Air Lock Bubbles

[comicsandbeer83]

On my first batch I was out of town and didn't get to observe how long the air lock showed visible signs of fermentation. For this new batch I am getting to watch and it seemed to only bubble for about 24 hours. From what I have read ales usually ferment 2-6 days so is this normal? Should it continue to bubble longer? Maybe give the fermenter a good shake to kick start it again? Thats how I got it going yesterday morning (after pitching my liquid yeast the previous evening before that) and it chugged along til early this morning.

 

[boscobeans]

Never judge fermentation by just the airlock. Could be a very slight leak allowing gas from a slowed down fermentation to escape without building up enough pressure to blow bubbles.

Hydrometer readings or a visual check is probably the best way to go.

OMO

bosco

 

[comicsandbeer83]

The water is still definitely being pushed to one side of the air lock, so there is pressure in there, if not enough to cause bubbling. I am afraid to expose it to oxygen this early in the fermentation process so I will probably wait til the latter half of this week to take a reading. (I dont have a hydrometer flask to use so I would have to remove lid). Is it pretty common for most of the working to be done in a 24 hour span on ales?

 

[chossy]

First three days are when allot of activity can be seen, it then gently tails off for a few more days, generally fermentation is mostly happening in the first five days or so, then after that the yeast is cleaning up and settling etc. just wait a week then take a reading. Most people just leave their beer alone in the primary for two or three weeks.

 

[fartinmartin]

The air lock dose not tell us a lot. Unless it's going nuts.
24 hours is very quick for airlock activity to fade tho.
Get it at about 68degs
Shine a torch at it if it's in glass , (if not in glass draw off a small sample into glass) , so with a torch shining at it you will see activity, that's fermentation, so hang in there. Keep the sample if you drew one off and watch it perform (do not ever incorporate your sample).

 

[RM-MN]

Most brewers think that fermentation is only going on when there are bubbles and while there are a number of reasons for not seeing bubbles here is a better explanation for that later part when the bubbles have stopped. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

 

[BigFloyd]

The best thing you can do at this point (and this is going to be hard) is to forget about it leave it alone for at least 10 days from the date you pitched the yeast. At that time, take a gravity reading and see where it is.

If you pitched liquid yeast and did not do a yeast starter, depending on the gravity of the wort, you probably under-pitched. That can cause a delay and/or a slower ferment.

 

[comicsandbeer83]

The best thing you can do at this point (and this is going to be hard) is to forget about it leave it alone for at least 10 days from the date you pitched the yeast. At that time, take a gravity reading and see where it is.

If you pitched liquid yeast and did not do a yeast starter, depending on the gravity of the wort, you probably under-pitched. That can cause a delay and/or a slower ferment.

I pitched White Labs. I did not do a starter because the kind I got is a pitch as is type.

 

[comicsandbeer83]

Here is how it looks right now. I pitched the yeast about 50 hours ago. And it bubbled all yesterday and has called down drastically today. ATTACH]170452[/ATTACH]

 

[lgilmore]

most likely is your bucket seal is not air tight. When in doubt give it three weeks anyway before doing anything else to it. Remove all doubt.

No need to rush the process, time doesn't hurt this. So when you have a doubt, give it some more time.

 

[Kuckoo]

most likely is your bucket seal is not air tight. When in doubt give it three weeks anyway before doing anything else to it. Remove all doubt.

No need to rush the process, time doesn't hurt this. So when you have a doubt, give it some more time.

+1 to the bucket as the likely cause. I brewed in a bucket only once and it showed zero signs of activity in the airlock. Being paranoid I lifted the lid to find a large frothy head of krausen. I think the buckets are notorious for having poor seals between the bucket and the lid.

 

[BigFloyd]

I pitched White Labs. I did not do a starter because the kind I got is a pitch as is type.

I hate to break the bad news to you, but that "pitch as is" stuff is wishful thinking. When those vials leave White Labs in San Diego, they contain about 100 billion cells. It decreases every day thereafter. A month later, it's down to 78 billion. Two months later, it's a mere 57 billion cells. Four months later (the "use by" date), only 15 billion cells are hanging on for dear life.

The target pitch rate for a light/medium gravity ale is 0.75 so a 5-gallon batch of 1.050 ale wort should get a dose of 176 billion cells. If the yeast is just one month old (that's pretty fresh), you'll need 2 vials just to get close if you don't do a starter.

I think the buckets are notorious for having poor seals between the bucket and the lid.

I must have gotten lucky because none of my buckets have ever leaked and they get used a lot.

 

[comicsandbeer83]

Really? I even asked the guy at the brew shop and he said just pitch it and it will be more than enough. Hurm....

 

[RM-MN]

To make your beer the best possible you do want to make a starter. However, you can make some very good beer without a starter, even if your yeast is getting close to the expiration date. Here's the results of an experiment with pitching different amounts of yeast. Note that the overpitch was about 5 times the recommended amount while the under pitch was about 1/8 the recommended. All three made beer that was drinkable. http://sciencebrewer.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/

 

[BigFloyd]

Really? I even asked the guy at the brew shop and he said just pitch it and it will be more than enough. Hurm....

Really. The stories on this forum about advice heard at homebrew supply shops range from excellent to ridiculously ignorant.

 

[beergolf]

Bubble really mean nothing.......