and a few homebrews and drastically mis-represents the knowledge base of HBT.com
 
Many brewers ferment at mid-90s. So 82 is not going to hurt.... And yeast are yeast. Regardless of dry or liquid. They are still the same species.

Ugh. I can't agree with this. First of all, commercial brewers can ferment warmer because the high pressure created in their very, very large fermentors suppresses the production of esters and fussels. This also allows them to ferment their beers much quicker than the homebrewer. As such, you should not tell any new home brewer that they can ferment any beer in the mid-90's (retarded Saisons excluded, but those taste like the sweaty @sshole of Satan anyway...). Homebrew fermented at 82F is going to taste pretty crappy 90+% of the time. No way around it. 65F is golden for 90% of Ales, 50F is golden for 90% of lagers.

And to be "that guy", there IS a difference in the species of various yeasts. Ale Yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Lager Yeast is Saccharomyces pastorianus. Not the same! (Very minor extra point - Souring yeast blends often have other non-Saccharomyces organisms in them as well. Brett/Pedio/Lacto/etc.)
 
Trub(troob) is normal

Yeast - I use luke-warm water to re-hydrate. I usally let it sit for at least an hour. Sometimes put a little table sugar in and let it sit overnight covered.

Purists will say to use liquid malt extract so the yeast don't have to get aclimatized to the wort.
 
It seems odd but the trub started to dissolve and it started bubbling all around the same time it took a total of about 4 1/2 days for it to start.
 
I cool to the fermentation range published by the yeast manufacturere before pitching, be it to a starter or to the final wort. That's just how I roll.
 
Dear lord I think I'm in the same boat, I just made a 3 gal Pale Ale with 1084 and it took off great (also using pure o2) 3 days and then forgot a ice block in the cooler and found it at 54 degrees, I'm guessing it got to 50 and now there's barely any airlock activity. I know you should trust an airlock to determine a stuck fermentation but I have to think some yeast dropped in those temps. I think I might just let it ride out 3 more weeks and see what happens. It's been at 69 degrees now for the last 2-3 days.
 
But so great at the same time. I just stare and watch, If you dont have a chiller just do an ice bath to get the wort to 70F.

Do NOT do an ice bath in a glass carboy. I repeat DO NOT ICE BATH A GLASS CARBOY!

It's a good way to waste 4-5 hours. you will crack it if you rapidly try to cool your carboy in an ice bath, i've watched it happen, it's not fun...even running cool water over it with warm wort inside, it cracked, and alll the beer went down the drain.
 
I starred brewing a harvest nut brown 3 days ago so it has been in the fermenting bucket for almost 30 hours now and it hasn't bubbled like I've read it should and there is a light tan colored sediment at the bottom? Im not sure whats wrong or whats happening i did everything by the book and all ingredients exact? Any ideas this is my first shot at brewing so any advice will help.

Have you read this sticky about fermentation and how long it can take? Lots of really good info.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

You'll be fine. You may never see bubbles. I am fermenting my first batch now. I've never seen a bubble yet, but I know it is fermenting because I can smell it (I must have a leaky lid seal) . Again, read the sticky and then relax.
 
Dear lord I think I'm in the same boat, I just made a 3 gal Pale Ale with 1084 and it took off great (also using pure o2) 3 days and then forgot a ice block in the cooler and found it at 54 degrees, I'm guessing it got to 50 and now there's barely any airlock activity. I know you should trust an airlock to determine a stuck fermentation but I have to think some yeast dropped in those temps. I think I might just let it ride out 3 more weeks and see what happens. It's been at 69 degrees now for the last 2-3 days.

Cooling the beer will make the yeast go dormant. When the temperature rises again the yeast will resume their work. A gentle swirl of the carboy will get the yeast back in suspension. At 3+ days the yeast may have finished the main portion of the fermentation.

To all and the OP. The bubbling of an airlock only means that the wort is producing gas in excess of the airspace in the fermenter. The only true way to know how fermentation is progressing is to take gravity readings!
 
So my fermenter is sitting on my kitchen and is staying cool approximately 64 to 70 degree should i move it to say the bathroom where it will stay warmer?
 
I started in my fermenter in the 69°F kitchen. Mine took off like a rocket. Although people are saying that pitching at 82°F might be harmful, I would think it continued to cool overnight. After the initial wild brewing, it went into a closet along an exterior wall. The water I used to temp the closet was at 63°f. I'm starting to think this hobby is a lot more forgiving than I initially thought. I'm reading some books that keep telling me to relax, and I think they're right.

Keep up the post and let us know how it's going when you check your batch. I moved my first brew to a secondary last week, and it cleared considerably. It went from hazed to translucent. I think it's gonna be good.
 
Do NOT do an ice bath in a glass carboy. I repeat DO NOT ICE BATH A GLASS CARBOY!

It's a good way to waste 4-5 hours. you will crack it if you rapidly try to cool your carboy in an ice bath, i've watched it happen, it's not fun...even running cool water over it with warm wort inside, it cracked, and alll the beer went down the drain.

A man who ice bath's a glass carboy should be slapped :mug:
 
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