First Brew - Did Fermentation Stop Early?

So I got my first batch (an Amber Ale) brewed and into the primary on Friday night. After about 10 hours, fermentation began. The airlock bubbled quite vigorously for right around 72 hours but I just checked on my brew and the airlock is now barely bubbling...maybe about 1 bubble per minute. I have done a good job of keeping the brew between 70-72 degrees, and there is some (about 1 inch) of foam on the top.

The instructions call for the brew to remain in the primary for 2 weeks. I guess my question is, is this a part of normal fermentation, to start vigorously and then slow down? If not, do I need to take any action such as shaking the carboy or adjusting the temperature to re-jump start the fermentation? The OG was 1.040. Would it be worth it to re-check the gravity at the 72 hour mark even though it is supposed to be a 2 week primary fermentation or should I just leave it be?

The first, almost furious, fermentation in my brews is usually done between 48 and 72 hours. I'd let it sit in primary for another day or two AT LEAST, and let the yeast clean up after themselves. Then, check the specific gravity. If it is down to the specified level, you have choices: leave it in primary for a few more days; rack it to secondary for a couple of weeks; bottle it now. Since I've got a pipeline built up, I'd go with leaving it alone for another week or two. But, since it's your first brew [mine was an Amber Ale, too], you may want to go ahead and bottle. Patience, however, is a brewing virtue that needs to be cultivated!

glenn514

glenn514 said:

If it is down to the specified level, you have choices: leave it in primary for a few more days; rack it to secondary for a couple of weeks; bottle it now.

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...or leave it in primary for another couple of weeks (like his recipe told him to )

To the OP :- leave your beer alone. Fermentation might be "done" in the sense that your yeast have consumed all of the active sugars, but it's not done. Your yeast will continue to alter the chemistry of your beer, and a good standard practice (especially for a first beer) is 3-4 weeks in primary, then bottle (after checking gravity, of course). I don't think there's much reason to take the gravity reading right now, just because the information shouldn't inform your behaviour at this point. Leave your beer alone! LEAVE IT ALONE!!!

Thank you for re-assuring a newbie, guys. I feel much better and will simply leave it alone and follow the recipe.

48 / 72 hours seems like a lifetime compared to my brews! I'm only 2 batches in and both have only held airlock activity for about 36 hours (both ales). However, after reading post after post after post on HBT I'm not sweating it too terribly bad. Take comfort in the fact that it's pretty hard to mess up a brew.

Leave it alone, and brew another one right now. Trust me, youll thank me later.

mlyday said:

Leave it alone, and brew another one right now. Trust me, youll thank me later.

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+1 on this, build your pipeline...

Indeed, all fermentation in my brews has not ended at 72 hours. I leave my brew in my primary fermenter for about a week, and then rack it over to secondary for two more weeks. And I do that because my primary is a 6-gallon BB and my secondary is a 5-gallon BB.

As said in my previous post, patience is a brewing virtue that MUST be cultivated. I, too, made the mistake with my very first brew of moving it from primary to secondary waaaay too early. I don't think it made a great difference in the outcome, but I needed to learn patience!

glenn514