Fermintation roller coaster...

I brewed my first HB last Thursday afternoon.

Oktoberfest
Extract
Tettnager 60 min
Tettnager 30 min
Styrian Golding 2.5 min
Cooled to 75ish with wort chiller
Poured in primary
Added White labs liquid yeast not a real big starter 5-6 oz 10min prior
I believe it was an ale (didn't take good notes newbie error )

Started in 62 deg area was slow so moved to 68-70 had a 10 hour period of bubbles every 6-8 sec now back to nothing.

Is it still fermenting? When do I move to Secondary?

Anything eles to check?

Thanks

ON a Great note brewed A Hef yesterday showing amazing activity

check the gravity again, its possible it could have finished

That's what hydrometers are for, they are the ONLY way to know if a batch is done.

Brewing without a hydrometer is like driving without a gas guage.

From my lack of experience it was simpler than checking with a hydrometer. The Everclear level in the airlock had evaporated or add itself to the brew. After adding some more its bubbling mad....

Would I be better off to use water or Vodka? I'm just using the Everclear because it’s not really good for anything else in my opinion.

Thanks for Everyone's help...

I just use sanitized water or even regular water, meh, all the same really. Some will disagree and they're right, but evaporation isn't your friend.

Everclear makes a mighty fine jungle juice if done right. Perhaps even in an MLT.... I'm brewing an idea...

Use, know, love the hydrometer

Getnit said:

Would I be better off to use water or Vodka? I'm just using the Everclear because it’s not really good for anything else in my opinion.

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Not good for anything!! Are you mad?!? Everclear is spectacular for making Limoncello and Japanese emushu. It's also great fuel for a backpacking stove, plus it cleans stubborn spots from your driveway or liver. And hey, you've got to love any beverage that is potentially explosive and has a "consumption may cause blindness" warning on the label. I buy the stuff by the case.

But for your airlock, I've found that Everclear evaporates a lot faster than vodka, and it's a lot more expensive. I suppose you could always dilute it with a splash of water. Or, just use starsan.

Time will fix all beers! Give it a few more weeks and USE YOUR HYDROMETER!!!

BierMuncher said:

Brewing without a hydrometer is like driving without a gas guage.

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My first car had no gas gauge, and no odometer. The only time I knew how much gas I had was right when I pulled out of the gas station. Only ran out once though