1st Batch of Homebrew....HELP!

Hi All-

Brewed my 1st batch last week, Midwest Brewing Supplies Irish Stout.


I've got a couple of concerns about my fermentation...I'd appreciate any feedback/ help anyone could offer.

1.) Once I got the wort into my primary bucket (w/ a blow off tube), it sat with no visible signs of fermentation for 48 hours. Then it was burping non- stop for about 36-48 hours. Then, nothing for the next 4 days. Is this normal?

2.) After 8 days, I transferred the beer to my secondary (plastic better boy) with a 3 piece airlock. Since the transfer, I have not seen a single bubble or burp come up. Should I be concerned about this? Any chance I need to add more yeast?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It sounds perfect! Usually, it takes about 24-48 hours to get going if you used liquid yeast and then it ferments about 48 hours or so before slowing down. Fermentation should be over before you move the beer to the secondary (which is also called the "bright tank" or "clearing tank") to condition and clear a bit. You should be seeing a layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the carboy as the beer clears up.

Just keep the beer in the 66-68 degree range, and it'll be fine!

1. Perfectly normal.

2. Yup, fine.

Keep in mind that many on HBT like to keep their beer in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks and then bottle straight from the primary than to use a secondary. It appears to mellow out the batch and likely prevent trouble with the batches, since the less we fiddle with it the less likely we can infect it.

B

Did you ever take a grav reading especially BEFORE you racked to secondary???? Airlock activity or lack thereof is REALLY not important. And you "burping" thebucket for the mere purpose of trying to make it bubble probably causes more harm than good. Because I'm sure your beer was fermenting just fine, and you kept introducing oxygen to the bucket by doing that....you want to minimize that as much as possible.

And again there shouldn't be airlock activity in secondary ANYWAY because fermentation should have been complete BEFORE you racked it, and you should have confirmend that with 2 consequetive hydro readings over 3 days....If I do use a secondary these days, which I hardly ever do, I don't even begin to take those first readings til day 10 or 12, and you've already gone and racked it....

Read this please https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/no-visible-fermentation-28278/#post2495520

And then take a hydro reading...and in the future go by that, not by airlock activity...and in the future, only open the fermenter to take a grav reading, you want to minimize oxygen contact as much as possible. Opening a couple times is fine, but "burping" doesn't sound like a good thing to be doing.

I'm sure your beer is fine...but next time go with hydrometer readings rather than airlocks...if you had done that you wouldn't have needed to worry enough to ask those questions.

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

Revvy...just to be clear, I was not "burping" the primary by pushing on it...I just used "burping" to refer to the noise that the primary was making as it released gas.