Airlock not bubbling?

[Nathan Hassey]

This is my first time posting on this site and to be honest first couple times brewing. I went strait for all grain because it just seems neat. Its been a few days not and I am not getting ANY air bubbles in my airlock. I have read online that it doesnt mean a bad fermentation, but I know it could also mean no fermentation. I was wondering if anyone here have had issues with that and still had a good burn turn our or should I be worried. I am using a 2g bucket I got at my local homebrew shop. Any advise would be much appreciated!

 

[Braufessor]

Buckets are notorious for having leaky seals on the lid.... no big deal. Sometimes I use buckets as fermenters - they never bubble. If you want, you could probably crack the lid open carefully and peak in to see if there is foamy krausen indicating fermentation. Just open it enough to peek in and make sure everything is sanitary. Be careful that opening the lid does not suck sanitizer back through your air lock. you may want to remove that when you open the lid to avoid that possibility.

That is is the one down side of buckets - you can't "see" what is happening. Taking a peek might give you peace of mind.

 

[Nathan Hassey]

I appreciate the response. I think I'm just worrying too much. If Krausen hasn't formed though, that is bad right? The reason I'm worried is it is being stored in an area that is 2 degrees higher than the max temp the yeast recommends. The issue I am having is either 5 degrees colder, or 1-3 degrees hotter than max. It is winter here so the temps are so sporadic.

Should I transfer it to a glass jug? I was planning on using it for the secondary but the bucket thing is stressing me out too much lol.

 

[Braufessor]

Do not transfer it .... it is fine in the bucket.

What yeast and what temperature do you have it at now?

 

[Nathan Hassey]

I am using Wyeast 2112 California Lager yeast which recommends 65-72. It is pretty much 70-75 between the night and day in the laundry room it is sitting in.

 

[Braufessor]

You should be ok at that temperature. So..... your alternative is to put it somewhere that is 60 degrees??

If you want to take a look under the lid to ease your mind..... it won't hurt. Like I said, just be a little careful with the air lock as far as sucking back in if you pop the lid up.

One thing to watch in the future is fermentation temperatures can climb higher than room temperature. Yours is only 2.5 gallons, so it will generate less heat. But, in a 5 gallon batch of beer, it is not uncommon for the temperature of fermenting beer to be 4-6 degrees warmer than the room temperature. It is not a bad idea to get some of those adhesive sticker thermometers for your fermenters just so you have a ball park idea of what the beer temp. is.

 

[Nathan Hassey]

Copy. When I get home I will take a look. Thanks for the help!

 

[Calder]

Braufessor is correct, you don't need to worry about it.

Do you have some bucket or big container that you can put your fermenter in? The bigger the better. If you put the fermenter in another container and fill the container with water (as high as you can), the water will prevent the yeast from heating the wort too much. Water is great heat-sink, and in a decent sized water bath, the temp in the fermenter will not get more than a degree higher than the water. If you use a water bath, you can actually ferment a couple of degrees above the recommended temp without issue.

Wyeast site says 58 - 68 for 2112. I've never used that yeast, so I don't know what it will do at higher temps. Usually you start with esters (different flavors) a few degrees above recommendation, and then will start to generate fusel alcohols at higher temps (headaches). But that doesn't apply to all yeasts; with some Belgians it is worth trying to push the upper boundary to see what you get.

If 68 is the upper recommended limit, and you are running 70 to 75, I recommend getting the fermenter in a water bath as quick as you can. You will be a few degrees above recommended, but will not get the additional temp rise from the yeast activity.

Oh, and the lack of bubbles is almost certainly due to using a bucket with a leaky seal.

 

[Nathan Hassey]

Oh wow, I never checked the site. The package is the one that said 65-72. I wonder what the disconnect is?

 

[Braufessor]

You mentioned another place you could put it..... what temperature is that room?

 

[passedpawn]

Nathan will check in tomorrow. In our spastic attempt to limit the damage from spammers, new members (less than x days old) can only post 5 messages per day.

 

[Nathan Hassey]

So when I got home last night I checked the inside of the bucket and there was in fact krausen on top. I pushed on the lid very hard before I went to bed last night and this morning....BUBBLES!!! Thank you

 

[Nathan Hassey]

Here is a pic of it. Looks good to me.

 

[passedpawn]

Sweet butter crumpet! I think you're gonna make some beer

 

[applescrap]

Great work, getting the ferment going. I use a flashlight from the top to observe the ferment status and also a quick sniff if the airlock will tell a lot. You can hear it to if you put your head on the bucket to.

 

[Jeremy17099]

With that much head space would it not take longer for the airlock to start bubbling? Could be the reason it took so long to see activity.

 

[KarmaCitra]

Thats a good point, perhaps the headspace you have just took longer to fill with CO2? Either way, glad you have fermentation!

Once I made the decision to prioritize fermentation temps with a fermentation chamber, my results have improved drastically.

 

[KarmaCitra]

I've found that staying on the lower end of the temp spectrum for the strain your using produces the best results. I'd do as suggested and get it in a water bath and/or a colder room.

 

[Nathan Hassey]

KarmaCitra, Yea a low budget fermentation chamber is what I will have to do. Where I live, there are too bad of temp swings outside and I think I would benefit from that. I brewed 2 batches last night with my friend who is going to Korea for 6 months, and when I woke up they were both fermenting like crazy. I put them in 1G glass carboys so I think the headspace does make a different. Thanks for all the help guys.