I think it's fermenting, but not vigourously...

[Stavrogin78]

Hi folks,

I'm still just doing beer from kits (though I've started adding hops), and I have this weird thing happening. Just put on a batch of the Coopers Brew A IPA, and everything went normally (did it exactly as my notes in the past said I'd done it). Topped the fermenter up to 23L, it was at a perfect 20 degrees celsius, and pitched the kit yeast.

I think it's fermenting, but I'm used to seeing a thick head of foam on top when I brew these kits. Twice now, that head just hasn't appeared. There was a thin film of bubbles on it, and they seemed to be sort of "popping" at a constant rate, so something's happening, but I'm not really sure what, or why that head of foam isn't there.

Is something amiss here, or is everything fine and I just don't understand what's happening? I pitched the yeast three nights ago. Usually I rack to a secondary after four or five days (my primary is just a bucket with a towel over it, I don't have a lid, and I'm hours away from a homebrew supply store, so I can't get a sealed one easily).

Any help is appreciated here!

 

[Calder]

When did you pitch the yeast. Sometimes it can take up to 3 days before active fermentation is seen. I admit I would be worried if I didn't see something within 24 hours, but sometimes it happens.

Why do you use a secondary?

Beer yeast is a strange thing. I usually don't have any problems, but I remember once I was convinced my yeast had failed; no sign of fermentation, I even complained to the yeast supplier and asked if the batch had had problems (Nottingham yeast). I checked the gravity after a week (convinced I would be tossing the wort), and discovered it had fermented out completely, leaving a pretty decent beer.

Don't panic, RDWHAHB.