Worried about how this is fermenting

[elikova]

Hey guys, so I started fermenting this beer 5/22/20 and its now 3 days later. This is my first brew. I put the airlock on and the first 2 days it was bubbling like crazy. Seems to be at a halt. I’m concerned as there’s sludge in the airlock, and it’s all resided time the bottom and top does this look okay? Should I start bottling soon or...??

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

You can remove, clean, and refill the airlock without causing problems. The other sludge is OK where it is.

Are you working with a kit? What was the recipe? If so, what to the kit instructions say about knowing when fermentation has finished and when it's appropriate to bottle?

Typically, one knows OG and estimated FG from the recipe. When FG is stable (a couple of measurements within the estimated range over a couple of days), it's probably time to bottle.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Yep, looks pretty gummed up there.

Take small square of aluminum foil and give it a squirt of starsan and cover the mouth of the carboy while you clean the airlock up. No starsan, don't worry too much as the chance of bugs getting in and established are pretty low, but you dont want invite an infection or (gasp) the opportunity to introduce oxygen into the carboy.

So far looks like a pretty active fermentation and you are well on your way to beer in your glass.

 

[elikova]

Yep, looks pretty gummed up there.

Take small square of aluminum foil and give it a squirt of starsan and cover the mouth of the carboy while you clean the airlock up. No starsan, don't worry too much as the chance of bugs getting in and established are pretty low, but you dont want invite an infection or (gasp) the opportunity to introduce oxygen into the carboy.

So far looks like a pretty active fermentation and you are well on your way to beer in your glass.

Looks like I already made a mistake then. I cleaned / sanitized with b-Brite cleaner and star San eye balled it. I did not add tin foil on the top. But it took only about 5 minutes. Whoops hope I don’t **** it up. I also gave it a swirl to get some of the gunk on the top to the bottoms

 

[elikova]

You can remove, clean, and refill the airlock without causing problems. The other sludge is OK where it is.

Are you working with a kit? What was the recipe? If so, what to the kit instructions say about knowing when fermentation has finished and when it's appropriate to bottle?

Typically, one knows OG and estimated FG from the recipe. When FG is stable (a couple of measurements within the estimated range over a couple of days), it's probably time to bottle.

Here’s my recipe



1 Can Muntons unhopped light extract (3.3lbs)

2.) 2lbs of dried light malt extract

3.) 2oz cascade u.s. hop pellets

4.) BRY-97 Ale Yeast 11g (or any yeast)

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Whoops hope I don’t **** it up. I also gave it a swirl to get some of the gunk on the top to the bottoms

The beer is fine.

Here’s my recipe

What did the recipe instructions say about knowing when the batch is ready to bottle?

 

[elikova]

The beer is fine.



What did the recipe instructions say about knowing when the batch is ready to bottle?

It said 7 days

 

[RM-MN]

It said 7 days

Don't believe the recipe. It may be done fermenting by then but it will have a lot of suspended sediment. I don't bottle before day 10 anymore and often wait longer for more sediment to settle out.

 

[elikova]

W

Don't believe the recipe. It may be done fermenting by then but it will have a lot of suspended sediment. I don't bottle before day 10 anymore and often wait longer for more sediment to settle out.

well so I gave it a little swirl, and cleaned out the airlock. As of now I only see sediment at the bottom. First day or so it was bubbling like crazy now it’s halted. Will it continue you think??

 

[jrgtr42]

W

well so I gave it a little swirl, and cleaned out the airlock. As of now I only see sediment at the bottom. First day or so it was bubbling like crazy now it’s halted. Will it continue you think??

Your active fermentation may be over by now, but that doesn't mean it is finished. There's still lots of things going on in there that don't produce bubbles through the airlock.
This is a great time to reference Charlie Papazian's book, Complete Joy of Homebrewing. His mantra is RDWHAHB. Relax, Don't Worry, have a homebrew. Do just that. Take a deep breath. Relax. Walk away from the fermenter. don't come back for another week or so. Rest assured that checking on it won't make the yeast work any faster. They don't care about calendars or instruction sheets. They do what they do on their own time. Do you know at what temperature it's been fermenting at? warmer makes things go faster. Personally, I seem to get better results if I ferment at the lower end of the range - it takes a bit longer, but that's OK by me.
The one thing that many brewers, especially newer ones lack, is patience. Good beer takes time.
That book, and John Palmer's How to Brew, are both essential for any homebrewer's library. I recommend get and read both of them.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Looks like I already made a mistake then. I cleaned / sanitized with b-Brite cleaner and star San eye balled it. I did not add tin foil on the top. But it took only about 5 minutes. Whoops hope I don’t **** it up. I also gave it a swirl to get some of the gunk on the top to the bottoms

Don't worry it will be fine...

Do the thing that we all found hardest to do when we started wait and relax.
Short of the most hop forward recipes (the NEIPA and such) a little extra time with the yeast won't hurt, and will many times will fix some issues.