Fermentation can take 24 to 72 hrs to show visible signs.

[bleme]

@NBasseur The airlock is a pretty poor measure of fermentation, but if you insist on not paying for a hydrometer, time the bubbles until you are getting less than 1 a minute. It should be safe to bottle 2 week later.

@Walzenbrew Lots of people over pitch and make fine beer. The main side effect I have heard is that you are shortening the reproductive phase and you will have fewer esters, which may or may not be desirable depending on your taste in brew.

 

[gunny2005]

I made an ale recipie using white labs liquid pacific ale yeast and I swore I had a stuck ferment. I didn't see anything for days. I checked the fermenter, and sure enough it was fermenting but very slowly. I looked into it and re-arranged things in the brewery to raise the temperature on the fermenter, and I pitched a starter for the second batch. After a day there was visible fermentation and I was satisfied. I also got on the white labs web site and found a great yeast profile chart for all their strains. It lists the characteristics for each strain and how they behave, I unknowingly chose a strain that behaved badly, admitedly by the lab. I am going to stay with this strain since I found how to work with it. I was pleased to see that the lab has details about the strains, gotta love the internet!

 

[travis87]

Completed my first ever home brew last night - a 1 gallon batch of Everyday IPA from Brooklyn Brewshop. After pitching and setting up my blow off, I had a very slow but steady bubbling a few hours later and again this morning before work. However, I returned from work today and no bubbles! It's in a kitchen cupboard and the thermostat 15 feet away read 72F when I got home.

The only problem I had was the sparge. I poured all my mash through a strainer and collected a good 1 to 1.5 quarts of wort, but the strainer wasn't big enough to hold all the mash. So, I filled the strainer with as much mash as possible (about half the total volume) and poured my sparge water through it. I started the boil with about 5 quarts and by the end of a 60 minute boil had my gallon of wort. I let it cool to 70F, poured it through a strainer into a funnel and into my 1 gallon jug. I pitched the yeast, put a screw cap on the jug, and shook the crap out of it. Everything - all pots, pans, utensils, caps, tubing, etc. - was sanitized and allowed to air dry for 24 hours.

So, am I worried over nothing?

 

[ScoRas]

Travis - was that a mini all-grain kit? That sounds interesting. Did you measure the starting gravity of the wort with a hydrometer?

And yes, give it more time before worrying about fermentation. As the thread says, it can take 72 hours!

 

[BrewKnurd]

Completed my first ever home brew last night - a 1 gallon batch of Everyday IPA from Brooklyn Brewshop. After pitching and setting up my blow off, I had a very slow but steady bubbling a few hours later and again this morning before work. However, I returned from work today and no bubbles! It's in a kitchen cupboard and the thermostat 15 feet away read 72F when I got home.

How much yeast did you pitch? Very likely your fermentation is done, especially if you pitched a full vial/smackpack/11g pack of dry yeast. Doesn't take that many yeast long to chew through a gallon, especially at ambient temps of 72, which means you may have been mid to upper 70s during active fermentation.

So, am I worried over nothing?

Probably.

 

[travis87]

double post...sorry

 

[travis87]

double post...sorry

 

[travis87]

Ok, I'm gonna attempt to post this for the third time! I have no idea what's going on, but I tried once from my phone and once from my computer earlier today but apparently neither one worked.

Travis - was that a mini all-grain kit? That sounds interesting. Did you measure the starting gravity of the wort with a hydrometer?

And yes, give it more time before worrying about fermentation. As the thread says, it can take 72 hours!

Uh, noob response - "I don't know?" What do you mean by all-grain? Here's a link to the mix from Brooklyn Brew Shop - http://brooklynbrewshop.com/1-gallon-beer-mixes/everyday-ipa-mix

As for the gravity measurement...didn't take one. I didn't even purchase a hydrometer to start because I didn't really think I needed one the first go around.

How much yeast did you pitch? Very likely your fermentation is done, especially if you pitched a full vial/smackpack/11g pack of dry yeast. Doesn't take that many yeast long to chew through a gallon, especially at ambient temps of 72, which means you may have been mid to upper 70s during active fermentation.

It was a pre-measured little packet that was included with the mix. There were no measurements marked on it, but I'd guess maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. It was about a 2" by 2" packet was all.

 

[Tkelly32]

Too early to worry about anything, but I just pitched some liquid Wehenstephen in this Hefe batch 2 hours ago, usually I see activity by now, I see nothing, as well this looks low to be 5 gallons (6.5 gallon carboy), it was over 5 gallons by my measurements in the brew kettle should I be worried?... I really hope I start to see something because I was geeked off my OG (target 1.050, ended up at 1.049) and the color of this brew.

 

[Tkelly32]

Update, the beer pictured above just started to gas, I can hear it (3 hours 45 minutes in). It is slower than I am used to, but I believe as I slumber it will pick up. I'll let you know, lets hope for the best!

 

[ScoRas]

Uh, noob response - "I don't know?" What exactly do you mean by all-grain? Here's a link to the kit: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/1-gallon-beer-mixes/everyday-ipa-mix

As for the gravity measurement, that's a negative. I don't own a hydrometer...yet...since this was my first time around and I didn't quite research it to death like I normally do I didn't think I needed one.




It was a small packet, maybe 2" by 2", but it wasn't packed full of yeast. It was maybe 1/4 or 1/2 a teaspoon I'd guess, but I'll check the packet when I get home tonight.

I tried to post all this earlier, but apparently it didn't go through from my phone.

It is all grain, you "mash-in" your own malted barley, as opposed to using liquid extracts. That's really cool that they have the one-gallon scale kit.

 

[travis87]

Here's what I've got after about 80 hours. I couldn't discern a single thing from that if I tried, any help?

 

[JeepBrew]

It looks like you are getting trub in the bottom so it's doing something. What does it smell like?

 

[travis87]

Hmm, can't say as I actually took a wiff of the fermenter. Not to mention the hot wort smell kinda lingered around my apartment during the first couple days. I'm having a hard time describing it too. What should it smell like?

 

[Walzenbrew]

I'm brewing a hefe as well. It is very cloudy just like yours is. I think yours will be fine

 

[Tkelly32]

Travis it does look like it did something, perhaps you missed the vigorous fermentation while you were at work. Gravity readings should always be taken before so you can have something to compare it too. There are not enough details to really gauge what went wrong or what didn't to me. I am a newbie too, this is my 3rd brew but I do all-grain and have had problems with the first two batches. If my FG comes out good, this will be my first all around successful batch and here is a pic of the brew fermenting after about one day. Given that I see some stuff on the top it seems to me that your wort bubbled up and then went down, so that says a fermentation took place, at least to my eyes.

 

[JeepBrew]

Hmm, can't say as I actually took a wiff of the fermenter. Not to mention the hot wort smell kinda lingered around my apartment during the first couple days. I'm having a hard time describing it too. What should it smell like?

It should smell like beer. The wort boil smell hints at beer, but it's more like a spicy sweet tea. Pull out the airlock and take a whiff.

 

[travis87]

Thanks for all the input guys, you've put most of my concern to rest. Even had it failed, I'd be right back at round 2, but it sounds like round 1 might actually be drinkable!

JeepBrew,

I wouldn't say it smells like I just opened a bottle of something, but it is definitely "beer-like".

 

[JeepBrew]

Don't sweat it, it's only beer. Have a taste it should rate like flat beer. If it's sweet or has any carbonation it should sit longer. If not, move ahead. Cheers.

 

[PIG20]

It's been 13 hours since I closed the lid on my fermenting bucket. This is my fourth batch but I'm surprised to not see any bubbling yet. All of my others bubbled by now.

Although it must be doing something because the airlock is pushed all the way to the top and there is condensation buildup inside the airlock which I'm assuming is due to gas being pushed through.

I'm wondering if my fermenter has a leak somewhere? I'm just going to leave it alone at this point and see what happens. 13 hours is still really early I guess.

 

[mid_knight]

Did u try using your nose? Lol. Really - sniff around the fermenter for yeasty smells.

 

[Rivenin]

13 hours is still very early to see any bubbles if you'll have them.
honestly, give it a few more hours and see what happens, another day or 2, and if you're still worried, take a hydro reading and see what you come up with.
Hell, my porter i just made had a krausen ring about 1" tall after 24 hours, but my 1085 pale took about 3 days to get up to that with the same yeast.

 

[PIG20]

Well, after a couple more hours I just checked on it and it's bubbling away. I was going to leave it alone anyway but it still feels good to see it working.

I was also worried because right after I stirred the yeast, I snapped the lid on and while fitting the airlock onto the lid, the rubber grommet snapped through and fell into the wort!

So I scrubbed/washed my hand and arm and went fishing around for it. It only took me about 15 seconds to find it but I was worried that I may have disrupted the process.

So at least I'm fermenting. I just hope I didn't skunk the beer with bacteria. It's one of those things where I had no choice but to dig around for that thing. I didn't have a spare lid with a grommet and even if I did, I didn't feel right leaving it in there even though it was thoroughly steralized.

I guess I'll know in a month.

 

[Walzenbrew]

I brewed a hefeweizen last week. I pitched the yeast at the perfect temperature, but used the full 11g fr a 2.5 gal batch. I had good activity for the first two days then it stopped. I noticed the temperature dropped in my apartment to around 60degrees. Will this significantly affect the beer or will I just have to wait it out?

 

[H-ost]

I brewed a hefeweizen last week. I pitched the yeast at the perfect temperature, but used the full 11g fr a 2.5 gal batch. I had good activity for the first two days then it stopped. I noticed the temperature dropped in my apartment to around 60degrees. Will this significantly affect the beer or will I just have to wait it out?

I'd say you still have some waiting ahead of you but you don't have too much to worry about. I'm not sure what off flavors you will get from over pitching but that would be the only thing that could be "wrong" with your brew from this.

 

[BrewKnurd]

It's one of those things where I had no choice but to dig around for that thing. I didn't have a spare lid with a grommet and even if I did, I didn't feel right leaving it in there even though it was thoroughly steralized.

There's always a choice.... next time choose to leave it in there. If your bucket doesn't seal perfectly, its no biggie.

 

[SwampassJ]

There's always a choice.... next time choose to leave it in there. If your bucket doesn't seal perfectly, its no biggie.

Am I the only person who saw the grommet and said screw it and went hunting for a bung to fit the hole instead?

 

[PIG20]

Am I the only person who saw the grommet and said screw it and went hunting for a bung to fit the hole instead?

It was 1:15 am and at that point I did what I thought I had to do. If it's skunked, it will be a first for me and a lesson.

Who knows, it could be fine but either way I really won't know for a while at this point. Oh well, my punishment will be for me to do it all over again.

Darn!

 

[Blitzen]

You should take a hydrometer reading, it will tell you whether any fermentation has occured.

Have a similar problem. Recovered yeast from previous batch AND made a starter which bubbled away for 8 hours so I pitched it. A little foam on top after 24 hours, then nothing. No bubbles ever in airlock and even bubbles on top of wort disappeared. If there has been fermentation what should the final gravity be?

 

[H-ost]

Have a similar problem. Recovered yeast from previous batch AND made a starter which bubbled away for 8 hours so I pitched it. A little foam on top after 24 hours, then nothing. No bubbles ever in airlock and even bubbles on top of wort disappeared. If there has been fermentation what should the final gravity be?

This is not 100% accurate but a good guestimate of final gravity is 1/4 of the original gravity.

Airlock activity is not an accurate sign of fermentation. If you use a pail I bet your lid just was not on tight enough so the gasses escaped through there. If you have a carboy you might not have pushed your bung or airlock in far enough.