Flatline, you said this
What we can't figure out is why???? We discuss this all the time. Why if the info is right in front of people's eyes do they still ask the question...And how can we present it better in the beginning...Not so people don't post...
but so people don't freak out about their beer to begin with.
Especially me...how was I different when I started out a year ago? I saw "fermentation can take up to 72 hours to start." So when my batch didn't take off right away...
I was reassured. Instead, I went "Oh, OK...Fermentation can take up to 3 days to start...Guess I don't need to start a thread asking what's wrong. The answer is right in front of me."
ANyway..you're beer is fine
The why I think traces back to what I said. People like personal reassurance. That's why rule #1 of TCJoHB is to relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew (over and over and over again). It seems almost too easy the first time you brew. You worry about almost everything and yet there you are, you're done. It can be hard to believe that a small packet of dried powder will turn all that sticky fluid into something drinkable. I love to bake, especially bread, so I'm used to yeast in bread, and so I know that if you give the little buggers a good working environment, they're doing to do their damnest to produce the finest beer imaginable. A lot of people don't understand until after they're done.
My biggest problem actually with my first batch was that after like 4 days, the bubbling stopped pretty much completely, while it was going like gangbusters after 24 hours.
Thankfully, I had read many places that fermentation has historically taken as short as 3 days (the brew-gods were happy that night), and I think that was what happened with me. So I left it sitting for several more days just in case. But I did worry a bit.
I think if everyone literally had a beer every time they worried during their first brew, things would go easier, especially answering the same questions over and over. The beer market would explode (especially around christmas) as potential brewers sucked back craft beer after craft beer as the irrational fears start cropping up.
For me, the 3-4 weeks waiting for my first batch was when I intentionally went out and started drinking beers I've never had before. I stick normally to Newcastle, Fat Tire, Duvel, Paulaner's Hefen and Guinness (actually, that's a hell of a "regular" roster). I went out to BevMo and bought a dozen different varieties of beer, from IPA to Bock and I even bought an expensive barleywine. I've drank most of them now (and made up for it at the gym), not drinking to get my drink on, but drinking to appreciate how each different beer tastes. My tolerance for hops & bitterness has skyrocketed in just a month, and I can taste flavors in my beer I've never tasted before, simply from paying attention. At the same time, I have a deeper appreciation for *my* beer, and I can taste the difference in ingredients and methods. Plus, having a beer buzz on at 2 in the afternoon because you're worried that your wort is too hot after you've done what you could really kills that gnawing feeling in your stomach.
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