First Brew Question

I got a brewing kit and the True Brew IPA "Maestro" kit for Christmas. Last Saturday, I brewed and put in the primary. I've been keeping an eye on the airlock over this first week and noticed that today there isn't any more bubbling going on. Should I be concerned? I was planning on putting it in the secondary this weekend.

Ignore the airlock,take a reading with the hydrometer.Its probably done.

Be patient. Give it a few more days, let the yeast finish their work. Then check with your hydrometer. When you get the same reading for 3 consecutive days, rack to your secondary.

If FGs not there yet, warm up the brew to around 70F to see if it gets going again.

My beginning gravity was 1.050 so if I take a reading and its at the final gravity by the instructions (1.012-1.0140) I'm good? Or take a reading a few days in a row?

At that point I should transfer to the secondary and about how long would you recommend before bottling?

What's the best temperature during fermenting? I think I've been having a tough time getting there in the winter of Massachusetts.

blackswan said:

My beginning gravity was 1.050 so if I take a reading and its at the final gravity by the instructions (1.012-1.0140) I'm good? Or take a reading a few days in a row?

At that point I should transfer to the secondary and about how long would you recommend before bottling?

What's the best temperature during fermenting? I think I've been having a tough time getting there in the winter of Massachusetts.

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I'd take a couple of readings a couple days apart. The FG listed in the recipe is merely a guesstimate.

When fermentation is done, you can rack to the secondary, let it clear for a week or two, then bottle. A lot of us don't secondary, however, and just let the brew sit in the primary for 3-4 weeks, then bottle.

Temperature depends on the yeast and style, but generally speaking, you'll do alright at around 62-65 degrees. If you know what kind of yeast you've got, you can check on the manufacturer's website to see what they suggest. Too warm and you can end up with off flavors, too cool and your yeast can drop out too quickly.

The general consensus is to take a reading a few days in a row and if it stays the same then its done.
If you aren't adding anything during the secondary, you only really need to leave it until it clears or you can go by the 1-2-3 rule (1 wk primary, 2 wk secondary, 3 wk bottle). Depends if you want bottle or carboy conditioning and how long you want to wait.
Ale fermentation temperatures are typically 65-70F.

edit: you're a quick one Homer

dcp27 said:

If FGs not there yet, warm up the brew to around 70F to see if it gets going again.

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I was storing it in a closet in my downstairs. I brought it upstairs in front of a vent and it started going again. I guess part of it was a temperature issue? Will this cause problems with with my end results?

What do people do to regulate temperature during fermentation? Do people ever use a wine fridge and remove the shelving or any other ideas?

Two easy ways to help regulate are 1) drape a wet t-shirt/towel over it or 2) submerge it in a bath of water. Both are typically done for the summer, but I suppose they'd work in the winter as well. I've used #2 a few times with good results. Basically, the water takes longer to change temperature than ambient air so it doesn't flucuate much.
MA is a definately a pain in the winter. I ended up having to check a few areas in my house with a thermometer throughout the day to figure out where was most stable. Higher floors in the winter, lower floors in the summer.

blackswan said:

I was storing it in a closet in my downstairs. I brought it upstairs in front of a vent and it started going again. I guess part of it was a temperature issue? Will this cause problems with with my end results?

What do people do to regulate temperature during fermentation? Do people ever use a wine fridge and remove the shelving or any other ideas?

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Shouldn't cause any problems.. Many people have had stuck fermentations and been able to rouse the yeast by shaking up the carboy.. Are you sure it was a temperature issue and not due to under-aerated wort? Perhaps when you hauled your carboy upstairs, you shook it up enough to rouse up some yeast and get them going again?

blackswan said:

I was storing it in a closet in my downstairs. I brought it upstairs in front of a vent and it started going again. I guess part of it was a temperature issue? Will this cause problems with with my end results?

What do people do to regulate temperature during fermentation? Do people ever use a wine fridge and remove the shelving or any other ideas?

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You don't need to warm it up, unless it was below about 60 degrees where it was. Putting it in a warmer place now is causing bubbling because the warmer temperature is causing the co2 to off-gas, not because it needed the warmer temperature to ferment.

I keep my fermenters in a room that is about 60-62 degrees. That works great for most ales. Anything over about 70 degrees is too warm. Keep in mind that fermentation itself produces heat, and sometimes the actual temperature of the fermenting beer is 3-10 degrees warmer than the ambient air temperature. A "stick on" thermometer, like for aquariums, helps you see what the temperature of the beer inside is.

Some people use swamp coolers, some use fridges, some ferment in their basement, etc. Generally, a room temperature in the 60s is fine.

blackswan said:

I got a brewing kit and the True Brew IPA "Maestro" kit for Christmas. Last Saturday, I brewed and put in the primary. I've been keeping an eye on the airlock over this first week and noticed that today there isn't any more bubbling going on. Should I be concerned? I was planning on putting it in the secondary this weekend.

Click to expand...

All this talk about yeast and ferm temps may be a moot point. It could be that your beer is actually done.. I brewed a beer on saturday as well with an OG of 1.054 and I am only getting one bubble every 45 seconds or so and all visible signs have ceased. I think your beer is probably fine, but just to be sure start taking a gravity reading every day.. If the gravity is the same for about 3 days, it's done..