stalled fermentation

Liberty Cream Ale from Midwest went into fermenter on 2/26 and was bubbling within 12 hours. It was going at a pretty good rate for another day and a half and when I checked it today it seems to be at a dead stop.

Has my fermentation stalled? Is this normal?

I've only made a few batches before and it's been several years so I'm just looking for some reassurance or help. Thanks.

main ferm only takes a few days to take place.
are you referring to the airlock bubbling? that will onyl really bubble for the first few days. after that, you wont really see anything.

read this and hopefully it'll all make sense about the bubbles in the airlock and fermentation

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/slow-fermentation-216438/#post2533945

Thanks unionrdr! I haven't popped the lid off to check, didn't want to if I didn't have to. I may if I still see no signs after a while.

I forgot to mention that I used distilled water which I later read that a lot of people say is a bad idea. It was too late when I read that so I guess we'll see what happens.

The only way to know if fermentation is complete, stalled or underway is to take specific gravity readings with a hydrometer.

Thank you all. I read your posts and that link posted by rivernin.

I was equating the airlock with fermentation and now I realize that was wrong. I am going to wait and check the hydrometer reading in a few days as directed and go from there. Thanks!

+1 to taking a sample and getting a gravity reading on it. But it's possible that fermentation could have stalled if you had a huge temp drop after those first couple of days. No biggie though, get it back to the ideal temp range and give it a gentle swirl to kick the yeast back into gear, which should help get things going again. If not and your readings show that you're still a few points above your FG, you can repitch yeast to get the rest of the job done. Just remember, you don't know if fermentation has totally stopped until you start seeing the exact same hydrometer reading over the course of several days. If it even drops by a single point, stuff is still happening in there and you should leave it be.

dansmith13 said:

Thank you all. I read your posts and that link posted by rivernin.

I was equating the airlock with fermentation and now I realize that was wrong. I am going to wait and check the hydrometer reading in a few days as directed and go from there. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the best way to go about it.

Active fermentation can be over in as little as 24 hours, or take a week. The length of time it takes really isn't at all important. The only way to know if the fermentation is stalled vs. finished is by gravity readings. I'm betting it's finished, and letting it sit now to "clean up" a bit will be the best thing to do.

dansmith13 said:

Thanks unionrdr! I haven't popped the lid off to check, didn't want to if I didn't have to. I may if I still see no signs after a while.

I forgot to mention that I used distilled water which I later read that a lot of people say is a bad idea. It was too late when I read that so I guess we'll see what happens.

Click to expand...

Distilled water is fine with extract brewing. That way you know you don't have chlorine or chloramines in the water, so that can be a benefit! You can use bottled spring water, too, with good results.

I've got my confidence back now. Thank you to everyone who posted!!!