Yeast issue...

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jakead

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My friend and I have recently become acquainted with the home brewing process and have jumped in head first. We were brewing our first batch on Friday night and everything was going very well until we were putting the lid on the fermenter and when I was putting the airlock in the little rubber casing deal fell straight through. Realizing the immediate action that had to be taken, we of course freaked a little bit and took the top back off. The rubber deal did not float and was somewhere on the bottom. Our spoon was not long enough to scale the bottom so we had to pour about 2 gallons back into the pot to allow for room to find it. We eventually found it thank God and put it back so we could get the fermenter air tight again.

The issue I have is, we had already pitched the yeast. As of Saturday afternoon she was bubbling hard and looking good but as of today no real bubbles. My question is when we were pouring the brew in and out could that have affected the yeast? I know to not get too worked up about the bubbles but I figuired I would post the question just to help me sleep a little better until I crack this puppy open.

Anybody have experince with this? Should I put some more yeast in?

Thanks for any help.
 
airlock bubbling, lack of airlock bubbling, stopped airlock bubbling, fast airlock bubbling, slow airlcok bubbling, heavy metal airlcok bubbling, or disco airlock bubbling really is not an indicator of what is happening to your beer, really isn't important, and it is NOT an accurate gauge of fermentation.

If your airlock was bubbling and stopped---It doesn't mean fermentation has stopped.

If you airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean your fermentation hasn't started....

If your airlock starts bubbling, it really doesn't matter.

If your airlock NEVER bubbles, it doesn't mean anything is wrong or right.

Your airlock is not a fermentation gauge, it is a VALVE to release excess co2.

So get out of the habit of thinking that an airlock bubble it telling you anything.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that anything's wrong, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working dilligantly away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years....


The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Your beer is fine....relax....Just don't connect airlock with what your yeast is or isn't doing...it's doing fine, it just doesn't NEED to make your airlock blip right now.

Oh and many folks have dropped their airlock grommet into the bucket (including at least ONE moderator here. :D) It's sort of a right of passage in brewing.

As you can see here, many of us has done much worse. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

:mug:
 
It'll be totally fine ... if you do a search you'll see that dropping the o-ring into the fermenter is one of the most typical first-time "mistakes" people have (myself included, of course :cross:). Pouring the beer around before the yeast really start fermenting is absolutely nothing to be worried about; you just don't want to do once the yeast get going.

Also, if you don't end up with a super air-tight seal on the fermenter, that's totally fine, too. There are lots of people here who recommend just placing the lid on the fermenter without sealing it. Fermentation will produce a nice layer of CO2 that will stay on top of your beer and protect it.

Honestly, the hardest part about your first batch is usually being patient about waiting until it's ready!
 
Just to add, there isn't anything you could have done to the yeast. Now, if you were running your hand over a moldy surface and stuck your hand it and went fishing for it, you MIGHT have a problem with contamination. But what you did, provided it was sanitary, will NOT cause any problems. If it was unsanitary it MIGHT POSSIBLY, but it would have nothing to do with your yeast. It will likely show up as a slight off flavor. The fact you had fermentation going helps a lot, as most contaminates don't do well at all in alcohol. It's part of beer/wine yeasts natural survival evolution. They land on something first, start eating sugar, farting CO2, and urinating alcohol. The alcohol is there way of insuring they get the sugary goo all to themselves since not many other things can live in it.

Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Hombrew
RDWHAHB
 
And just to add, I wouldn't call myself a newbie, but tonight was the first time I've used a bucket. I got them cheap and need the extra fermentors since I have a lot of lagers planned; I've always used glass carboys and Better Bottles. Anyway, I was installing a blow off tube and it was a tight fit. Thankfully I was watching for signs the grommet was going in the drink and stopped pushing just in time. You didn't do anything hundreds if not thousands of others have done. Don't feel bad at all. You'll know to watch closer next time.

Bill Sinkhorn
 
In the future, I suggest putting the airlock (or blowoff tube) in the grommet before putting it in the hole. (insert rubber joke here) This will make the grommet larger, making it less likely to pop through.
 
In the future, I suggest putting the airlock (or blowoff tube) in the grommet before putting it in the hole. (insert rubber joke here) This will make the grommet larger, making it less likely to pop through.

I tried that, but then it wouldn't fit..... The next size OD down in hose was just too loose. I am actually going to drill out the bucket lids anyway as I need to use thermowells.
 
I always give my airlock a little twist as I push it into the grommet. If you look really closely as you push it straight in, it will roll the top down as you push. A little twist keeps that from happening. And, like other people have said, it's no big deal to leave it in there if it happens again. Either buy a second so you have a spare, or you can wrap some electrical tape or duct tape around the post on the airlock so it seals against the hole in the bucket

And, to reiteratewhat Revvy said, only with less words, the airlock bubbling or not isn't a very reliable way to judge anything that's going on in there. If it bubbled, it started to ferment and it'll finish unless something weird happens, which is rare. Beer makes itself, you just have to boil it because yeast isn't old enough to cook yet, its mommy will get mad...
 
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