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

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
jeanguyd said:
Now how will I be able to tell if it's fermenting in my pail without removing the cover? Removing the cover is bad isn't it?
Click to expand...

There's no danger of opening your bucket unless you have birds pooping overhead...The co2 is providing a cushion to protect your beer...

But you don't need to do anything for at least a week, then you can take a hydrometer reading....

Like I said above...

Rarely do yeasts these days get stuck...this isn't like the 70's when there was one or two strains of yeast, and they came from Europe in dried out cakes, and nowadays with our hobby so popular, even most tinned kits with the yeast under the lid turn over so fast that they are relatively fresh most of the time.

So nowadays the only way our yeast "dies" or poops out is 1)If we pitch it into boiling wort 2) There is a big temp drop and the yeasts go dormant and flocculate out, or 3) if there is a high grav wort and the yeast maxes out in it's ability to eat all the sugar...and even then the yeast may poop out at either 1.030 or 1.020...But other than that most fermentations take....
Click to expand...

There really is no need to worry...the yeasties have been making beer for over 5,000 years and they are pros at this stuff....
 
At some point, you should remove the cover to check the SG. That will tell you if it is fermenting. Removing the cover is not the end of the world. You risk oxidation. This is a minimal risk because of the protective layer of CO2 (which is heavier than O2). You also risk infection. This is also minimal if you follow sanitary procedures. I sanitize the lid, where it connects to the fermentor before i take it off (spray bottle of Star San works well). Then, I tip my lid upside down and spray more sanitizer on it (on the underside - the side that contacts the bucket and is exposed to the beer). I quickly collect my sample. Then, replace my lid and resanitize.

As far as when and how often to check the SG, I have my times, but, I'll defer to the experts to give you better advice.

Again, check my sig - I am a noob with a basic understanding of how things work.
 
Drink it. Most people here tell me not to put it back in. You are only taking a few ounces to sample. It is not worth introducing infection to put it back in the fermentor.

Drinking it also allows you to appreciate the changes in your beer as it ferments.
 
reim0027 said:
Drink it. Most people here tell me not to put it back in. You are only taking a few ounces to sample. It is not worth introducing infection to put it back in the fermenter.

Drinking it also allows you to appreciate the changes in your beer as it ferments.
Click to expand...

Yes, and on 3 day old beer it's also a right of passage/initiation/hazing!
 
Ok. Here my new and (not) improved situation.

Starting with a batch of Alexanders wheat 4lb LME, added 3 pd DME.
Followed good procedures. pitched yeast at 70 degrees on the noggin.
Used Danstar Munich - classic wheat beer yeast

SG at 1.06.

Did this on Wednesday round 11PM.

No activity on saturdat 11:00AM.

My furnace is on the fritz so I suspect temperature is the culprit. temp = 14c or round 60 degrees in the liquid. The yeast didn't do the usual bubbles and all - which is weird but i havent done beer yeast in a while.. so i forget what to expect.

I took a hydro reading which came in right around 1.057 - probably same as original - more settled now.

So - I'm not getting activity.
I'm warming up the wort again (space heater in smaller room.)

I have nottingham on deck from another batch.. It's in liquid form, but was in the fridge. How can I tell if the yeast is active?

What behavior should i expect from this yeast? should it bubble?
I know that munich doesn't flocculate much and i think its a top yeast... whereas i think nottingham is bottom.

i don't want to repitch and be in the same conundrum.

any ideas?
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
If your hydro readiongs don;t show a drop then temp is likely the culprit. 14c is a bit low for most yeasts, though I have used nottingham at that temp to make a real clean tasting lager like ale.
Click to expand...

thanks D.
I actually went out and bought some wlp400 liquid.. to see if i can get that strain started. creating a hot room - at 70 - perfect for the 67-74 indicated by white labs...
starting a bit of yeast in some very aereated wort.. we'll see if it goes.

i also have some nottingham from a buddy... so few backups...
 
Oaky said:
Ok. Here my new and (not) improved situation.

Starting with a batch of Alexanders wheat 4lb LME, added 3 pd DME.
Followed good procedures. pitched yeast at 70 degrees on the noggin.
Used Danstar Munich - classic wheat beer yeast

SG at 1.06.

Did this on Wednesday round 11PM.

No activity on saturdat 11:00AM.

My furnace is on the fritz so I suspect temperature is the culprit. temp = 14c or round 60 degrees in the liquid. The yeast didn't do the usual bubbles and all - which is weird but i havent done beer yeast in a while.. so i forget what to expect.

I took a hydro reading which came in right around 1.057 - probably same as original - more settled now.

So - I'm not getting activity.
I'm warming up the wort again (space heater in smaller room.)

I have nottingham on deck from another batch.. It's in liquid form, but was in the fridge. How can I tell if the yeast is active?

What behavior should i expect from this yeast? should it bubble?
I know that munich doesn't flocculate much and i think its a top yeast... whereas i think nottingham is bottom.

i don't want to repitch and be in the same conundrum.

any ideas?
Click to expand...

For the 10,000th time...what is YOUR definition of activity???? Bubbling???? we sayt over and over and over and over..Bubbling doesn't mean ****.....Hydrometer readings are the only thing that matters.........
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
I mentioned that in my post. OP, have the reading dropped over 3 or more days?
Click to expand...

Ya - the hydro readings showed no drops - roughly 1.06. Maybe a .003 difference - but I think our initial reading was off based on a bit of bubbles. So no drops in gravity in over 3 days.

Anyway.. I pitched a liquid yeast wlp400 - the classic belgian wit yeast... the repitch seems to have worked. I now have all the of the noticeable activity - bubbler, krausen starting etc. So the batch is on the way. I can now go on vacation happy.

So - it's quite possible that the yeast from Kuhnhenn was bad. Skippy doesn't seem to keep accurate track of expiration dates on yeasts (found some 08 stock throughout).. But good selection there and that wit yeast makes me all kinds of happy. The yeast pack was good til 12/09 so that is even more of a puzzle.

I think the interesting question here is a temperature which could have been the culprit.. The thing is that even after I moved it to my hotroom (where I reached 70 degrees in the wort again) there was no activity until I repitched.

So - yeast seems to be most likely culprit... temperature close second.. but all's good now... just that whole patience thing!
 
It's alive! Waited about 36 hours with nothing. Removed airlock and swirled a few times. Replaced airlock. Been bubblin' nicely all day. 1-3 bubbles/second. Can't wait.
 
I also pitched my first wort which was a Dunkel and I had lots of action in the first 18 hrs but nothing after that my temp did drop some but not much and my areation was good but I'm not sure if I should repitch I don't want to destroy the flavor but I also want a successful product. I haven't taken a gravity reading yet and will do so ASAP any other suggestions?
 
My beer is actually stuck - hydrometer readings show 1018-20 consistently.

I found this thread which gives very helpful information on how to get unstuck:
JIM'S BEER KIT: HOMEBREW FORUM • View topic - Help My Kit Has Stopped Fermenting

Just thought I'd mention it because there are so many false "My fermentation is stuck" threads that it's difficult to find out what to do if your fermentation genuinely is stuck (ie, you've checked over several days with the hydrometer).
 
OK - since my last post, the bubbling continued, gravity has dropped. The new yeast WLP 400 definitely seems to be working much better. I've now moved it to a clarifying carboy... and decided to throw right on top of the yeast cake (that's really a metaphor as it is more of a top yeast ;-) That worked amazingly well. We threw the wort in at 1:00AM. by 8:00AM it was active and bubbling. So all is good ;-) I think my plan will be to continue and do batch after batch over the yeast... and then save some for the future and change beer types. It's easy and fast... So highly recommended to those who get a stuck fermentation - when you're done with the batch - just put another batch right on top, less cleaning, more active fermentation, and you can get batches going every two weeks ;-)
 
1st post so please take it easy on me as this is my first time brewing as well. Brewed Thursday night, fermentation began next day (within 12 hours) and we were off to the races. It's now Monday night and the airlock hiccups every 25 seconds which is a drop from the 15 seconds the day before. I understand the best way to determine if fermentation is complete by a hydrometer reading which i will do tomorrow but does what I deem a quick drop in bubble activity tell me anything, particularly something bad?! Thanks for the assistance.
 
ipajay said:
1st post so please take it easy on me as this is my first time brewing as well. Brewed Thursday night, fermentation began next day (within 12 hours) and we were off to the races. It's now Monday night and the airlock hiccups every 25 seconds which is a drop from the 15 seconds the day before. I understand the best way to determine if fermentation is complete by a hydrometer reading which i will do tomorrow but does what I deem a quick drop in bubble activity tell me anything, particularly something bad?! Thanks for the assistance.
Click to expand...

It just means that ferementaion is slowing down, and that the need to bleed EXCESS CO2 is no longer happening (which is ALL that an airlock is meant to do anyhow, keep you from blowing the lid off the fermenter and spewing you beer on the ceiling)...in other words everything is fine....
 
ipajay said:
...fermentation began next day (within 12 hours) and we were off to the races. It's now Monday night and the airlock hiccups every 25 seconds which is a drop from the 15 seconds the day before....
Click to expand...

Full fermentation that starts quick....good.

Fermentation than rocks and rolls for several days...also good.

Fermentation that tapers off quickly....good.


You have healthy yeast...doing what they do best. An all out orgy followed by a nice long nap...and maybe a cigarette. :D
 
BierMuncher said:
Full fermentation that starts quick....good.

Fermentation than rocks and rolls for several days...also good.

Fermentation that tapers off quickly....good.


You have healthy yeast...doing what they do best. An all out orgy followed by a nice long nap...and maybe a cigarette. :D
Click to expand...

This puts me at ease some. A little background on my first attempt (last sat 2 May):
MWS Honey Heffe recipe kit
Followed directions provided
added 2lbs of honey 30 min into the boil
once wort was cooled below 90 I added the dry packet of yeast on top of the aerated wort

Started to see bubbles in the airlock (I know...I know) within 8hrs. Things were rolling strongly! It's now Thurs and I barely see a bubble in the airlock now. Now I realize that no bubbles in the airlock doesnt mean much, but my question is regarding the extra sugars from the honey. Is it possible that the yeast fed on the honey and not the wort? If so, are there any ramifications? I wanted to wait a week before taking a gravity reading so I'm not there yet. Should I go ahead and take one or just leave it alone and hope for the best?
 
I used to worry alot about my fermentations. Most times I would brew a batch and see vigorous bubbling within 8 - 12 hours. Sometimes I never really saw much action. It prompted me to devise the fermonitor - a real time specific gravity probe. What I have learned is that my batches behave the way they want to behave, not usually the same exact response twice. I have also found that a great deal of conversion can occur in a pretty short period (85% in 8 hours) - sometimes I totally miss seeing the bubbles because I am asleep or away at work. On average, my ales lag for 10 hours (0% converted), ferment vigorously for 18 hours (to 85% converted) and slowly for the next 70 hours (100%, usually ~1.010 gravity). But like I said sometimes the vigorous portion can be twice as fast. I hope this helps, I hope your beer took off and finished while you were passed out but I am afraid that you may not have sufficiently aerated the wort - did you use straight tap water or did you use bottled or boiled water?
 
OK, a related fermentation situation:
I've currently got an ale in primary fermentation, using Wyeast 1056 American. For the first couple of days, temp was a tad shy of 70 degrees F and nothing happened. I've kept it a few degrees north of 70 for several days now. For a while, I could see it bubbling away internally, with quite a head building, but there has been no activity in the airlock - the vodka I put in is still there and pure.
OG was 1.043, now it's at about 1.012. The sample I took tastes all right.
Should I re-pitch? Wait it out?

Another question: How long can a batch sit without significant fermentation and still be usable?
 
@frumiousbandersnatch: I'd wait until the gravity stabilizes for a few days. Looks like (off the top of my head) you have a nice ale with a low (for my tastes) ABV reading.
 
Just to throw my bit in... I have made three batches so far. None of them offered one bubble but they all ended up at a good FG. My worries about bubbles and the like are over.
 
SmugMug said:
This puts me at ease some. A little background on my first attempt (last sat 2 May):
MWS Honey Heffe recipe kit
Followed directions provided
added 2lbs of honey 30 min into the boil
once wort was cooled below 90 I added the dry packet of yeast on top of the aerated wort

Started to see bubbles in the airlock (I know...I know) within 8hrs. Things were rolling strongly! It's now Thurs and I barely see a bubble in the airlock now. Now I realize that no bubbles in the airlock doesnt mean much, but my question is regarding the extra sugars from the honey. Is it possible that the yeast fed on the honey and not the wort? If so, are there any ramifications? I wanted to wait a week before taking a gravity reading so I'm not there yet. Should I go ahead and take one or just leave it alone and hope for the best?
Click to expand...


few things to keep in mind - first I would tend to heat honey separately and not boil it if you can. I would suggest adding it later in the game and minimizing the high temperature. Honey can have natural yeasts and it is also antibacterial so it often retards yeast development. you may have a slower ferment due to that. if you have bubbles in 8 hours, you're probably set but you may want to let it sit for longer in a clarifying carboy to make sure your ferment is done... so 3-4 weeks in carboy after racking may be a good idea. I think it will be great. 2 pds of honey is a lot..
 
My first brew is in my primary now. I pitched the yeast about 56 hours ago. The airlock wasn't bubbling at all so I just let it be. I just checked it and the lid is bulging quite a bit. I put my hand on the lid to gauge how much pressure there as and the airlock started going nuts with air escaping. So it seems that my stopper/lid/airlock combination has some sort of issue. I think the lid may have gotten warped during transport from the store. At least I know that it is indeed fermenting.

My question is this... should I remove the lid and try to fix the airlock? Or do I just let it be? I don't know how much pressure can build up in there, but I don't want it warping or popping the lid. I could also just push the lid down some more to let gas escape through the airlock, but it seems like there's quite a bit there. Maybe put something heavy on it? Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
If you push it down and it returns to shape then you may suck air back in.
As long as nothing actually drops in the beer then you should be okay to remove it.
 
Oaky said:
few things to keep in mind - first I would tend to heat honey separately and not boil it if you can. I would suggest adding it later in the game and minimizing the high temperature. Honey can have natural yeasts and it is also antibacterial so it often retards yeast development. you may have a slower ferment due to that. if you have bubbles in 8 hours, you're probably set but you may want to let it sit for longer in a clarifying carboy to make sure your ferment is done... so 3-4 weeks in carboy after racking may be a good idea. I think it will be great. 2 pds of honey is a lot..
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought 2lbs was a lot too, but I followed the recommended directions for this particular recipe. I took a poll from my friends who will be helping me drink the beer and they all said they would like to have the honey flavor rather than just the aroma, so that's why the honey went in at 30min. Tasted ok, but was a little astringent when I took a gravity reading.
 
32 hours in, and my first higher-gravity beer is sitting lifeless in its carboy. So I can't start worrying for another, what, 40 hours? :p
 
I used some White's labs yeast yesterday that was past expiration by 1 month (give or take 4 days) and just stirred it in at about 72F degrees. The directions (on the WL yeast) said 70-75 F. The directions on the kit (American micro brew style Pale ale) said to ferment in a cooler temp (50-60F I think) using the supplied dry packet yeast that I didn't use. Now, the morning after (isn't there a pill for this?) the temp sits at about 64F.

If the yeast doesn't take can I just use the dry yeast packet?

Thoughts on the Temp?


The experience of someone that that know's wtf they are doing will be greatly appreciated with the raising of a glass and drinking of a fine homebrew!! :mug:
 
48 hours and it still looks like flat cola in there, not a speck of krausen, no yeast movement, and of course no bubbling. None of my previous 5 batches were anything like this. I'll be pitching more yeast tomorrow morning if it's still this dead. Sucks, cause the original yeast I pitched was a special Wyeast Seasonal blend, and I won't be able to find a second pack... really should've made a starter. :p
 
Ha! Wow! It finally kicked in! I was just about to go start the smack pack, when what do you know, a nice thick krausen's formed. Took about 60 hours! :)
 
My first batch and I tried to follow John Palmer's book:

1. APA kit with LME and dry yeast
2. The kit came with 2oz of Cascade hops, but I bought 2oz of Centennial to add to the kit to try and make and IPA.

Problem: It began bubbling about 12-15 hours after pitching, 1 bubble every few seconds. Seemed to go on for at least 48 hours. However I left for the weekend and returned to no bubbles. Don't know when it stopped but it is 4 days since pitching.

I had planned on a two week primary fermentation.

Is my batch OK? Should I pitch more yeast? I also forgot to take a OG reading.
 
eaglewwit said:
My first batch and I tried to follow John Palmer's book:

1. APA kit with LME and dry yeast
2. The kit came with 2oz of Cascade hops, but I bought 2oz of Centennial to add to the kit to try and make and IPA.

Problem: It began bubbling about 12-15 hours after pitching, 1 bubble every few seconds. Seemed to go on for at least 48 hours. However I left for the weekend and returned to no bubbles. Don't know when it stopped but it is 4 days since pitching.

I had planned on a two week primary fermentation.

Is my batch OK? Should I pitch more yeast? I also forgot to take a OG reading.
Click to expand...

It's fine. Don't worry and just wait it out.
 

Similar threads

V
No sign of fermentation after 48 hrs
Replies
3
Views
385
odie
odie
Luxy
Fermentation...
Replies
6
Views
431
Rish
R
L
Slight Medicine or Band-Aid Flavor In Week Long Fermentation
2
Replies
40
Views
3K
mac_1103
mac_1103
Tony B
Curious fermentation
Replies
15
Views
783
redrocker652002
R
G
Fermenting time in older recipes
Replies
2
Views
380
Gitruih
G

Latest posts

Back
Top