Irish Red, Fermenting but no bubbles

[Erik Rodriguez]

Folks, this one has be quite confused. first time this has happened. I have had slow fermentation starts before, and this is not it.

Last sunday (Almost a week ago) I brewed a nice irish red. post boil was 1.050. Brew went beautifully. Smelled heavenly. So got it chilled down to 70, pumped it into my fermenter, then dumped in the yeast.

Other info: Its been cold here so I have a heating blanket (meant for growing seeds) and wrapped it around the sides of my fermenter. Its keeping the temp at a nice comfy 68f give or take .2.

After a couple days, I took a look and no bubbles so I looked inside (Cant really see through the fermentation container) and it had a nice layer of foam and smelled great! Today its got a LOT of foam on it, but still no signs of bubbles at all.

I am not TOO concerned about this because the foam, color, and smell are all per expectations. however logic would seem to say that there SHOULD be some significant bubbling going on! Where else would all that CO2 go?!

So the question is: Should I toss in more yeast? Or should I just wait and see how it goes? Or am I simply being overly concerned here.

Thanks guys.

 

[Rackrunner]

Gotta love a nice irish red

What are you using for a fermenter and airlock? It sounds like the yeast are plenty active based on your description. Have you taken a gravity sample? I would imagine that with most yeasts, a week for a 1.050 ale the majority of fermentation would be largely done.

A bad seal or other leak would be my first guess - like you say, if everything else looks good that CO2 needs to go somewhere! What yeast are you using? You said you looked after a couple of days, maybe it had largely finished before you looked? I've had a couple of times using S04 that it chewed through almost everything within 48hrs.

High level - take a gravity sample and see where it's at, my guess is you're probably fine!

 

[Kickass]

You’ve likely got a leaky seal somewhere. I wouldn’t pitch more.

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

This is a small batch, so its fermenting in a FastFerment. Its sitting in my living room because its too cold in the garage and hasnt bubbled once.

Thinking along the same lines, I have used bees wax around the lid/container to ensure a good seal. Just tested. Its at 1.026 now. Apparently fermentation is proceeding. Just strange that the gas going through a wormhole somewhere.

 

[thehaze]

The CO2 is simply escaping somewhere, as you clearly have fermentation signs, like lower gravity and a krausen ( layer of foam ). However, it seems odd your gravity is only at 1.026 after 1 week, when your starting gravity was only 1.050. What was tge recipe, the yeast used, mash temp., etc.? That beer should've been done by now.

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

The CO2 is simply escaping somewhere, as you clearly have fermentation signs, like lower gravity and a krausen ( layer of foam ). However, it seems odd your gravity is only at 1.026 after 1 week, when your starting gravity was only 1.050. What was tge recipe, the yeast used, mash temp., etc.? That beer should've been done by now.

I think I had a slow fermentation start. Reason being, thinking I was going to brew I smacked my Wyeast 1272 pack then realized that I had some technical issues with my control panel (see below) that I didnt figure out until brew day. Took a week to figure it out and fix it. So the yeast sat in the fridge after getting all excited.

As for the recipe, I am brewing https://www.northernbrewer.com/coll...ipe-kits/products/irish-red-ale-all-grain-kit as a test brew. Recently converted my brewhouse to electric. Worked beautifully once I got the bugs worked out (Error on the schematic)!!!

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

Once this fermentation is complete, I am going to try and find this mysterious leak. Cant imagine where it can be.

 

[Rackrunner]

Just tested. Its at 1.026 now. Apparently fermentation is proceeding.

Just a sanity check, was that with a hydrometer or refractometer? 1.026 with a refrac and not adjusting for alcohol would be ~1.012. Sitting at 1.026 after a week defintely seems slow, but I haven't used the smack packs so no idea if sitting unpitched for a week would mess with em.

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

Just a sanity check, was that with a hydrometer or refractometer? 1.026 with a refrac and not adjusting for alcohol would be ~1.012. Sitting at 1.026 after a week defintely seems slow, but I haven't used the smack packs so no idea if sitting unpitched for a week would mess with em.

Refract. I have a real hard time reading hydrometers with my eyesight. When I realized I couldnt brew that day, I contacted Wyeast and asked. They said it should be ok. I think they are correct, in part. Just started very slowly. My next batch I am going to test for gas leaks.

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

So let me check this against you guys. If my yeast (Wyeast #1272) attentuation is 72-76, and my OG was 1.050, then my FG should be 1.014-1.012, correct?

 

[rburrelli]

Refract. I have a real hard time reading hydrometers with my eyesight. When I realized I couldnt brew that day, I contacted Wyeast and asked. They said it should be ok. I think they are correct, in part. Just started very slowly. My next batch I am going to test for gas leaks.

So since you are using a refractometer did you correct for the presence of alcohol in your calculations of gravity?

 

[Rackrunner]

So let me check this against you guys. If my yeast (Wyeast #1272) attentuation is 72-76, and my OG was 1.050, then my FG should be 1.014-1.012, correct?

Short answer: Correct.
Mathy answer: OG - ((OG-1.0) x Att%) = FG

So if your 1.026 was not adjusted for alcohol, you're pretty much in the expected range There are a few calcs out there, e.g:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

Measured gravity again today. Just a bit above 1.025. So things are bottoming out. Also, very little foam left. Waiting until Sunday (14th day) and hopefully this drops down to the target FG (1.012 - 1.014). Also bumped the temp up from 68 to 70.

Am I stalled, or is this about right? (9 days into fermentation as of today)

 

[rburrelli]

Measured gravity again today. Just a bit above 1.025. So things are bottoming out. Also, very little foam left. Waiting until Sunday (14th day) and hopefully this drops down to the target FG (1.012 - 1.014). Also bumped the temp up from 68 to 70.

Am I stalled, or is this about right? (9 days into fermentation as of today)

Nine days in you should theoretically be done. You still have not responded to the question concerning your refectometer measurements. Have you adjusted the readings for the presence of alcohol.?

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

Nine days in you should theoretically be done. You still have not responded to the question concerning your refectometer measurements. Have you adjusted the readings for the presence of alcohol.?

Sorry, didnt know that was a thing. How do I do that?

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

Nine days in you should theoretically be done. You still have not responded to the question concerning your refectometer measurements. Have you adjusted the readings for the presence of alcohol.?

Ok, so I found a calculator. Here is what it says. According to this, assuming I am reading it correctly, I am definitely on target! Actually, it looks like my fermentation is done?

OG - Corrected: 12.39 °P, 1.050
FG - Corrected: 2.67 °P, 1.010
Alcohol By Volume: 5.29%

 

[rburrelli]

Good. Glad to hear that.

 

[Kickass]

Reading this thread killed me! About 12 posts from the bottom @Rackrunner explains refractometer vs hydrometer difference, then is ignored for quite a few posts. Anyway, yeah, you’ve hit FG.

Leaks can be very small, usually where the lid seals or the airlock seals. Normally, annoying but benign

 

[Rackrunner]

Reading this thread killed me! About 12 posts from the bottom @Rackrunner explains refractometer vs hydrometer difference, then is ignored for quite a few posts. Anyway, yeah, you’ve hit FG.

Leaks can be very small, usually where the lid seals or the airlock seals. Normally, annoying but benign

It's all cool - I've been married for a while, "ignored" is just code for not wrong.... yet....

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

It's all cool - I've been married for a while, "ignored" is just code for not wrong.... yet....

Didnt mean to ignore anything guys. Sorry about that. was just trying to solve this damn gas leak and determine if my brew was ok.

 

[Kickass]

My comment was tongue in cheek. It’s very easy to miss something when the thread takes off in multiple directions.

Did you find your leak?

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

My comment was tongue in cheek. It’s very easy to miss something when the thread takes off in multiple directions.

Did you find your leak?

Negative. I put a lot of wax around the lid. Going to bottle saturday then start chasing down the leak. Right now the fermentation is done.

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

The Irish Red is in the bottles. All nice and happily primed. The samples were REALLY good and I cant wait for this to be DONE!!!

With the fermenter empty and clean, I did some testing and found (shock!) that the lid simply wont seal. Messed with it for an hour before I decided that Bees Wax is going to be my best bet going forward until I convince myself to get a small stainless conical. That little lip inside the rim of the fermenter is wavy and very thin in places. Honesly, shitty manufacturing. Oh well. Nothing some wax and a hair dryer (To make the wax more pliable so I can ensure it seals everything off) wont take care of.