First Brew Concerns

Hi everyone!

First I just wanted to say that this forum seems really great! I've been looking around here for about an hour now and was really impressed with the knowledge here. Anyway, I just brewed my first batch of beer two days ago and have a few concerns. I bought a 6 1/2 gallon "Ale Pail" kit from ebay, it came with a primary fermenter and a secondary with a spigot. It also came with the hydromoter, airlock, syphon hose, bottle capper, bottle brush, sanitizing solution, thermometer, and beginners guide book. I also purchased an extract ingredient kit from the same seller. I bought at walmart a 22 quart stainless steel stock pot to brew with and 6 gallons of spring water. I just wanted to note all that so you know what I'm working with. I was looking into the Mr. Beer thing and the Beer Machine, then I looked at the reviews

Anyhow, I got the kit in the mail checked the contents and read through the beginners guide book, then started brewing. The ingredient kit (an IPA) had 2 cans of malt extract, 1 dry yeast packet, two bags of grains, and 2 packs of hops. It also had the steeping bags, and instructions. So, I get to the point that I'm brewing the ingredients and noticed that I skipped a step on the instructions. I put the malt extract in before it boils, so I stir until it does get to a boil. Instructions say to bring back to a boil then add malt extract. Ok so let's move on, I finish brewing and add the wort to the primary fermenter per the instructions, I cooled it in a sink of ice and water, then add the top up water, take the hydrometer reading. The target number was the las two digits arriving between 50 and 55, but I got 30, after reading a bit maybe the water was too warm. Afterward the yeast was added, I poured it into the wort from the packet, this was the way the instructions prescribed. Other than the small incident with the boiling of the malt, everything was per the instructions.

Now let's fast forward to 24 hrs later, the brew must have had some sort of activity. The liquid in the airlock is now yellow with a bit of foam at the top. Tiny, tiny bubbles can be seen flowing as well. Now here we are 48 hrs later and the airlock looks like clear water, but there are sediment deposits inside and absolutely no activity. The current temperature reading is between 70 and 73 degrees. I haven't taken a gravity reading with the hydromoter yet, I'm afraid to disturb it. There is very little if any activity at this point. I'm not sure if I'm just being impatient, this is my first time brewing. Should I be concerned, or did I miss most of the activity? Did I do something wrong?

Well, What type of sanitizer did you put in the airlock? Not sure what the "sediment" would be (assuming that you precleaned the airlock) As for 48 hrs and no ferment, that sounds like one of 2 things. Most probably is that the dry yeast packet needs time to rehydrate.... 90% sure there. But the other 10% would be that the yeast are dead from long storage times. Hard to tell due to not creating a starter with warm water before pitching. If you still have no active fermentation tomorrow, I would recommend swinging by your LHBS (local home brew shop) and picking up an equivalent "wet" yeast and just repitching. So far sounds like no harm no foul. Since it is your 1st batch, Just Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Microbrew and think about it being a Homebrew!

Nope, sounds like everything went fine. No problem adding the malt extract too early. Shouldn't cause any problems. Your low initial gravity reading was probably because the top off water wasn't mixed well with your wort. Not to worry, the yeast stirred things up during fermentation.

Sounds like you had a good strong initial fermentation. That's a good thing. I suspect that it's pretty much done, but it's best to leave it alone until it's been in the primary for a week. That'll give the yeast time to clean up after themselves and make sure it's really finished. Just have some patience and everything will be fine.

Are you planning to secondary? Sounds like "the secondary with spigot" is really your bottling bucket. You can secondary in it, but it'll be a real PITA because you'll have to transfer out of it, clean it, and then transfer back before you bottle. If I were you, I'd skip the secondary and just leave the beer in the primary for an extra week or so to settle and clear, then rack to the bottling bucket for bottling. Get a carboy or better bottle for doing a secondary with the next batch.

What temperature was the wort when you added the yeast? If I use dry yeast, I pour it in a cup of 80-85 degree water first for 15 minutes before I dump it in the 70-75 degree wort. 24 hours of activity is usually not enough. 3-5 days of activity is more typical. I try to keep the primary temperature at between 68-72 degrees for an ale. Before adding yeast, make sure to stir or shake the wort a lot to add oxygen--the yeast needs it to do its job right. Maybe add some more yeast if no more activity.

Sounds to me like you had some fast, vigorous fermentation. People often mistake no activty at 48 hours for no activity at all. Your fermentation may be done...especially at those warmer temps. Is your primary a bucket.

Gunk, bubbles and sediment in the S-type airlock are signs of a blow off (a good thing).

I'd pop that lid and look inside if you haven't. Fermenting wort will have some scuzzy looking suds and foam on top. That is normal. Fermented wort will have more liquid on top and some residual sudsing. (The initial foam (Krausen) has fallen back into the beer...normal).

Don't be afraid to use a sanitized measuring cup and steal a scoop for a hydromter reading.

I think you're fine. My first extract (English Ale, Dry yeast) was completely finished fermenting in 72 hours.

Follow your initial plan. Primary 1 week, secondary 2 weeks and then bottle. Our biggest mistake as newbies is not giving beer enough credit to take care of itself.

Thanks for the responses. I think maybe it had a fast fermentation as BierMuncher has suggested. I'm using the 3 piece airlock, so I'm not sure if it's the blowoff that you said occurs in the S-Type airlock, but I can't see why it wouldn't be. Drunkensatyr asked what type of sanitizer I used, it was I.D. Carlson Easy Clean. Also, swinging by my local homebrew shop would be difficult, the closest shop to me is about 100 miles away. Anyway, I think I'll keep it in the primary for a few more days, then take the gravity reading to see how close I am to target. As you suggested BierMuncher, I'll stick to my initial plan for now. Hopefully all is going well, if not then I'll just have to try again using some of the information I got from you folks here. Thanks again, I'll post an update once I get the gravity reading.

I agree zythos that you probably just had a fast fermenation.

For three out of my first four batches to date, all observable air lock activity occured within a 24 hour period (i.e. less than 24 hours from first observed bubble to last observed bubble). And only one of those three was vigorous enough to overflow into the airlock. Each of those three times, I was a little anxious that somehow fermentation did not complete. But in each case the attentuation was very good (i.e. I had a very good fermenation result). And for the one batch where I could observe activity for more than a 24 hour period, I actually saw air lock bubbles over nearly a 10 day period! I find the variation amazing, but it just seems to work.

Alright, last night curiousity got the better of me. I popped off the lid, and there were signs that something had happened. It looked like the krousen had risen and fallen back into the beer. Also, though there were some small clumps floating on the surface (hoping that's not a bad thing). I could see the beautiful brown color of the beer, and smell it's lovely aroma. Anyhow, I took the gravity reading and got between 1.020 and 1.015 (I'm not that great at reading hydrometers apparently) which is, I would say about 5 to 7 points away from my target 1.012. Obviously it must have fermented pretty well. It looks like maybe a few more days in the primary, then I could siphon to the secondary for the 2 weeks. I didn't know about auto-siphons when I got the kit, I think I'll order one today and keep the beer in the primary 'till it arrives. That should give about another 3 to 5 days to reach and confirm the target gravity reading.