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I had a fermentation with cooper's OS lager go down like that. Maybe 2-3 bubbles the whole time. But,I did have about 1/2-1" krausen for 5 days or so. So wait till the 7th day,& take an SG reading. That's the only sure way to know. But you'll be fine for the time you're gone,as brewing is a game of patience. And the brew should be a bit better with the brew enhancer2,as it's 500g dextrose,250g light DME,& 250g maltodextrin.
ThickHead
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Leaving it for the extra time will only help matters. I would advise you to go ahead and leave it until you return. Once you return, take a gravity reading to be sure that fermentation is complete. Once you have confirmed that you have reached terminal gravity, and the beer has cleared, then you can go ahead and bottle it or keg it, whichever you prefer.
If you had a layer of foam for 4 days that has now dissipated, congratulations, you have made beer. As others have said, take hydrometer readings for 2-3 days to make sure it's totally done fermenting, and if you wait another week or two for the beer to clear before bottling it will be much tastier -- but it sounds like what you had was a totally normal average fermentation, with the CO2 escaping through some other tiny opening. (Which is normal for bucket brewers and not a problem in the slightest)
2 roads you can take.
Leave it another 3-6 days and check gravity 2 days in a row then bottle/keg on the 20th
Or, leave it alone for 3.5 weeks check gravity for 2 days in a row and then bottle/keg it.
Leave it another 3-6 days and check gravity 2 days in a row then bottle/keg on the 20th
Or, leave it alone for 3.5 weeks check gravity for 2 days in a row and then bottle/keg it.
Yeah,it'll take the path of least resistance,which I finally found a couple of weeks ago. The cooper's micro brew fermenters are die cast in half,so to say. The mold seam runs smack dab right through the middle of the lid sealing surface. I found a small amount of molding flash in this area. I trimmed it off with a very sharp paring knife (couldn't find my Exacto). The fermenter bubbles like crazy now! So look in this area for molding flash sticking up. It won't be huge,but it will make a difference. By the way,also always make sure you wipe the sealing surface clean before screwing on the lid. That'll help too,obviously.
Normally the recipe specifies that. If it didn't, you can plug the recipe into Beersmith or a similar product and it will give you a predicted FG. Or, since it sounds like this is a fairly typical average gravity ale, it's a safe bet that your target FG is somewhere around 1.009-ish to about 1.012-ish. Give or take. Don't worry if yours is off by a couple points, as long as you have taken hydrometer readings on enough separate days to be confident it has stopped (if it's like 1.020 or something, though, then that could indicate a stuck fermentation - but from what you described, I can pretty much guarantee you that's not going to happen)
Please don't take the 1.009-1.012 range as gosepl, though: other styles can finish as low as 1.000 or even slightly less (saison), or as high as 1.020 or more (barleywines, Imperials, or any particularly high alcohol beer)
No matter what the FG finally is, it will never be enough. You won't be happy with it. If the beer tastes good and gives you a buzz, be happy with that and don't worry about the numbers so much.
The numbers just give you bragging rights. Bigger is not always better if the beer tastes like a dish rag
