New Brewer airlock question

[jeysiin]

i brewed my first beer last night. a williams brewing red ale kit. the yeast packet had completely expanded within the first 10 hours of being smacked... just under twelve hours later, i'm not seeing any bubbles in my airlock-- certainly not vigorous bubbling. i'm wondering how long it should take for the bubbling to begin (or if it should have begun already)... when i added the water to make it five gallons, there was a significant amount of head in the fermenter... is this normal, or have i done something wrong?

thanks for the help.

 

[FlyGuy]

Don't sweat it. It can sometimes take 24 hours to see signs of a good fermentation.

Did you aerate your wort really well before you pitched? If so, you should be fine even if it takes a bit longer to get going. Just make sure that you are at the recommended fermentation temperature, according to the yeast manufacturer's directions (if it goes too cold, the yeast may not do their job very well, and if it is too warm you might get some off flavours developing).

Best of luck!

 

[Kayos]

i brewed my first beer last night. a williams brewing red ale kit. the yeast packet had completely expanded within the first 10 hours of being smacked... just under twelve hours later, i'm not seeing any bubbles in my airlock-- certainly not vigorous bubbling. i'm wondering how long it should take for the bubbling to begin (or if it should have begun already)... when i added the water to make it five gallons, there was a significant amount of head in the fermenter... is this normal, or have i done something wrong?

thanks for the help.

12 hours is not enough time to cause any concern.

The head i nthe fermenter says you aerated it well...good job! Re-post when it is bubbling away so we know you can RDWHAHB soon.

 

[eddie]

Also, if your wort is higher gravity and you didn't prepare a starter, you will experience a longer lag between pitching and vigorous fermentation. If you're using a bucket for your primary, press down on the lid all around the edge and make sure it snaps down and forms a good seal.