First batch questions...

[fardy]

Hi everyone,

I've started my first batch using the Coopers Australian Lager can that came with my Coopers Micro Brew kit. It's now been 5 days and there absolutely no activiy in the airlock. I saw some bubbling at the top of the fermenting bucket after 2 days but not a lot. I was wondering if the fermentation was doing ok so I took a reading using my hydrometer. The OG was 1.054 and now the reading is 1.023 so I presume that I don't have to touch anything ?

Also, after I took the reading, I drank a little bit of the sample I took to see how it was going. It starting to taste like beer and it was a little fuzzy. Is it normal that it taste fuzzy at this point ? Isn't it supposed to be really flat beer ?

Thanks a lot for your answers.

 

[nebben]

It sounds like you're on the right track. Bucket lids are lousy at sealing perfectly, so no surprise there is no airlock bubbling. Leave the beer alone for another couple weeks at least, then do another hydrometer reading...hopefully it'll be lower than 1.023 by then.

It'll have some slight fuzzy CO2 feel to its taste, as there is CO2 in suspension in there. Not like beer-beer, but more than flat wort.

Keep on keepin' on!

 

[bernerbrau]

If it's fizzy the yeast are probably still active. The gravity seems to confirm this. The airlock might not bubble if you don't have an airtight seal.

Put the lid back on and leave it for another week.

 

[fardy]

I planned on leaving it there for 3 weeks before bottling anyways.

It's weird because the bucket seems to be tightly sealed. I've done the test by squeasing it and I see the water moving up and down in the airlock when I do so. Isn't that a sign that there's no air leak ?

Thanks for letting me know that everything seems to be right on track !

 

[nebben]

Your test of pushing on the lid and watching air bubble through the airlock makes sense. But so does the hydrometer that originally reported 1.054 and now reports 1.023. It is possible that the lid is actually only sealing if you press on the top, and when you release and it evens out, that it has a hair line gap somewhere for gas to escape. No worries unless you're planning on aging it for months and months and months in this bucket!