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

[Poincare]

If we have a single-stage beer (i.e., from a kit and don't need to transfer it to a secondary) what is the best way to make sure fermentation is done? Several people say to check the hydrometer but how do I know what the gravity should be at? My original gravity was 1040 and I bottled this at 1.012... bottled after 7 days. How can I be sure it's the right time to bottle??

Much appreciation on any help!

 

[Eves]

Its funny...I've been brewing for months now, have ~10 brews under my belt and am on my 3rd batch of Apfelwine and still its hard not to worry when an airlock is quiet after the first 24 hours. I know I shouldn't worry yet but...

 

[Eves]

If we have a single-stage beer (i.e., from a kit and don't need to transfer it to a secondary) what is the best way to make sure fermentation is done? Several people say to check the hydrometer but how do I know what the gravity should be at? My original gravity was 1040 and I bottled this at 1.012... bottled after 7 days. How can I be sure it's the right time to bottle??

Much appreciation on any help!

A lot of kits give you an idea of what kind of FG you should end up with. If you don't have that then you need some sort of brewing software. You could try Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator. It is not a perfect calculator but its not bad. Just plug in the fermentables and you should see the expected FG.

 

[rtockst]

so I just brewed my second batch last night, and I had a couple of buddies come over to help me out. They haven't brewed at all before and I doubt they have even really looked into it. They seem to drag me into partying alot and unfortunately.... I got pretty smashed last night when we were brewing. I really wish I wouldn't have.... 2nd batch ever and I tried all grain on my stovetop... didn't turn out too bad, ended up with 4.5 gal going into primary at an OG of 1.04.

Anyway, I woke up today and checked it out to see if there was any signs of fermentation. Nothing. And by the time we siphoned, topped off, and pitched the yeast last night I was pretty tipsy. So I really have no idea if I aerated the wort at all before I pitched. I only topped off with about a gallon of water to make 4.5 gal so I didn't add in very much oxygenated water. I was a little worried that I didn't aerate last night so i rocked my bucket back and forth this morning to try to aerate it a little. That was about 9 hours after I pitched. Is it bad that I tried to aerate so long after pitching?

I also wondered how easy it is to get your yeast too cold and freeze or kill them. I had my yeast in my fridge until I used it, and I think it may be too cold in my fridge. A few things were a little frozen. I looked at the yeast and I didn't see any ice or anything, but I know it was cold enough to freeze some things in there. white labs yeast by the way

 

[KingHippo]

about 30hrs in bucket, no bubbles ,I started worring that i didn't aerate good enough, so i decided to give her a good stir(prob bad idea!) there was 1 inch of foam on top,does that mean fermentation was just begining?

 

[LovetheHops]

My friend recently piched White Labs Britiash Ale Yeast that was save from the yeast cake of a previous batch. The volume of liquid with suspended yeast was probably only 4 oz. I have pitched washed yeast before successfully, but with volumes of over 16oz. I suspect that the yeast count was low. So, fermentation did not start in 3 days, so he repitch some additional yeast from the same wash. Fermentation started on day 4 or 5, and we tasted after 1.5 weeks in the primary. The beer tasted like burned rubber. Is this an infection or is this the result of insufficient yeast count? ~Thanks

 

[Yooper]

about 30hrs in bucket, no bubbles ,I started worring that i didn't aerate good enough, so i decided to give her a good stir(prob bad idea!) there was 1 inch of foam on top,does that mean fermentation was just begining?

Krausen is a sign of fermentation, but I couldn't tell you if fermentation was beginning, in the middle, or ending. Once the krausen has fallen, though, you know it's over. Bubbling from the airlock is not a sign of fermentation, since it can be very unreliable, as you've learned!

My friend recently piched White Labs Britiash Ale Yeast that was save from the yeast cake of a previous batch. The volume of liquid with suspended yeast was probably only 4 oz. I have pitched washed yeast before successfully, but with volumes of over 16oz. I suspect that the yeast count was low. So, fermentation did not start in 3 days, so he repitch some additional yeast from the same wash. Fermentation started on day 4 or 5, and we tasted after 1.5 weeks in the primary. The beer tasted like burned rubber. Is this an infection or is this the result of insufficient yeast count? ~Thanks

Probably stressed yeast. It sounds like it, but I can't tell you for sure.

 

[LovetheHops]

Probably stressed yeast. It sounds like it, but I can't tell you for sure.

If it is stressed yeast, will this beer heal itself?

 

[ATL]

just thought I would share my story:

saturday night around 11:00PM I pitched a single vial or white labs yeast into 5 gal of 1.044 OG beer @ 72ish degrees, I had never used white labs yeast before (I usually use wyeast activators and I've used dry yeast a few times). I have never had fermentation take more than 24 hours to be visible, so when my air lock had not started bubbling after 48 hours I started to worry a bit. I read this thread (did not drink a homebrew) and said I would take a gravity reading tonight.

Well tonight, I grabbed my hydrometer, my sanitised wine thief and a homebrew. I headed off to take another reading to see if anything was going on at all. I started taking the blanket off my 6.5gal carboy and what do you know... I have an inch of krausen on top of the liquid (when I last looked at it 10 hours before, there was nothing there at all)

so a note to everyone at 62 hours after pitching your yeast with no signs of life, don't give up yet, and as always RDWHAH

 

[reim0027]

Yeah, I use White Labs yeast. My first batch, I did not do a yeast starter, nor did I oxygenate very well. It took almost 72 hours for the first bubble to come out of the airlock. I was worried as hell, but I though there was nothing I could do but wait. Waiting a few days for it to start was rough (especially for my first batch). That was when I first learned about RDWHAHB (I learned a different saying, but same meaning).

Now, I do a yeast starter and use a drill bit designed for wort oxygenation (so I get very good oxygenation). Fermentation starts in under 24 hours (with the same White Labs liquid yeast) and finishes rapidly.

 

[Casey27]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned in this thread because I did not take the time to read all 17 pages, but let me share an experience I had. 72 hours after pitching my Belgian witbier Wyeast, I knew that fermentation must be happening because I peeked in the bucket and there was a nice thick healthy kraeusen. However not a single bubble yet.

I would bet that most of the time this phenomenon is due to an imperfect seal of the lid. So I sniffed around the edge of the lid, and sure enough, it was easy to smell right where the leak was. So, if you are fermenting in a bucket and worried about no bubbles, the nose knows!

 

[shaundesjardins]

I started a Beer House brand pilsner kit last week and used a Wyeast liquid yeast pack. I stupidly didn't allow the pack to expand for 3+ hours before pitching and it took about 5-6 days for the fermentation to really start. I was sure the yeast wasn't going to start up but sure enough it did. It just took a heck of a long time. My fault. I'll know what to do next time for sure.

 

[gtn80]

Thought I would throw my .02 in here too.

I made my first lager on saturday (a schwarzbier) from a kit from Austin Homebrew. Austin Homebrew instructions said to keep the yeast at 72-74 degrees for at least 24 hours before pitching, and to pitch to a room temperature wort, then wait until fermentation started before cooling.

But I had read in "How To Brew", that this was a bad idea. The book said to cool the yeast to the temp you are going to ferment at, and to pitch the yeast to a wort that is a similar temperature. So I tossed my Wyeast Activator pouch in my keezer at 50F the night before I brewed the beer.

After making my beer I cooled the wort down to 55F, and pitched the yeast. Tossed the bucket in the keezer at 50F.

Now, this is my first lager, I am used to ales starting fermentation within 12 hours. After 24 hours I was worried. After 36 hours I was scouring boards, until I found this one, and calmed down. After 48 hours, the airlock is bubbling away.

This board helped alot, especially on my first lager, thanks guys.

 

[dogfishandi]

i didnt really know where to post this, but it sorta relates to the thread. i brewed a porter on sunday at about 4pm. i believe it began fermenting about 16 hours later, give or take an hour. the temp was about 72, there was a nice layer of foam, bubbles, and a lot of movement going on inside. the problem is, early tuesday morning, i discovered the nice foam and movement in the fermentor had pretty much ceased, as well as the bubbles. i also discovered the temp had dropped from about 72 to 65. im just now trying to bring the temp back up with a space heater. but i cannot keep it on all the time cause i work a lot, so the temp may drop a little bit. right now its about 71, but still no changes have occured. my question, if your yeast falls asleep cause the temp dropped and you warm it back up, gennerally how long should it take to get active again? also, could something else have happened here?
thanx

 

[Ed_]

Hey, just thought I'd take a second to thank everyone who's contributed on this thread. I started my 3rd batch last night (clone of Fuller's London Porter) and for the first time felt like I had really done the full process without any of the small mistakes that everyone seems to make during that first batch or two. So right after the national championship, I pitch my yeast, take my fermenter downstairs, rig up a blow off tube (my first two batches were so active they clogged up my airlock so I figured I'd go ahead and just start of with a blow off tube for the primary), and told the yeasts to do their thing.

So I get up this morning expecting to see my brew bubbling along but instead there isn't the first sign of bubbling and there isn't even enough pressure pushing up on the lid to get a bubble or two out when I press down.

So I leave for the office and while there read through pretty much all the post in this thread. When I finally get home I check again and still no activity. At this point I would like to have RDWHAHB, unfortunately though I didn't have any home brew yet since I'm not scheduled to bottle my first batches until tomorrow. So seeing that I was SOL on that front I started going through a few of the steps I'd read here. First I got a strong light on the bucket to see if I could make out the kraeusen had formed, not seeing any I cracked the lid to check further, again no sign. So I sealed the lid again, gave the bucket a few good shakes and moved a small space heater into the room to bump up the temp a few degrees.

Forty-five minutes later I'm go back down to make sure the heater's working right and as soon as I walk in the door I hear bubbling.

So again, thanks everyone. You definitely saved me a lot of worrying on this batch.

Cheers!

 

[mdemsar]

Hi!

I have done sone homebrewing, but this one is really bugging me. I decided to try out a lager. It's Muntons Premium Lager. I sI went by the recipe, but used sugar instead of DME. Original gravity was 1065. I pitched the yeast (the one included) after rehydrating and making sure it was alright. The temperature was 78 degrees. I placed the fermenter into my basement which is cool enough in this time of year (at least according to advice about making lagers) with its 59 degrees aproximate. After a day, there was no krausen forming. I thought it may be too cold for it (after all, it's a kit and the instruction said it needs to be between 64 and 68 degrees) and moved the fermenter into a room with constant temperature of 72 degrees. Still no action, as far as fermentation is concerned. Any ideas about the cause or is it just because it's a different stile of beer? I am more used to porters, cider etc.

 

[johnnyc]

OK I posted this in the beginner's forum but wanted to hit this thread too.

I just got into homebrewing and am on my 3rd batch. The first 2 were from extract kits and went off w/out a hitch. For xmas I got Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing book and decided to make the Beginner's Brown Ale recipe. Everything went fine during the boil. I pitched the liquid yeast (I think it was a White Labs American Ale) in a large pyrex of boiled and cooled water with a few big tablespoons of extract about 5 hours before time to add it to the cooled wort. I got zero activity, NONE. But I pitched it anyway after aerating the wort and aerated again after pitching the yeast.

24 hrs later zero activity still. Unfortunately I did forget to take the OG but ballpark for the recipe was 1070. So the following day I pitched a pack of dry yeast I had rehydrated in warm water for 1/2 hr. The wort took off w/in hrs. So I thought crisis averted. Well, the recipe calls for me to add 10 oz of maple syrup to the fermenter once the OG drops to 1040.

When I checked it a day later it was 1035 so I dissolved the maple syrup in boiled water, let it cool to 75 and stirred it in. After that fermentation completely stopped. Its been 2 days and the SG hasn't changed and haven't had any activity through the airlock. I swirled the fermenter back and forth gently w/out splashing hoping to get the yeast back into suspension but nothing changed. I also moved it from the cool closet at 65* upstairs to 72ish* w/out change. I moved it back to the closet rather than leave it too hot but now I'm wondering if I should pitch more yeast...

Thx in advance.

 

[kirkpants]

I started a Beer House brand pilsner kit last week and used a Wyeast liquid yeast pack. I stupidly didn't allow the pack to expand for 3+ hours before pitching and it took about 5-6 days for the fermentation to really start. I was sure the yeast wasn't going to start up but sure enough it did. It just took a heck of a long time. My fault. I'll know what to do next time for sure.

Same thing here on underpitching lager, learned my lesson. Its been almost 5 days and I havent seen a whole ton of activity. The airlock is bubbling super slow (1 bubble every 2 minutes), it has a layer of krausen, and i can see a decent amount of small co2 bubbles rising from the bottom, but im still waiting for the thing to go nuts.

 

[gregmedic]

I just made a batch of Red Ale and pitched Wyeast liquid activator pouch. A few days before brewing I popped the nutrient pouch thinking I was going to make a starter, but then I read the pouch and it said no starter need and to directly pitch it into the wort. I immediately put it back into the fridge and brewed about four days later. Fermentation started about 16 hours after pitching, but it has been 6 days now and I haven't gotten the vigorous activity I usually get with my brews. Do you recommend pitching any more yeast or waiting it out and letting it do its thing? Now that I am thinking about it I should probably get a hydrometer reading also to measure fermentation.

 

[Revvy]

I just made a batch of Red Ale and pitched Wyeast liquid activator pouch. A few days before brewing I popped the nutrient pouch thinking I was going to make a starter, but then I read the pouch and it said no starter need and to directly pitch it into the wort. I immediately put it back into the fridge and brewed about four days later. Fermentation started about 16 hours after pitching, but it has been 6 days now and I haven't gotten the vigorous activity I usually get with my brews. Do you recommend pitching any more yeast or waiting it out and letting it do its thing? Now that I am thinking about it I should probably get a hydrometer reading also to measure fermentation.

I reccomend you take a hydro reading instead of looking for vigorous activity...or re-pitching...

You really can't judge fermentation any other way....

Read this...http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Think_evaluation_before_action/

 

[mdemsar]

A little followup. I tested the gravity of my lager on wednesday and it's working. I have no bubbles in my airlock,altough the fermenter is airtight. But the gravity went to 1015 in four days. So airlock activity really is no indicator.

 

[gregmedic]

Thanks Revvy. I got a hydrometer reading and the gravity was 1.014, down from an OG of 1.032 in 6 days. Looks like things are working after all.

 

[hookturn]

I pitched my first batch Sat Jan 24. used Coopers IPA and Bries Sparkling Amber.Followed all sanitization rules, got my yeast working before I pitched it, cooled the wort, pitched the yeast, poured it into my 2 gal of sterile water it my fermetor from about 4 feet up to aerate it. I was told that there was a little edge on the top of the plastic bucket that sometimes keeps it from being air tight, so scraped that off. Put on the lid, filled the airlock 1/2 way with water, set the fermentor where the temp would be about 68-70 and nothing happened. 3 days later I added more yeast, it foamed and bubbled for about 2 hrs, since then nothing, not on bubble in that airlock. Now I forgot to take a reading and will do that today. BUT HOW IS IT possible that I can see no activity for so long? Can it be fermenting and not have a big head on the top and no activity in the airlock?

 

[Orfy]

Most definitely yes.
Lack of air lock activity is not a sign on no fermentation taking place.

 

[Eepa]

Its only been 40 hours and well im getting a tad bit worried i could have botched something. I realize i have a few more hours before i should really be worried (which i greatly appreciate the info Orfy), however i read through some of the other blogs and notice its not a good thing to take more than 12 hours. I did use liquid yeast which now i know usually takes longer but...i duno.

So i was just wondering what are some of the common mistakes which prevent fermentation?

That way i can trace back my steps and see if i messed something up or i just need to be more patient.

PS: Its an IPA that im brewing and i did not use a airlock. Instead i used a blow off tube but forgot to submerge the other end under some sort of sanitary liquid to airlock it. Could this be the culprit? Also I read Revvy’s blog “think EValuate before ACtion” and noticed he mentioned little white fizzy stuff on the beer which ment post krauzen yet still active yeast colonies. However, is fizzy the same as fuzzy? Because that’s what I see. Could it really have been a fast fermentation? And since its only been 40 some hours how long should I wait till I take another hydrometer reading?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx.
-Eepa

 

[STAD]

From the reading I've done on this forum, it's pretty hard to mess up fermentation. Either you have a really slow fermentation, or very rapid. It would have been better to have an airlock (which I thought you were buying, otherwise you could have borrowed one), or put your blow-off in a cup of sanitized water. The bubbles are a good indication that fermentation is taking place. However, the bubbles are not a good indication of whether or not fermentation is complete. The only sure way is to take a hydrometer sample for three days. If the gravity reading has little or no variation, then fermentation is complete. Also, if your liquid yeast was not at room temperature (or at least out of the fridge) for a minimum of three hours, then it could have slow fermentation. There can be many things to botch the homebrew, but I doubt you did anything wrong.

 

[Eves]

After almost a year of brewing, reading these forums, and even posting on the subject of a lack of airlock activity not meaning much I still find it hard not to worry when I near the 72 hour mark with no activity.

Oh well

 

[njnear76]

After almost a year of brewing, reading these forums, and even posting on the subject of a lack of airlock activity not meaning much I still find it hard not to worry when I near the 72 hour mark with no activity.

Oh well

Pitched my yeast Sunday around 6:00pm. Still very little if any airlock activity at 6:00am today Wednesday morning. I did see it bubble once.

Something's going on there, but it is really really slow. I guess 49F is just a tad bit too low for the Nottingham. Might have to warm it up tonight.

 

[ScottyT]

I am glad this sticky is here to reassure me! My first batch was bubbling by the time I woke up the morning after brewing it, but 12 hours into batch #2 there was no activity.

Maybe this new hobby will finally teach me patience!

 

[njnear76]

I am glad this sticky is here to reassure me! My first batch was bubbling by the time I woke up the morning after brewing it, but 12 hours into batch #2 there was no activity.

Maybe this new hobby will finally teach me patience!

Heh. Indeed it will. The cold temperatures have been getting to me lately. All summer long, I had problems getting my beer down to the 60F range. Now I'm struggling to stay above 55F.

I always seem to have some lag (24-36 hours) since I started doing AG last Spring.