Yeast,fermenting help...

Hello everyone, just so ya know, im kinda sorta new, I have made a few batches of homemade brew. What Im brewing now is a stout. I brewed it about 2 weeks ago and the instructions for my friends recipe says I will "crack my first bottle in about 3 to 4 weeks.

Where I am at now is in a yeast standoff. On day 2 after pitching the yeast, it began to ferment. It lasted about 3 days. Semi vigerous. Now I had to move the 5 gallon carboy, which is where the primary ferment is taking place, because I am moving. When I set it down after it was slightly shaken, It vigerously "bubbled" in my air lock for about a minute and stopped.

Now I dont know if I should shake it daily, or if I have ruined it because It was shaken? I have read here how some people shake there wort daily to get the yeast moving and some say absolutely not. I am paranoid because I helped my friend make a chocolate stout and it wasnt fermented and they turned into missles. But I dont have a hydrometer because it broke in the move.

Ok sorry to drag this on, But I need help. With some expert advice...should I shake it daily till I dont get bubbles? should I just let it go on its own? When do I know when its "truely" done and to begin the bottling process? Thanks everyone for reading my issue. Hope to hear some resonses!

Leave it be. At least let it sit for at least a total of two weeks.

What temperature is it sitting at for the moment?

Get yourself another hydrometer.

The shaking drove off dissolved c02. As the yeast ferment they give off c02 and it will go into solution up to a certain point.

At 2 weeks the beer should be at terminal gravity. Sanitize a raking cane and take a sample. You can taste the beer and see if it tastes finished. If it is not done you will taste an unmistakable sweetness.

When you get another hydrometer be sure to taste every beer sample when you measure gravity so you can get a feel for how finished beer will taste.

If you are really unsure, then bottle a few of your beers in plastic soda bottles so you can see how they progress. They will get hard when they are carbonated.

No need to shake it. A gentle swirl to rouse the yeast is what most people talk about.

Don't keep shaking the beer...if you do you will end up with 5 gallons of wet cardboard. You only need to aerate before fermentation begins, oxygen good fro yest, bad for beer...

Quit messing with your beer. The yeast know what to do...you don't need bubbles, you don't need to see airlock blipping, you just need to let the yeasts do their jobs.



Just leave it alone for a week or two, everythign is fine...if you keep messing with it, it won't be.

ok sounds good. Thank you guys for your input. I will just let it sit for another 2 weeks untouched. I will clean a plastic bottle and bottle one or two and see what happens. Thank you all and I hope it all turns out!

This fermentation is sitting in about 60 to 70 degrees pretty consistantly.