Fermentation FAQ - urgent

[ssurajsc]

hello,

I am a first-time brewer,

I followed the recipe quiet to the point,

my brew is now 7 days old

I divided my wort into 2 portions to add different flavors. I batch I put in a fermentation bucket ( about 2/3 full ) and one I filled a Corboy ( about 1/4 full only ) put an airlock on both.

on the brew day, as per the recipe and I added the yeast as instructed, 2 days later I saw very little activity, in the bucket and nothing in the Corboy,

post that I found out that the yeast that I added initially was dead, so once again I added yeast to both the bucket and the Corboy, it has been 3 days now and still I see absolutely no activity in both.

I am worried have I spoiled my entire batch or is a solution to revive this.

please help !!!

 

[micraftbeer]

You might be finished fermenting. The foamy stuff on top of your beer in the "day 2" picture is called krausen. That's by-products/activity from fermentation. It can be very typical for fermentation to be done in a week, so your day 7 picture looks fine.

Raise the temperature a few degrees for a day or two to confirm its finished (also useful in ensuring diacetyl is driven off), then bottle it. Your best way of knowing it's finished is with a gravity reading, but that will be hard to get a sample from the carboy.

If you have a warmer spot to move the beer, do that and/or wrap it in a couple towels.

 

[Pkrd]

How warm is it there in India?

 

[myndflyte]

That foam in day 3 is krausen so you definitely have fermentation. You may not have airlock activity for a couple reasons. 1) you have a lot of headspace and 2) Bucket lids or stoppers don't always sit tight so any escaping gas will find the path of least resistance.

If you're truly concerned you could take a gravity reading and check that it fermented but it looks fine to me.

 

[ssurajsc]

How warm is it there in India?

the current temperature is 28 degrees centigrade.

 

[ssurajsc]

You might be finished fermenting. The foamy stuff on top of your beer in the "day 2" picture is called krausen. That's by-products/activity from fermentation. It can be very typical for fermentation to be done in a week, so your day 7 picture looks fine.

Raise the temperature a few degrees for a day or two to confirm its finished (also useful in ensuring diacetyl is driven off), then bottle it. Your best way of knowing it's finished is with a gravity reading, but that will be hard to get a sample from the carboy.

If you have a warmer spot to move the beer, do that and/or wrap it in a couple towels.

I am surprised that the fermentation should already be done.
in fact, before I added the second batch of yeast, I did do a gravity test, but there was no change in the original reading and the reading I took 3-4 days later. I also tasted the beer, it tasted fine.

currently, I have kept it in a cooler place and covered it with a black cloth to avoid sunlight. the temperature reading shows around 28 degrees centigrade

do you suggest I keep it in a warmer place and cover it with a couple of towels and leave it for a few days and then add sugar and bottle it?

 

[ssurajsc]

That foam in day 3 is krausen so you definitely have fermentation. You may not have airlock activity for a couple reasons. 1) you have a lot of headspace and 2) Bucket lids or stoppers don't always sit tight so any escaping gas will find the path of least resistance.

If you're truly concerned you could take a gravity reading and check that it fermented but it looks fine to me.

the Corboy surely has a lot of headspace. till date, I have not seen any activity on the airlock.
on the other hand, the bucket did show sign of activity, but now it has stopped.

 

[Hang Glider]

Probably done. If your beer has been 28C for the entire time, that is a hot ferment. Most ale yeasts like temperature ranges below 20 - you'll get a much better flavor, and it will take the expected several days. Check your yeast website for the preferred temperature range - and keep in mind that yeast activity produces heat - ambient temperature of 19C could easily be 23C inside your fermenters.