pilot45
Active Member
OK, I started my first home brew last night. I double sterilized everything and started as simple as possible. I used an Ironmaster Porter Kit. I took the yeast from the kit and mixed it in cold water and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Once the wort was below 80 degrees I transferred it to the fermenter and pitched the yeast. I topped off the fermenter, put in a sterilized bung and airlock, and filled the airlock to the line with rum. I put the whole thing in a dark closet inside my house. The temp. is hovering around 73 degrees. I put it in the closet about 10pm last night. I checked it this morning and the airlock is not bubbling. I think I saw it move once in about 5 minutes. Everything I have read says that the first few days fermentation is off the charts. I feel like I screwed something up. Am I expecting too much from the fermentation process? Is every beer different? Does it take a while to kick in? I know I had my temperature right so I did not kill the yeast with heat. The only thing I that happened was that about 1/2 a shot of rum dripped into the fermenter. Would this screw up the batch? Should I not have used distilled water? Should I not have mixed the yeast with water first? Am I just being impatient? I don't know what to expect. Any help would be greatly appreciated.