Smokeater233
Well-Known Member
So - my question is a variety of newbie questions all rolled into one problem - which, may not be a problem at all and I'm just overly paranoid about blowing my first batch...
Brewed the first batch on Saturday and decided that I wanted to watch the ferment take place, so instead of doing the easy thing of pouring into one of the buckets (although in my defense my kit did come without a strainer), I decided I'd move forward with the 6.5 gallon carboy. Except of course my kit also came without a funnel. So, as soon as I got the wort down to 80 degrees (accompished with a few bags of ice), I auto-siphoned into the carboy...which of course introduces next to no oxygen (something I predictably thought about after the wort was entirely in the carboy). Immediately thereafter I pitched the small packet of Munton's yeast (which I did not re-hydrate - although the kit did say that was not a requirement). The ambient air was in the mid-70's Fahrenheit. About 6 hours later the yeast clearly began the fermentation process and within about 12 hours I had very aggressive activity in the air lock and a thick layer of krausen. 12 hours later the activity in the air lock slowed and the krausen remained. The carboy temp rose to about 80 degrees as it stored in my kitchen with a small window - indirect sunlight. I chose to move the carboy into a different room (nothing is kept constantly cold at home and I have not tried a wet towel as of yet) where the ambient air is about 5 or 6 degrees cooler with much less sunlight. Since then the air lock has virtually stopped bubbling, the krausen is all but gone, and I've started wondering if there's not enough oxygen in the carboy to complete the ferment.
Now I know that the air lock and the krausen are not absolute indicators of fermentation, so I wanted to try a hydrometer reading. Except of course I don't have a thief, and while the kit did come with a hydrometer, it did not come with a tube. If I go ahead with a reading, should I do it in the carboy, and if so, how do I extricate it after I'm done? (this would also be a good time to mention that I did not do an SG reading - yeah, stupid me, but the recipe suggests between 1.042 and 46, so I figured a 60%+ reduction from that would indicate, roughly, if fermentation has actually completed) If I auto-siphon I'll need to find a vase or something tall enough to do this in I'd presume until I can get my hands on a tube (and yes, I can't just order one up and expect it here in the next week - I live in Asia and it takes several weeks to get the shipments in).
Long story short - I know dry yeasts can finish their fermentation very quickly and it's entirely possible I've done no damage to what I hope will be beer. I've relaxed and had a beer (though, not a homebrew yet), but I'm still a bit worried and would love to do a hydrometer reading in a way that makes sense given my lack of equipment. I did spin the carboy once in the hopes of getting a little more activity, but I don't want to do anymore until I get some third-party advice that is clearly better than my own lack of natural intuition.
Brewed the first batch on Saturday and decided that I wanted to watch the ferment take place, so instead of doing the easy thing of pouring into one of the buckets (although in my defense my kit did come without a strainer), I decided I'd move forward with the 6.5 gallon carboy. Except of course my kit also came without a funnel. So, as soon as I got the wort down to 80 degrees (accompished with a few bags of ice), I auto-siphoned into the carboy...which of course introduces next to no oxygen (something I predictably thought about after the wort was entirely in the carboy). Immediately thereafter I pitched the small packet of Munton's yeast (which I did not re-hydrate - although the kit did say that was not a requirement). The ambient air was in the mid-70's Fahrenheit. About 6 hours later the yeast clearly began the fermentation process and within about 12 hours I had very aggressive activity in the air lock and a thick layer of krausen. 12 hours later the activity in the air lock slowed and the krausen remained. The carboy temp rose to about 80 degrees as it stored in my kitchen with a small window - indirect sunlight. I chose to move the carboy into a different room (nothing is kept constantly cold at home and I have not tried a wet towel as of yet) where the ambient air is about 5 or 6 degrees cooler with much less sunlight. Since then the air lock has virtually stopped bubbling, the krausen is all but gone, and I've started wondering if there's not enough oxygen in the carboy to complete the ferment.
Now I know that the air lock and the krausen are not absolute indicators of fermentation, so I wanted to try a hydrometer reading. Except of course I don't have a thief, and while the kit did come with a hydrometer, it did not come with a tube. If I go ahead with a reading, should I do it in the carboy, and if so, how do I extricate it after I'm done? (this would also be a good time to mention that I did not do an SG reading - yeah, stupid me, but the recipe suggests between 1.042 and 46, so I figured a 60%+ reduction from that would indicate, roughly, if fermentation has actually completed) If I auto-siphon I'll need to find a vase or something tall enough to do this in I'd presume until I can get my hands on a tube (and yes, I can't just order one up and expect it here in the next week - I live in Asia and it takes several weeks to get the shipments in).
Long story short - I know dry yeasts can finish their fermentation very quickly and it's entirely possible I've done no damage to what I hope will be beer. I've relaxed and had a beer (though, not a homebrew yet), but I'm still a bit worried and would love to do a hydrometer reading in a way that makes sense given my lack of equipment. I did spin the carboy once in the hopes of getting a little more activity, but I don't want to do anymore until I get some third-party advice that is clearly better than my own lack of natural intuition.