Brooklyn Brewshop Punk IPA, No Fermenter Activity

[meteora]

Greetings

This is my first post on the forums as it is my first time home brewing so hello all, nice to meet you.

My girlfriend got me Brooklyn Brew Shop kit on my birthday and we got to work on it around 8 pm yesterday. Around 12 i lidded the fermenter, set up the blow off tube and lef the house right away because I was in a hurry.

Today when I came back around 11 pm (which makes it 23 hours total) i was a bit suprised to find that no considerable activity was going on. Yes the liquid was less than I left it. Alos there is this greenish stuff on the sides which at first i thought was mold but then realized it should be hop residue (I guess my strainer is not fine enough). What really concerns me is the fact that no activity is observable asides from really few bubbles moving to top from bottom. Maybe there was activity but I missed it when I was away for 23 hours. Please tell me everything will be allright. Should I move it to another place or something?

Attached are the photos to its current state. Thanks in advance and happy drinking

 

[zefbrew]

Green residue on the side is ok, likely hop residue from krausen. Some questions for you. How hot was the wort when you pitched the yeast in? Where are you keeping the fermentor? Are you keeping the fermentor where light or direct heat is in contact? It can take a day or two to show signs of fermentation, so don't worry about that

 

[shellsbells]

It'll probably be just fine. My first brew was also a BBS. I got worried too, because I didn't see much activity. I was convinced I F-ed up big time. But after 3 weeks in the fermenter and 2 more carbing in bottles, it tasted great and got me drunk

 

[GHBWNY]

The green stuff coating the inside around the top is hop residue, which got there from your beer going through its most vigorous stage of fermentation where the kraussen (the heavy layer of foam that forms on the surface) has come and gone, pushing the floating hop debris against the glass and depositing it there. This means your beer is fermenting and everything is normal. It's important to maintain as steady a ferm temp as possible, somewhere between 65-68F, keeping in mind that as beer ferments, the yeast creates an exothermic reaction which can raise the beer temp 5-10 degrees at peak fermentation. Too cool and you'll put the yeast to sleep and slow down or stop fermentation; too warm and you create off-flavors in the beer. Leave it for a couple of weeks in a suitably temp-controlled spot, and avoid exposure to light. You may want to replace the blow-off with a sanitized airlock. Right now it looks good.

 

[joelamango]

I actually joined this form to ask the exact same question. My first attempt at brewing was two weeks ago and I bottle the beer today. 24 hours after my fermentation of the beer, I saw some bubbling in the blow off tube, but not really any kind of yeasty bubbles at the top. Especially when compared to photos I've seen on line. If there is no co2, does that mean the fermenting didn't take and the beer is going to be bad?

Either way, after watching it for two weeks, I've decided to accept my fate and hope for the best.

Did my second batch attempt today, and I think it went better. Check out my photo:

I'll check it in the morning to see if CO2 is happening.

One thing that has happened consistently with both is that my boiling gets rid of too much beer and I need to add water at the end. Today I measured it to make sure I had close to 5 litres when I started the boil, and afterwards I was still a good inch shy of the gallon line. I think my cool down is taking too long and additional beer is being lost to evaporation. Any ideas?

 

[GHBWNY]

My first attempt at brewing was two weeks ago and I bottle the beer today. 24 hours after my fermentation of the beer, I saw some bubbling in the blow off tube, but not really any kind of yeasty bubbles at the top. Especially when compared to photos I've seen on line. If there is no co2, does that mean the fermenting didn't take and the beer is going to be bad?

Either way, after watching it for two weeks, I've decided to accept my fate and hope for the best.

It's nearly impossible to determine the state of fermentation by observing the airlock/blowoff/fermenter activity. Whether you continue to brew 1 gal. kits or eventually make your way into scratch all-grain recipes, one of the most important pieces of equipment you can own is a hydrometer. Only with a hydrometer (or refractometer) can you tell for sure where your fermentation stands by taking specific gravity readings throughout the fermentation stages. Without knowing if fermentation is truly finished (by noting the changes in specific gravity), bottling unfinished beer can result in "bottle bombs".

Kit instructions are notoriously inadequate when it comes to the details of brewing. Following them will produce beer, but when it comes to the details that create great beer, they fall short.

In your case, waiting 2 weeks (minimum) for fermentation to finish for bottling purposes is a fairly safe bet. If your process went OK and you followed strict sanitation procedures, and your ferm temp was in the recommended range, you should have OK beer --- regardless of what it "looks" like. Many brewers leave their beer in primary a minimum of 3 - 4 weeks. Doing so both helps the beer "clean up" the yeast and precludes potential off-flavors.

Unless there was a major screw-up in your process, or an introduction of an infection at some point, or widely-fluctuating ferm temperatures or not enough time for it to finish, you should be OK. As for the brew you think may not have fermed completely, let it ride and bottle as usual.

 

[meteora]

Hello

Thanks for your valuable answers everyone. I am relieved to hear what you all said. I moved the wort to the fermenter at around 90 F (which it seems was early and maybe sped up the fermentation process that I never witnessed) and put it in a cellar where almost no light gets in. For the temperature I think it fluctuates somewhere between 18C to 22C. Tonight I will do as you've said and replace the tube with the air-lock. From there on I think it will be a 2 weeks wait (what the recipe says).

Thanks again!

 

[zefbrew]

How did your beer turn out?

 

[GHBWNY]

How did your beer turn out?

Yes, also curious.

 

[meteora]

Hello guys, Im sorry for not replying sooner, I was a bit preoccupied.

My beer stayed in the fermenter for almost 4 weeks and got bottled lately. The beer tastes fine, I did get a sample during bottling. It tastes allright except a bit too mild perhaps. During bottling I let lots of residue to find their way to the bottles so each bottle has a noticable amount of sediment sitting at the bottom. I am fine with drinking some yeast/hop particles but my guests might not be that comfortable. In that case I have 8 bottles to drink for myself If everything goes well during carbonating, by two weeks I will be posting the final state of the beer in here.

Thank you two for taking interest in my brew as well

 

[CoreyD]

The Punk IPA kit was my first too. I did see noticeable fermentation with mine, but I watched it like a new born baby. I suggest waiting 3 weeks before bottling.. Bottled mine after 2 and it was not done. Had gizers when I popped the caps. Ended up loosing half of each bottle. Is a very tasty brew. I'm sure it will be fine

Should have read every post first. Hope you like what you got.

 

[kh54s10]

The Punk IPA kit was my first too. I did see noticeable fermentation with mine, but I watched it like a new born baby. I suggest waiting 3 weeks before bottling.. Bottled mine after 2 and it was not done. Had gizers when I popped the caps. Ended up loosing half of each bottle. Is a very tasty brew. I'm sure it will be fine

If you have good fermentation, i.e. did nothing wrong and pitched enough yeast, it should only take 3-5 days. 2 weeks should be plenty of time to ferment. Sometimes more time for aging is proper. Though there is nothing wrong with fermenting for 3 weeks, I do it routinely - but it is because I get lazy about packaging the beer when it is already done.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I've brewed many Brooklyn Brew Shop mixes and recipes, and I had a few batches that were over-carbed; usually, about 15 minutes in the freezer will make it so you can at least open and pour it.

Lately, I've gotten to the point where it seems that 2 or sometimes even 1.5 tablespoons of honey/maple syrup/agave/whatever works better than the three that are described in the instructions.

Also, I always wait a minimum of three weeks for fermentation; sometimes longer. The beer will only get better! I then bottle, wait two weeks, then refrigerate for a week before I even think of cracking one opn. The beer has always been well-developed and tastes great.

 

[brew703]

Hello guys, Im sorry for not replying sooner, I was a bit preoccupied.

My beer stayed in the fermenter for almost 4 weeks and got bottled lately. The beer tastes fine, I did get a sample during bottling. It tastes allright except a bit too mild perhaps. During bottling I let lots of residue to find their way to the bottles so each bottle has a noticable amount of sediment sitting at the bottom. I am fine with drinking some yeast/hop particles but my guests might not be that comfortable. In that case I have 8 bottles to drink for myself If everything goes well during carbonating, by two weeks I will be posting the final state of the beer in here.

Thank you two for taking interest in my brew as well

Since you are bottling I would pour into 12-15 oz glasses and leave the last 1/4" in the bottle. Pour all at once and don't stop in between pouring. That way all the settlement stays in the bottle.
Yeast and trub is pretty nasty tasting IMO.

 

[GHBWNY]

Since you are bottling I would pour into 12-15 oz glasses and leave the last 1/4" in the bottle. Pour all at once and don't stop in between pouring. That way all the settlement stays in the bottle.
Yeast and trub is pretty nasty tasting IMO.

For the majority of my beers, I also pour straight until the last 1/4" and then stop, leaving the trub in bottom of the bottle. However, my hefe is the exception. I pour until there's about an inch of beer left in the bottle, swirl up the yeast and dump it into the glass. Nothing tastier!

 

[meteora]

Is there a good way to get rid of the trub during bottling? Strainer falls short for this I assume.

 

[zefbrew]

you will always have a little amount of trub if you bottle condition, however, learning how to batch prime and cold crash will reduce the layer to the smallest amount

 

[TasunkaWitko]

@zefbrew - Hi, Zef ~ I understand cold-crashing, but could you elaborate a bit on batch priming, just to clarify?

My beers almost always end up beautifully clear in the bottle. Some of them cloud up when I open them, but I guess I've come to expect this with ales - especially when wheat beers are the ones I tend to enjoy making the most.

 

[stlblues5010]

During bottling I let lots of residue to find their way to the bottles so each bottle has a noticable amount of sediment sitting at the bottom. I am fine with drinking some yeast/hop particles but my guests might not be that comfortable. In that case I have 8 bottles to drink for myself If everything goes well during carbonating, by two weeks I will be posting the final state of the beer in here.

Thank you two for taking interest in my brew as well

Adding the extra yeast from the fermenter may cause your bottles to be geysers so open them carefully over the sink.

Is there a good way to get rid of the trub during bottling? Strainer falls short for this I assume.

Move your fermenter to your bottling area a day earlier to allow trub to settle or just move very carefully. Don't allow your siphon device to settle all the way down into the trub.

Don't worry you'll still have good beer. It'll take more than this to mess it up.

 

[zefbrew]

@zefbrew - Hi, Zef ~ I understand cold-crashing, but could you elaborate a bit on batch priming, just to clarify?

My beers almost always end up beautifully clear in the bottle. Some of them cloud up when I open them, but I guess I've come to expect this with ales - especially when wheat beers are the ones I tend to enjoy making the most.

Batch priming is the method of bottling beer using a bottling bucket and priming sugar mixed into the beer , and bottling from this bucket / container and not directly from the fermenter. Ensures even sugar in each bottle and helps leave most of the sediment behind in the fermenter. Plenty of YouTube videos and tutorials here that show the proccess nicely. Handy method that I use and that my brewing mates use as well.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hey - thanks for the quick reply.

This is exactly what I've been doing since I started brewing beer, I simply didn't know the name for it. Cool deal ~

Thanks!

 

[zefbrew]

There's a dozen names and terms for the same thing. It sounds like you have pretty clear beer already. Cold crashing before you rack to your bottling bucket will even take it an extra step further. Bottles will just take a few days longer to carb up as there will be less yeast.

 

[meteora]

Hello people,

I am necromancing this post in order to show off my first craft as I promised. See the picture below. Now few words about it;

It exploded right in my face perhaps because of the fact that I was able to drink it after four weeks of bottling and four weeks of fermenting. Thus highly alcoholic too. I am a ******* heavy drinker and I can say it already made me feel dizzy, so God knows how alcoholic it turned out to be. Because of the explosion, I was only able to fill half a pint. It was very cloudy but not dense, which I blame the spring water for. Moved almost like a pilsner and felt so as well. It was hopped to death, just the way I like it so no problem with that. Nice colour and awesome smell. Not the greatest ever brewed but definitely the best I made so far so cheers to everyone who cared/helped with the process.

Good drinking!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before opening. That helps a lot.

Also try using 1 & 2/3 or perhaps 2 teaspoons of honey instead of 3.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Sorry for the ridiculously bad grammar in previous post; it should make a little more sense, now.