I think my first fermentation has stalled.

Monday at about 9:00-10:00 pm i pitched the yeast on my first brew.It was bubbling at 8:00 AM the next morning.It continued for a day or two then stopped bubbling.I know The airlock is not a clear indicator of fermentation but the temperature of the fermenter has also dropped to match the ambient temperature around it.I thought actively fermenting beer was supposed to be warmer that the ambient temps around it?I really think my first batch has stalled for some reason.

You clearly know the first part of the statement, about how the airlock is not a clear indicator of fermentation....so you DO of course know the rest of the sentence, the one that says exactly WHAT the clear indicator is, right?

You really know what to do next right?



If you're that worried then take a reading. We're good, but we're not beery psychics. Or you can just trust the yeasties to know what they need to do. As long as the fermenter hasn't dropped to below the bottom range of the yeast, like in the 50's, then it's still doing what it needs to do....ferment your beer.

Ok i should take a hydrometer reading?It's only been about five days since i pitched the yeast.Isn't that Way early?

Well it's that, or trust the yeasts....

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Thinking about doing anything else without taking a hydrometer reading is tantamount to the doctor deciding to cut you open without running any diagnostic tests....Taking one look at you and saying, "Yeah I'm going in." You would really want the doctor to use all means to properly diagnose what's going on. It's exactly the same thing....

Ok,as soon as i get some sanitizer tomorrow i will take a reading.But how do i tell if it stalled,if it stays the same for a few days?

And I'm reading your blog now too

I would wait another 5-7 days before taking the reading. Revvy's point is not that you should take a reading now, but that you should only trust a hydrometer reading to tell you whether things have stalled or not. If it was bubbling a few days ago, it's very likely fine. It will generally only do that for a couple of days and then slow down - but it still continues to ferment and clean up even though it appears as though nothing is happening. Stuck fermentations are NOT common at all - I've done probably 150 batches and never had it happen. You just have nOObitis (worrying about your beer even though it's probably fine).

Ok Thanks guys.I probably am just doing what most noob brewers do.Worry too much.****it,if it is screwed up some how I'm starting a new batch tomorrow anyway.I do have two kegs to fill.

ifishsum said:

I would wait another 5-7 days before taking the reading. Revvy's point is not that you should take a reading now, but that you should only trust a hydrometer reading to tell you whether things have stalled or not. If it was bubbling a few days ago, it's very likely fine. It will generally only do that for a couple of days and then slow down - but it still continues to ferment and clean up even though it appears as though nothing is happening. Stuck fermentations are NOT common at all - I've done probably 150 batches and never had it happen. You just have nOObitis (worrying about your beer even though it's probably fine).

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Yeah but, if he's really really really worried, then he maybe SHOULD take a reading now to calm his noobish nerves.

I agree with you that his beer is fine....but I trust my yeasties beasties implicitly, they never ahve let me down.

But there's two courses of action for our young padwan..well three..take a reading to calm his nerves, trust the yeast and take one next week, OR worry incessantly

Any other option, like some folks want to pitch more yeast or other corrective measure without doing a diagnosis is NOT a valid thing to do.

Also, fermentation slows down after a couple of days, usually. It's only when it's really fermenting heavily that temps rise. After 4-5 days they usually come back to ambient, even if fermentation isn't done.

Sometimes the beer ferments out to in 2-3 days, depends on the yeast and conditions

+1 your beer is fine, but if it makes you sleep better, take a hydrometer reading.

I like to take weekly readings from the primary just to see where it's at (and get a taste, of course).

budbo said:

Sometimes the beer ferments out to in 2-3 days, depends on the yeast and conditions

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Or even faster! Depending on a variety of factors- yeast health, the OG of the wort, the amount of yeast pitched, the strain of yeast, temperature, etc- the time and vigorousness of fermentation can vary greatly. It doesn't really matter if it ferments out in 24 hours or a week- as long as the fermentation happens, it's all good.

I have had a couple of beers ferment out in 24 hours, and it was HARD to keep the temperature under control because it wanted to get hot. I've had other beers take more than a week. It's very common to have activity die down a bit after 2-4 days, so your batch actually sounds normal and right in the middle of what I'd expect.

FYI,It's a honey porter kit from Midwest.With Muntons dry yeast.

What's the ambient temp where it's at?

Ambient is 64.9,the fermenter temp is exactly(I'm a nut about taking proper temp readings)Is 65.3.They vary a few degrees either way every few hours.

Addicted said:

FYI,It's a honey porter kit from Midwest.With Muntons dry yeast.

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I use dry yeast on most of my non-specialty ales, Dry always ferments out faster for me