Another noobie overreaction?

[minus]

Hey all, I was just wondering if you fellas would be able to put my mind to ease..lol. A couple days ago (Friday) I had started my first ever home brew based off of a kit I picked up at my local brew supplier 9http://www.mainbrew.com/pages/starterkits.html/beerstartkit.html). All went well during the boil/hops/etc, however my question is regarding the activity in the primary fermentation bucket. Now I have read about almost anything I can imagine from buckets exploding to almost no activity at all. After I pitched the yeast, I was anticipating all sorts of bubbling the next day, but its been a few days now and I havent noticed much action. My wife said that the morning after the yeast was put in, it was bubbling for a while, but since than, no bubbles and the swelling at the top of the bucket is back down. So long story short, as a homebrew virgin, I'm worried that if I make a wrong move or something, i'll efff up my brew. Hopefully that makes sense haha. Point me in the right direction =) Thanks in advance and sorry for the worried rant

 

[malkore]

Its likely fine. Beer wort WANTS to ferment, so unless you pitched the yeast in at 120F, its ok.

I'd wait until this friday august 21, and then take a hydrometer reading. you're probably right on track.

 

[jacketsfans]

One of the first things I noticed after joining this forum was people constantly advising others to RDWHAHB, and this is a classic case of when it's necessary. As already noted, your yeast are already grateful for their new home and multiplying like crazy.

Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew! (Or go find and buy some Arrogant Bastard!)

 

[minus]

Thanks for the advice.. Its hard to relax at this point LOL, I'm excited and want to make sure it turns out great. Will most definitely RDWHAHB =)

 

[Dloucks]

Relax. I just brewed my 100th gallon of the year, (hefe) and it only "bubbled" for about 8 hours........it will be fine.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

minus - Patience is the hardest part of this hobby, I tend to keep my pipeline full of beers fermenting and conditioning so I have no choice but to wait.
If you got some bubbles, don't worry about it till a week later, then sanitize everything touching the wort and take a sample.
Ideally you want to wait around three weeks for it to condition, and clear before you bottle.
Best of luck and RDWHAHB, your beer will be fine.

 

[minus]

That is good to hear. Myself like the rest of the first-timers probably just have the noobie jitters. I'll keep things posted as I progress a bit further in the process as well as post some pics. Cheers =)

 

[XXguy]

Generally speaking - Higher temperatures = Faster Fermentation.

What's the ambient temperature of your fermentation area? If your wife saw bubbles - it was fermenting.

 

[minus]

The area is roughly between 72-78.. and crossing my fingers that the heat wave wont make my apartment 85 like it did a few weeks ago.

 

[XXguy]

Unless you're into Belgian beers - 72 to 78 is too high for most beer styles.

Read up on swamp coolers & fermentation chillers. The first few days of fermentation are vital as far as temperatures go. Temperature control is a big enough deal that lots of brewers spend time & money concentrating on it.

Realize that when the yeast are fermenting, the temperatures inside your fermenter will probably run 5 degrees hotter than ambient - sometimes even more.

The good news is, you're making beer. The really good news is, you're going to learn how to make better beer reading the info available here on HBT.

Good luck

 

[minus]

Sooo... just as an update, I just pitched to secondary.. Smells fantastic and took a little taste and has all the flavors of a great nut brown.