A really, REALLY dumb newbie question ...
- Thread starter swiarda
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
The little red thing? I keep mine on, but it really doesn't matter. I think the main reason for having it is if you get a sudden and persisting severe drop in temperature and all the water gets sucked down into your carboy then an extremely motivated fly could make his way through the airlock.
waarhorse777
Active Member
I leave mine on as well. Since I brew in the basement for more room, better temp, and controlled lighting the ceiling isn't finished and I'd prefer the floorboards from adding any "extra" flavors. Seems safer this way.
And the stupid questions just keep on coming -
First brew (EVER!) ... started on Sunday, the 6th. Had a really good head going on the 9th, 2" of foam, bubbling good, strong cider smell, etc. In fact, I had to move the carboy out of my office 'cuz the fumes were a bit strong.
Checked it on the 10th ... nada. No more foam, slow, slow bubbling. This morning? Not even bubbles. Temperature has stayed fairly steady between 70-74F.
Is this normal?
First brew (EVER!) ... started on Sunday, the 6th. Had a really good head going on the 9th, 2" of foam, bubbling good, strong cider smell, etc. In fact, I had to move the carboy out of my office 'cuz the fumes were a bit strong.
Checked it on the 10th ... nada. No more foam, slow, slow bubbling. This morning? Not even bubbles. Temperature has stayed fairly steady between 70-74F.
Is this normal?
Yup, that's pretty normal. Once it stops bubbling for the most part, do a gravity check with your hydrometer every couple days and once it stays the same for 3 consecutive days, you're almost ready to bottle that sucker. As a precaution I'd let it condition in the bucket/carboy for another week or two after the gravity settles out... just to cleanup the beer a little more. Once you get your process down you can get beer from kettle to bottle in a couple weeks. :rockin:
Greenbasterd
Well-Known Member
seems a little fast but totally possible, only way to find out is take a gravity reading, did you add any yeast nutrient to it? what kind of yeast did you use? i've had some ciders that i did not add nutrient die out at 1.020 which is wayyyy to sweet. if you used a champagne or wine yeast you should dry out under 1.000. at that temp the yeast will have a hayday so its deff possibly done the ferment, but your going to want to leave a couple more weeks at least
bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
Swiarda, Hi... There really are no dumb questions. There can be really dumb answers but every question is good. That is really the best way that we all learn.
In response to your second question about the apparent lack of activity, IMO, the only way to know what is going on is to use an hydrometer to measure changes in the specific gravity of your brew. There can be a lack of bubbles in the airlock because the yeast have consumed all the fermentable sugars, or because the yeast has become so stressed that it has stopped converting sugar to alcohol and CO2 or because the bung you are using is poorly located in the mouth of the carboy (or the lid on the bucket) and the CO2 more easily escapes through such gaps. Measuring the gravity (the more sugar and less alcohol the greater the density of the liquid and so the greater the specific gravity (its ability to support the mass of the hydrometer). As the sugar is transformed into alcohol the gravity falls (the density of the brew falls) until it approaches water - (1.000) and then falls below the density of water - say, about .096 (alcohol being less dense than H2O). Counting bubbles or watching the airlock bubble is a very unreliable measure of fermentation.
In response to your second question about the apparent lack of activity, IMO, the only way to know what is going on is to use an hydrometer to measure changes in the specific gravity of your brew. There can be a lack of bubbles in the airlock because the yeast have consumed all the fermentable sugars, or because the yeast has become so stressed that it has stopped converting sugar to alcohol and CO2 or because the bung you are using is poorly located in the mouth of the carboy (or the lid on the bucket) and the CO2 more easily escapes through such gaps. Measuring the gravity (the more sugar and less alcohol the greater the density of the liquid and so the greater the specific gravity (its ability to support the mass of the hydrometer). As the sugar is transformed into alcohol the gravity falls (the density of the brew falls) until it approaches water - (1.000) and then falls below the density of water - say, about .096 (alcohol being less dense than H2O). Counting bubbles or watching the airlock bubble is a very unreliable measure of fermentation.
