1st and 2nd batch vastly different at the beginning

[gannawdm]

I was surprised by how different the beginning of the brewing process was between my 1st and 2nd batch.

My first batch was a canned Coopers IPA kit. During the first couple days, the airlock was VERY active. It was bubbling like crazy and the foam was pushing through it quite a bit.

For my second batch, I decided to do a partial mash from a recipe that I got from my local brew shop. I bought extra tubing for a blowoff tube expecting another explosion. 2 days after pitching the yeast, I didn't see a single bubble come out of my airlock. I was a little worried, so today I cracked it open to see what was going on. There isn't any foam on top, but there are definitely bubbles coming up, so it looks like it's working. The hydrometer reading went down substantially, so I'm going to assume that things are going well. I'm just surprised by difference.

 

[kypher]

There are so many variables in brewing that can affect your airlock activity. For instance if you pitched your yeast a little hot on your cooper's kit, the airlock would probably go nuts, then if you pitched cooler for your partial it would be substantially slower to start. That's not necessarily the cause, but in my limited experience that's the problem 90% of the time.

My $.02