Airlock activity weak and the stall

[Mellow52]

I have brewed about 8 batches and every time had crazy airlock activity for +- 3 days but on my last batch the airlock activity was weak for one day and then nothing.

It is an Amber Ale. Here is the recipe :

http://www.brewapp.com/recipefiles/BREWER'S RED - 5 GAL.pdf

It is at room temperature (69f)

I did make a starter with the SafAle S-04 that I learned later was not a good idea. What do I do now? Buy another SafAle S-04 packet of yeast and pitch dry?

 

[twistr25]

Is it possible you don't have a good seal? If you think you'll have to open it anyway, may not hurt to have a packet of yeast on hand, but I would take a gravity reading after your 4th day from pitch. If you're dropping you should be fine, if not go ahead and repitch. Have you made this one before?

 

[unionrdr]

It could just be that initial fermentation is done. Hence why all the bubbling stopped or slowed down. It'll then creep slowly,uneventfully down to FG.

 

[Brewnoob1]

I'm going to be the first and definitely not be the last to tell you to use the search function. Airlock is by NO MEANS a way to tell anything about fermentation. I have 4 buckets and get zero airlock activity due to leaks somewhere. The only way to know when fermentation is done is by a hydrometer. If you wait 2-4 weeks before even thinking about a reading, you'll be fine 99% of the time.

 

[Mellow52]

It is the first time I made this one. The Airlock activity was extremely weak and did not last. The seal is good, I am going to re pitch then.

Thanks guys.

 

[Revvy]

Bubbling in primary SHOULD slow or stop eventually...Bubbling stopping or slowing down doesn't mean fermentation has stopped it ONLY means bubbling has. An airlock is a VENT, a VALVE for EXCESS CO2. It's not a magic fermentation gauge. When the majority of sugars are eaten in the initial burst of fermentation, lots of co2 is released. As it slows down, bubbling ceases or stops altogether because there's not as much EXCESS Co2 being released.

But that doesn't mean fermentation is over, just that it's slowed down.

Fermentation is not always dynamic...just because you don't SEE anything happening doesn't mean that the yeast aren't happily chewing away at whatever fermentables are in there....the only way to know comes from gravity readings, and nothing else.

Activity, action, bubbles, even krausen can be affected by the envoironment just as much as it being caused by the yeast...so going by that is NOT reliable.

If you want to know what's going on with your beer, then take a gravity reading. 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....

Counting bubbles does not equate to anything usable in fermentation. It's not like "x bubbles/minute= y gravity points." It just means that co2 is being released....but it could also NOT be bubbling, and still fermenting away.

Relax, leave your beer alone and let it do it's thing for a couple more weeks, and most importantly, IGNORE what your airlock does or doesn't do.

In fact you might find this discussion on the superfluousness of airlocks something that will help you get a handle on this.

 

[stratslinger]

It is at room temperature (69f)

I did make a starter with the SafAle S-04 that I learned later was not a good idea. What do I do now? Buy another SafAle S-04 packet of yeast and pitch dry?

Of these two statements, the temperature you have your fermenter at is the one that's closer to being a bad idea.

First, the starter: A starter is rarely a bad idea. But for dry yeast strains, it's rarely worth the cost - typically it's just as cheap to pitch an extra packet. So, it wasn't necessarily a bad idea to make a starter, just maybe some unnecessary effort on your part. You certainly didn't hurt anything by building a starter for your S-04.

On the temperature: fermentation is an exothermic process; it creates heat. At the most active stages of fermentation, a fermenter can be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient room temperature. Now, combine that with an english yeast strain that tends to get ester-y at higher temperatures (like, say, S-04) and you just might have a fruity beer on your hands. Not a train wreck, by any means, but possibly not what you had expected or intended, either.

Going forward, try to pay close attention to the desired temperature range for the yeast you're using, and research methods to keep the fermenter in that range. Things like swamp coolers are good, inexpensive methods that can help to maintain those temperatures, while more advanced fermentation chambers can really nail them down for you.

EDIT: And since, on rereading my post, I didn't make it clear enough: if you pitched a starter and maintained that high a temperature, I'd be shocked if fermentation didn't already complete - it probably finished up overnight the first night after you pitched, and you missed it. Do like Revvy suggests and check the gravity, and you'll probably be surprised!

 

[jethro55]

Good question. I'd look for a leak, but would not be too concerned if you can't find it. Sometimes just rearranging the blow-off tube or pushing the airlock in a little tighter can fix it. It doesn't take much of a leak to "mute" the airlock bubbler.

I have used S-04 one time in a 3 gallon carboy where I could watch the action. Rehydrated a dry pack and it was "done" bubbling with krausen subsiding in 24 hours. Concluded that my temperature was high (room at 72 F) and that this yeast takes off like a bat out of hell at 72 F.