Fermentation of my first beer

[Gillkid]

I finished up my first brew Saturday. It's a Brewers Best Grapefruit IPA.

I pitched the dry yeast directly into the wort and stirred it in with a sanitized spoon. Against my better judgement. I asked two different guys at my LHBS and they both insisted that I follow the directions provided. I wanted to rehydrate my yeast.

I'm fermenting in a temperature controlled deep freezer. 65F.

I woke up the next day and I had wort on the outside of my 6.5 gallon Brewers Best bucket. So I don't have a tight fit at the lid. I'm not worried just yet.

Check again this morning (2 days later) and I have steady bubbles coming out of my airlock. Now I'm excited.

Get home from work and the bubbles stopped. Now I'm confused, perhaps a little anxious.

Should this be a concern? I really don't want to open the lid if I don't have to, but am wondering if I'm being too cautious.

FWIW, it smells really good. A scent of alcohol to it.

 

[njohnsoncs]

Leave it alone. Airlock activity, or lack thereof, is not a good indication of fermentation activity. I would wait a week or so and then look inside the grommet where the airlock sticks in to see if there are any signs of krausen (i.e., foam caused by fermentation). If there's a lot of krausen, give it more time, if there's not much, you can take a gravity sample to see where you are at.

I usually wait 3 weeks until I take a sample (unless I'm dry hopping) to reduce chances of contamination and oxidation at which point I've usually reached my final gravity and I then bottle. But if you're itching to take a look and/or are worried about a fermentation stall, go ahead and take a sample after a week.

As a point of reference, one of my brews didn't produce a single bubble in my airlock the entire time it was fermenting (~3 weeks). I was worried it stalled but I took a reading after 10 days and it was coming along nicely. Sometimes, buckets don't seal that well so you lose the CO2 that way rather than out of your airlock.

 

[Gillkid]

I've read plenty on here to know not to be concerned until I checked the SG. But it was odd to me that it started and stopped. I highly suspect the lid is the culprit.

Do the lids fail often?

Btw, thanks for the prompt response!

 

[kh54s10]

Bucket lids are notorious for leaking. It is not really a problem to be concerned with. My guess is that the lid leak was not enough to allow all the pressure out, so the airlock bubbled. Now the pressure is lower so the gas is going through the leak in the lid rather than the airlock. Or it might be far enough along that it is no longer producing excess co2. Wait 10-14 days then consider checking for final gravity.

 

[Gillkid]

I forgot to mention that I can press on the top and bubbles will still come out. (I tried pressing on the lid to make a tighter seal)

 

[Gravity]

You're anxious

leave the beer alone, do not open the lid until at least 2 weeks into fermentation; minimum

Sounds like you are describing a blow off, which is normal

Your temperature looks good and so does your process, from what you are describing

The bubbles are due to the pressure you are exerting on the lid, they are releasing through the only opening there is, in this case the airlock, it may or may not be fermenttion bubbles

In any case, leave the beer alone, and let it do its thing

 

[Gillkid]

Thanks guys!

 

[Gillkid]

I just had a thought.

I pulled the airlock out to check the krausen situation. No krausen. I put the airlock back on.

I've been relying on the positive pressure inside the fermenter to keep the oxygen out. I exhausted the pressure when I took the airlock off. At this stage of fermentation, is the yeast still creating CO2? If so, will it be enough to keep the oxygen out of my bucket?

 

[Mainer]

Since this is your first beer, it's possible you haven't yet learned the abbreviation RDWHAHB.

It's the most important brewing advice anyone can give you. In fact, I dare say it's the one essential step in brewing. Not following the RDWHAHB almost guarantees that you will ruin your beer. No matter what kind of beer you're brewing, no matter what your process, no matter what results you're looking for, always RDWHAHB at every stage. RDWHAHB during the mash, RDWHAHB at the boil, DEFINITELY RDWHAHB during fermentation, and always RDWHAHB while bottle conditioning.

"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew."

 

[mongoose33]

Your....focus here is normal for new brewers. Of all the things new brewers must learn and execute, patience is by far the most difficult. The advice above is spot on.

I'd guess that the number one question of new brewers here involves lack of airlock activity when using a bucket. I don't like buckets for two reasons: you can't see what's going on in there without cracking the lid, and they're notorious for not sealing and thus one can't tell by the airlock if anything's going on.

Might I suggest a new purchase? A plastic fermenter like the Fermonster from Morebeer or the Bigmouth Bubbler from Northern Brewing would be a good addition. Clear, so you can see what's going on. They'll seal, so you get airlock activity if there's any to be gotten.

I'd get it with a spigot; I originally bought a BMB w/o the spigot. Got a second one with a spigot, liked it so well I bought a spigot and added one to the original. I now have five of these, all with spigots.

The fermonster is cheaper; further, if you buy $59 of stuff from Morebeer shipping is free.

Here's what you get to see if you have a clear fermenter; if you have a clear fermenter and you look closely at the wort/beer during fermentation, you'll see a maelstrom in there as the yeast does battle w/ the wort:

 

[Gillkid]

It just so happens that I have one of those Bigmouth fermenters. It has a spigot, so I avoided it.

I've been contemplating the whole fermenting in a bucket with a spigot thing. Seems like the easiest route, but yet a lot people in these forums advise against it. Leaking and all. But that can't be that hard to prevent.

I'm gonna give it a try the next batch.

And for the record, I'm not completely freaking out here. I don't know what to expect, so I like to ask even the most simple of questions. I have zero idea what to expect out of these little yeast guys.

Plus, I don't have a home brew to enjoy yet. 😉

 

[Gillkid]

UPDATE - I opened the fermenter up, took a sample for SG, added hops and closed it back up. I sprayed the lid with Starsan before closing.

10 days and I hit my FG target. I was gonna wait the full two weeks before dryhopping, but I figured a low alcohol beer (3.5-4%) didn't need that much time. Is that correct? I'm gonna bottle on Saturday and let it condition for at least two weeks.

Btw, it tasted great. A little dry, but no off-flavors!