No Air Lock Activity

Hey guys just started my first batch yesterday and it has been about 24 hours. My house temp is in the mid 60's and I have yet to see any bubbles or activity from my yeast. I used a Muntons amber ale kit with whatever the ale yeast they provided. Should I be worried? and if so what should I do. I have no other beer brewing ingredients in my house that I know of and I really don't wanna wait the next few weeks if my beer is'nt going to be beer. any suggestions would be great. Thanks

Ps Also I have no bubbles in the fermenter which is a 6 gallon glass carboy. Please help

 

First, fermentation can take up to 72 hours for the yeasties to start, it's called lag time. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

But by visible signs they DON'T mean airlock activity.

Your airlock is not a fermentation gauge, it is a VALVE to release excess co2. And the peak of fermentation has already wound down, so there's simply no need to vent off any excess co2.

If your airlock was bubbling and stopped---It doesn't mean fermentation has stopped.

If you airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean your fermentation hasn't started....

If your airlock starts bubbling, it really doesn't matter.

If your airlock NEVER bubbles, it doesn't mean anything is wrong or right.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Thinking about "doing anything" without taking a hydrometer reading is tantamount to the doctor deciding to cut you open without running any diagnostic tests....Taking one look at you and saying, "Yeah I'm going in." You would really want the doctor to use all means to properly diagnose what's going on. It's exactly the same thing when you try to go by airlock....

You'll be much happier if you get out of that habit...you will find that fermentations rarely don't take off, or just Stop...In fact I've never had a beer not ferment. BUT half of my fermentations, spread out across 9 different fermenters, never blip once in the airlock.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years..

So, Relax, then wait 72 hours and take a hydrometer, and you'll see, more than likely that everything is fin...it is fine 99.95% of the time.

 

It's possible that it just needs a few more hours to get going. Are you fermenting in a bucket? It's also possible that it is fermenting and air is leaking out somewhere else. Neither of these is anything to be concerned about. I'd check it again tomorrow and see if there are any signs of activity. If you don't see anything for a few days, take a hydrometer sample to see if it's doing anything. If you're REALLY nervous you can take a hydro now, but, I'd wait a day or so myself. Either way, Revvy will be along shortly with his The Airlock is Not a Gauge of Fermentation Activity post and he'll be right!

EDIT: He beat me to it!!!! Damn you REVVY!!!!

 

99% sure it's fine. It could be just lag time. Sometimes it takes some time to fill the air space and form enough pressure to work the air lock. Sometimes there's a leak in the bucket seal and the CO2 is escaping there rather than through the air lock.....

Damn Revvy, I was going to give the "ahem....revvy to isle 9" but really man, you're quick.

 

Well, I see you've updated your original post to note that it is a glass carboy. I think the thing to do then is give it a little more time. It's not panic time yet.

 

Yea what they said, my first batch is in primary for almost two weeks now and had no activity for 4days and then like magic fermentation started, so relax and wait for the goodness to start.

 

Just wanted to say thanks guys. It ended up takings about 30 or so hours to start to bubble in the airlock and to build up the foam and its been goin good since then

 

Sounds like you're on your way!

 

lococr,

dude you totally look like homer simpson with those eyes! NICE!

 

Newbie here with my 2 cents. I started my first brew the 26th. My airlock bubbled a bit after 8-10 hours and then it was 2 days before I looked at it again. Still no bubbles...but the "lock" part of the 3 piece airlock is pushed up at an angle and one of the vent holes in the bottom of that piece is just barely above the liquid...my conclusion is that you'll never see gurgling bubbles when this happens and as long as there is enough pressure to keep that "lock" piece up then you know something is creating a gas in your fermenter and just let it be. It's not going to float by itself

 

I'm in the same boat as Jersey was, except I'm going on 100 hours now of no activity in my NB dunkelwiezen kit (using Danstar Munich dry yeast, which I re-hydrated). It's been a consistent 63*, which is right in the middle of the recommended temp range. I was planning on getting some new yeast tomorrow to re-pitch tomorrow night, but then read this thread.

So, what kind of gravity drop can we expect to see after a couple of days? I just took a gravity reading, and saw the same 1.044 I had when I put it in the fermenter on Sat afternoon. I suppose there could have been a few degrees of temp difference between the readings, but not enough to change it more than .002 or 3 for sure. There was a bit of "scum" on the top, so something is happening in there. Didn't smell too good, which has me worried a bit. I'll probably pick up some new yeast tomorrow, re-pitch, and hope for the best...

 

That doesn't sound good. 100 hours of nothing, plus doesn't smell too good, plus a bit of scum on the top...

Try to warm it up and swirl it around some. I've had fermentations that smelled bad, and sometimes the krausen looks wierd as it forms and I ferment most everything at 65 degrees. Toss another package of yeast in there.

 

ANY gravity drop means you have fermentation, and don't need to do anything except have patience. That "scum" is krausen, and THAT'S the only activity beyond a drop in you hydrometer reading that you have to concern yourself with.

Fermentation doesn't happen on your timeframe, it happens on it's own. You are not in charge, the yeast are. If you have fermentation than whether it takes 3 days or 3 weeks is really irrevelant. And as to smells in the fermenter, look up "rhino farts" on here, you will see that fementation is often ugly, and stinky, and perfectly normal.....

 

...or just wait for revvy post an answer for you.

 

Thanks gents,

I did find it odd though that I had a bit of krausen, but NO gravity drop. I'm certianly willing to give it all the time it needs, but is there a point where it will spoil if fermentation hasn't started? If you had my same conditions (no gravity drop, bad smell, and a very small amount of krausen) and were about to leave town for 10 days, would you re-pitch before you left, or wait until you got home to take another reading (and possibly have to re-pitch then)? I'm leaning toward pitching extra yeast tomorrow just to make sure?

 

Heh, yeah he's a quick one...

 

Props to Revvy! My airlock is now bubbling nicely.....finally on the SIXTH DAY!!!!

I even stopped at the LHBS today for more yeast but they were closed, ha!