bearclaw
New Member
Well this is my first post on the forums and my first experience homebrewing. I'm doing an extract brew of an irish stout from Thomas Coopers. Yesterday I became a tad worried because the airlock was vigorously bubbling for two days prior and now it does not bubble at all. Surfing around these forums and online I read that this is not necessarily a bad thing and that it still can be fermenting but I was just shocked at how it completely stopped and didn't slow down. I cracked it open to take some out and do a hydrometer reading, OG was 1.050 and now it is at 1.020. Another thing I saw that was a bit odd from the images I've seen online was there was alot of dried "debris" (not sure what to call it) on the sides of the bucket above the beer and a very thin layer of foam on top of it (sort of looks like a thin layer of head when you pour a very thick beer). I took a taste of it from the hydrometer reading and it tastes like guinness with a bit of a bitter finish.
So anyways my question is, sorry for being a tad long winded, is this going along normally? Are the gravity readings ok? How much longer should I keep it in the fermenter? Will the slight bitter aftertaste leave with time or is that just how it is?
Thank you for your help. I find reading around the forums very informative and everybody is extrememly kind. Heh I'm sure I've already read my answer but I'm a tad paranoid with it being my first brew and all.
So anyways my question is, sorry for being a tad long winded, is this going along normally? Are the gravity readings ok? How much longer should I keep it in the fermenter? Will the slight bitter aftertaste leave with time or is that just how it is?
Thank you for your help. I find reading around the forums very informative and everybody is extrememly kind. Heh I'm sure I've already read my answer but I'm a tad paranoid with it being my first brew and all.