Fermentation can take 24 to 72 hrs to show visible signs.

So yeah, if your LHBS is warning against a blow-off, ignore that. You really didn't need one with that gravity and fermentation temp / volume, but it couldn't have hurt anything.

That said, I'm surprised that with the volume in your video, you're experiencing krausen coming out of the airlock. Are you *sure* about the temperature range? 1318 is a very active yeast, but not that active in my experience. If it's closer to 72 -- and keep in mind that the internal temp in the carboy will be a few degrees higher -- it's entirely possible that it will kick up that much head. But you'll also be producing more esters as a result.

Either way, you have a nice healthy active ferment, and what you don't want to do is rack it too soon. Don't go by bubbles in the airlock, they mean almost nothing; take gravity readings instead, and when it has sat for a few days at the same reading, then and only then is it time to package it up.

 

Just checked and it's at 4.9 abv right now. If it reads the same on Saturday I'm racking to my secondary and starting another batch. It was a little odd though, the color of the beer in the test tube was a nice deep reddish brown on top and faded into what looked like bud light on the bottom. Is that normal?

 

A multi-colored beer? No that is not normal and I don't understand how it is possible if it has sat for a week or two, are you sure it wasn't the lighting?

 

It wasn't the lighting. Same lighting I've poured countless beers in. It looked like a black and tan. Taking another reading tomorrow so I'll post a pic here.

 

I was wrong, it's a perfect deep brown color. The off color was due to displacement in the tube of the theif.

 

Just wanted to pop in and say thanks for this sticky- just started my third batch and for the first time there's been zero activity after 24 hours. Though I read this before I brewed this batch, it really is disconcerting to look into (what appears to be) a totally flat carboy after a day or two. gonna give it till tuesday, take a reading, and if necessary prep my emergency backup yeast.

 

Try giving it a good shake first. I've had stalled fermentations in the past which fired right up after a good shake. I'm assuming you are using a clear carboy so you'd be able to physically see the action if you were fermenting.

I was using plastic so it was hard for me to tell whether I had a leak or if there was no action at all. I had a little bit of foam build up inside but nowhere near what it should have been. After I shook it, it bubbled steadily for over 24 hours. Good luck.

I have a dry hopped IPA that I need to bottle. It's been sitting in the secondary for over a month so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out with the extra time in the secondary fermenter.

 

yup clear better bottle. Well I'm happy to say it's bubbling along merrily now. forming a nice thick kruesen (sp?) and lots of swirlies inside. Truth time, though- it was my first time using a White Labs vial (used a smack-pack for my second batch and dry for my first), and I shook the hell out of it to get the yeast that was suck on the side, and when I cracked that puppy- hoo boy... it went EVERYWHERE. I'm pretty sure I got most of it in the fermenter, though. oh well- like I said it's goin' strong now and time will tell if I funked it up with my grubby hands.

 

I just had my 1st dead batch of yeast and had to repitch after 48 hours. No activity at all for 48hours, no krausen, settled out break material, shook the crap out of it and raised the temperature a little for a full 24 hours and still nothing, took gravity and it was still solid at my FG, Seriously? A dead packet of S-05? anyone else ever have this?

 

I don't mean to rub it in, but I also don't want to start a new thread just to say that I'm brewing my second post-Mr. Beer batch (a saison) and I started seeing bubbling in the airlock just two hours after I sealed the fermenter. Took about 16 hours before I saw bubbling for my first batch, so I was so excited to see it going so soon this time around. It's going crazy right now.

 

It should be fine. I guess I should have warned you about that. When I shook my Imperial IPA, I took the airlock off and used my thumb to cover the rubber grommet. Needless to say when I removed my thumb after shaking, it exploded like a volcano through the airlock. Luckily I took it outisde when I did that or I would have had quite a mess in the house.

When it was all said and done, the beer tasted just fine.

 

I started my first brew at 7pm tonight (2 hours ago) and I have the opposite problem to this thread - I heard the first bubble in the kitchen around 15-20 minutes after I put the lid on and have been watching intently since.

It now bubbles some good size bubbles every 3 or 4 minutes but just before it left off an almightly belch that lasted 1-2 seconds through the air lock.

I half filled the air-lock with water - is this too much and its causing the "belching"?
When I say half filled it was half filled when I started - now the pressure has built up the water has pushed up the airlock and the bulb on side is mostly full where the other bulb is empty.

Will it settle to a more even bubble pace or is this irregular belching OK.

Also another noob question - should I have measured with the hydrometer before I started to get a benchmark? Is it too late now?
Whats the easiest way to measure the SG without taking the lid off? I don't have a tall thin vessel to plop the hydrometer into so I would need to decant out a pint or so and I don't want to waste it

Cheers heaps guys

 

It just did another mega belch - it fired some of the water out of the airlock this time.

 

OK so took a look at the airlock and it looked like there was some water trapped in the very top of the airlock and got that out by squeezing the fermenter firmly but slowly. The water in the top of the airlock was pushed out mostly and then the rest was sucked back into the secondary bulb.

The bubbles slowed for a while (obviously as I had evacuated some of the pressure by squeezing it) but now its back up to speed again but without the loud belching of before. I'm happier with this result.

Still does interest me as to why some people can't get a ferment to start for several days and my one started in 20 odd minutes.. Have I done something incorrectly?

 

Short answer, no.

Long answer, we would have to know your recipe to know more and even still, no.

Since you are using an S type (2 chamber) airlock then your bubbles might have a little more force to them because of the narrow passage way. If you were using a 3 piece it may not appear as vigorous because it is easier for the gas to escape.

I want to mention it is recommended to use something that will stay sterile in your airlock (star san mix or vodka are common). The reason being if you have "suck back" which it sounds like you may have caused while pressing on the fermenter. DON'T WORRY, during the vigorous stage of fermentation is the most difficult time for your beer to become infected.

If it has started to ferment I would not try to draw a sample to take a Hydro. If you brewed an extract kit you should already know the expected OG and that should be good enough.

There are so many variables to fermentation and it is the goal of the brewer to minimize those variables. Yeast health, yeast count, pitching temp, fermenting temp, fermentables, un-fermentables, etc etc... This is why some brews will take longer than others to get going. This is your first brew and I'm certain you will at some point have a slow starting batch, unless you start using a good starter everytime which usually decreases lag time the most.

 

Thanks for that - most appreciate your time to answer. I have another question but will search for it already having been asked or start a new thread if not.

 

Made my first batch Friday (5-18). Brewers best kit of english brown ale. I under estimated how long it would take to cool the wort and it was still 95 - 100 deg when I had to leave for work so I moved it to the fermenter put lid and airlock (with water) on and headed into work. I pitched the yeast about 9 hours or so later (about 11 pm) when I got home. Wort temp was about 70f. Next morning it was bubbling about once a second and has been at that same pace since.
Since reading this forum though I am now worried I might have messed up pouring the wort into the fermenter at to high a temperature. Will things be ok?

 

Nah, it's probably fine. I made that one last December. It will bubble fiercely. For about 36 hours then it slows way down. You'll be fine. It's a very good beer.

 

36 hours is just about what it did at 1 bubble per second. Then it slowed to virtually nothing. or maybe nothing now. 66 hours since pitch. I had to buy more beer and having trouble leaving it alone .

If wife has to work memorial day then I want to brew a Wit... guess I'll have rack the brown to secondary first

 

@grem135;

When in doubt take a hydrometer reading and have a taste.

 

I'm on my 10th batch and though I'd post my addition to this thread. I brewed a Caramel Stout and per recipe used 1 wyeast german ale smack pack for 5 gal batch. I did not do a starter since I hadn't read this thread and didn't no better. I used dry yeasts in all my prior batches. Started getting worried at 2 days with no airlock activity. Read this thread and let it sit. More worried at 4 days but still left it alone. I started the batch Sunday and this morning (Friday), the airlock is going like crazy and even had a little overflow I had to clean up

Definitely pays to read up, and be patient.

 

ok after a week I'm at .008 and taste is ..ok but a little harsh. I assume it smooths out in the bottle conditioning stage?
btw OG was 042 (spec says 045-049) FG is 008 (spec says 011-015) both are 003 low so maybe a bit of calibration error on my hydrometer? Or maybe my eyes just just a bit off LOL

 

@grem135

So you've made beer! The flavor will change over time. Some elements will soften, others will become more pronounced. Over the next 3-5 weeks it will stabilize somewhat. Pour a glass and Enjoy the journey.

 

Its driving me crazy having to wait, and Im running out of store bought stuff.
I have been reading as many of the posts as I can in the beginners beer brewing thread... and from some of the questions and pics I see I'm glad i have read them.

Thanks for your help I will do my best to RDWHAHB

 

Just thought I'd share my experience as well, and give props to this thread for appeasing my worries and not rushing and doing something stupid.

I just brewed my first batch in a new setup (stainless fermenter). I used a Wyeast smack pack, let it sit out in slightly warm room temperature for 3-4 hours after activating, then also created a starter with it and had it whirring on a stir plate for a full 24 hours. Pitched it in right around 70 degrees, and had it level off in the fermenter with a Pale Rye Ale between 70-72 degrees. I felt like I did everything possible to ensure a good start for the yeast, and was expecting fairly immediate action. It took almost 3 full days. After that, it was a firestorm of activity, and luckily I had a blowoff tube in place. It churned like nuts for just a few days, then settled down to almost no activity. Took a sample--smelled great, and the SG has dropped within a few points of FG, and has just gone into secondary, so I think it'll be just fine.
On the other side, I then brewed an oatmeal stout into my standard plastic carboy, and that bad boy was fermenting aggressively in just a few hours. Same methods, same temp, same storage location.

There are so many variables that can drive different responses, it's tough to account for them all and accurately predict. Patience is one that I'm not well-versed in, but thanks to this and other threads, I kept the faith, and it seems to be working out ok so far...

 

I brewed a Brewers Best Dunkelweizen Sunday morning and within 4 hours had bubbles every 3 to 4 seconds and within 8 hours constant bubbling. Tuesday morning it is down to every 20 seconds or so. I used dry yeast that came with the kit and hydrated it. Fastest I have ever seen and first time to have blow-off in airlock. It is in a 6.5 true brew bucket so plenty of head space. Is this normal? Cool as h*ll none the less.

 

@slatkin
What was your starting gravity and what temperature was your fermentation at?

It sounds normal none the less but if your temp was higher than ideal, the yeast could have chewed through a bulk of the sugars faster than expected.

 

The O.G. was 1.046 (without adj for temp). The room temp was 71deg. Mpre than likely the temp thing you mention. I cooled the wort to about 85 then added the rest of the water from the tap and pitched my yeast. What temp should a dunkelweizen strive for? Thanks for the reply. Y'all are a big help to the uneducated.

 

I couldn't tell you what your ideal temp would be but 70* is towards the high end for many ale yeasts, not a problem though. The ideal temp depends on the yeast strain and if you are looking for any specific esters/off flavors. Did you brew from a kit? Many times kits will tell you what temp you should ferment at.

 

Oh thanks for the information.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm a new homebrewer (1 yr. extract brewing) and this is the first of my 12 batches that showed absolutely no airlock activity for the first 3.5 days. Brewed a Torpedo IPA clone. Hop heavy with an OG of 1.060. Pitched dry at 72 degrees. Set in basement where temp dropped to 68 & is now resting at 66. This morning I pulled the lid to take a peek and sure enough, there is plenty of krausen floating on top. When I closed the lid securely I noticed a very small amount of percolating from the airlock. Whew. Was a tad concerned about this one as IPAs are my fav-o-rite and I didn't want to ruin it.



**UPDATE: Checked gravity.... OG= 1.060; FG=1.010 potential ABV= 6.5%. Lesson learned...ALWAYS do a gravity reading. This is the first beer I've brewed that had absolutely NO airlock activity for the entire 13 days in primary. If I didn't take an OG reading, I would have thought that I needed to re-pitch the yeast, and would have mistakenly done so. By day 7 in primary, the krausen had sunk to the bottom and the gravity reading told me that the beer had, in fact, fermented. Off to secondary I go w/ some dry-hopping.

 

Agreed!

 

Can I brew 1 gallon with 10 grains of visible yeast? Will it even ferment?

 

It should. Whether you try it or not probably has a direct correlation with how fond you are of Vegas.

 

Why not post in the yeast thread- someone will stumble along and say- heh thats happening to me too!

I have had some great success lately with the yeast. I have recently started brewing again- after a 20 year, 1 batch hiatus.

My IPA- yeast was great.
My Belguim took off like CRAZY
My MrBeer Experimental jug with 2 year old ingredients- including the yeast- took off instantly.
My Apfelwein- sweet lovely yeast.

Last batch- a nice pale ale- no crazy fermentation action till way after the 24 hour mark. After studying yeast in all of my batches- I knew everything would be fine. The wort was sweet, the temp was great, my feeling is that the yeast should have woken the heck up and kicked major butt- but that only happened after a little patience.

Tonight when I get home I expect either nice smelling air lock smells or some bad ass rhino farts. The yeast is alive and doing its job. Good work boys.... not get back to making beer.

 

Just wanted to throw in my own no-bubbles story. I brewed a Brooklyn Brewshop Belgian Dubbel on Saturday (my first all-grain brew). Took a *lot* longer than I realized, and when I couldn't get the wort below 80F by midnight I just said "Close enough" and filled the jug with my wort and dumped the yeast on top. Stuck it down in my 70F basement and had absolutely no activity for two days. I was starting to get a little concerned, so I read through this thread and found the suggestion to shake up the fermenter a bit. Since it's just a one-gallon jug it was pretty easy to whirlpool the wort a bit and get the yeast back in to suspension. Four hours later, I still don't have any airlock activity, but I can see the yeast doing *something*. So I think I'll just let it go and see what happens.

 

Has it started?

 

Nope. I can see these little "puffs" of what looks like foam popping to the top pretty regularly, but still no airlock activity and no real krausen to speak of on top. Think I'll swing by the homebrew store tomorrow and pick up another pack of Safbrew T-58 (or whatever Belgian yeast they have).

 

Well, I seem to have brewed yeasticide. I picked up another packet of yeast and pitched it yesterday. 24 hours later and there is no activity. There also appears to be some kind of oily film on top of my wort. This is only a one-gallon batch, so I'll probably go ahead and bottle it, but I'm not expecting much.

 

Brewed my first batch last night and worried that I killed the yeast during re-hydration. I microwaved a cup of a water for about a minute or a little more then poured it on top of the dry yeast in a mason jar and covered. It sat like this for about an hour. I gave the jar a good swirl to stir it up before pitching. If the water was too hot could I have killed the yeast? It's been ~ 24 hrs since pitching with no activity (I peeped though the airlock gasket). After reading the majority of this thread I know that I need to wait a least a few more days before taking action.

Comments are appreciated. Thanks.