Just a reminder to all the newbies that your airlock is no safe way to judge fermentation.
I've been brewing (again) for a couple of years. Batches here and there, learning and improving, and for the most part I feel like I've gotten a good handle on the basics and then some. I've never had a problem getting my airlock to bubble.
Well, I think it was the last batch, when I was cleaning the old fermentation bucket, I discovered a slight bit of "flash" around the top of the rim. I took a razor and trimmed it away.
Fast forward to the last batch. I brewed a Belgian Pale Ale and felt confident that my temps were in order and all was good. I stuck in the basement to start the ferment and after a day checked it.
No bubbles.
Waited a few more days.
No bubbles.
Opened the lid and peeked inside. Lots of foam, which could be Krausen, or just foam from the ride home from the brewday that never settled (although that would have been amazing IMO). BUT! I did get a good whiff of CO2 burn in my nose, so I had to assume the thing was going. Jammed the lid on tight.
Brought it upstairs because it was getting too cool in the basement for a Belgian.
Another few days and I pop the lid. Still foam and CO2, but no bubbles.
Another few days I bust out the Hydrometer and take a reading... 1.010. Nearly done fermenting. Even had some yeast gunk stuck to the thief.
Lesson is, use the hydrometer, and don't trust your airlock as a measure of fermentation activity.
Of course a carboy, or Better Bottle, would have less chance of leaking CO2, but if you use buckets, the airlock can be unreliable. Read Revvy's post on this. He is the man!
I've been brewing (again) for a couple of years. Batches here and there, learning and improving, and for the most part I feel like I've gotten a good handle on the basics and then some. I've never had a problem getting my airlock to bubble.
Well, I think it was the last batch, when I was cleaning the old fermentation bucket, I discovered a slight bit of "flash" around the top of the rim. I took a razor and trimmed it away.
Fast forward to the last batch. I brewed a Belgian Pale Ale and felt confident that my temps were in order and all was good. I stuck in the basement to start the ferment and after a day checked it.
No bubbles.
Waited a few more days.
No bubbles.
Opened the lid and peeked inside. Lots of foam, which could be Krausen, or just foam from the ride home from the brewday that never settled (although that would have been amazing IMO). BUT! I did get a good whiff of CO2 burn in my nose, so I had to assume the thing was going. Jammed the lid on tight.
Brought it upstairs because it was getting too cool in the basement for a Belgian.
Another few days and I pop the lid. Still foam and CO2, but no bubbles.
Another few days I bust out the Hydrometer and take a reading... 1.010. Nearly done fermenting. Even had some yeast gunk stuck to the thief.
Lesson is, use the hydrometer, and don't trust your airlock as a measure of fermentation activity.
Of course a carboy, or Better Bottle, would have less chance of leaking CO2, but if you use buckets, the airlock can be unreliable. Read Revvy's post on this. He is the man!