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

[Eves]

Just an update to my beer with 3 days of no airlock activity...

I was anxious so I checked the gravity. Its nearly done fermenting. My 11th batch of beer and this is the first one with no airlock activity what so ever. I would have expected more from a wheat beer given all of the stories and pictures of wheat beers requiring blow off tubes. Regardless, its yet another example of how hydrometer readings are your best tool to judge fermentation.

 

[njnear76]

Yup it's chugging away slowly. I took a peak and there is quite a large yeast colony on the prowl. I've been using the foam control drops lately, and it is somewhat fun because you kind of see what's happening.

 

[mackenzi25]

Did a German Dunkel used WL Southern German Lager yeast with exp. date of March 2009(WL 838). Did not use a starter and pitched yeast at 53 degrees with a specific gravity of 1.062. I have nothing at 36 hours and just aggitated and looked into the bucket and zero activity. Would you recommend re-pitching another vial of WL 838 or wait this out? Little worried I had a bad yeast to begin with.

 

[Sandberglar]

Should I be concerned if I forgot to fill the airlock with water? I noticed it after 15hrs and filled it with water then.

 

[CnnmnSchnpps]

So, I've been RDWH[lots of]MB for the last week but now I'm starting to get worried again

This is my first batch - brew day went well but all I had to ferment in was the 5gal better bottle so I got a nice blow off overnight. Hops everywhere. I woke up in the morning cleaned it up and put the airlock back in. Carboy was warm ot the touch so I was worried I might have killed the yeast. There was a very small layer of krausen on top then it disappeared. Took a couple of gravity readings, here they are:

feb 6th (OG): 1.047
feb 9th: 1.027
feb 14th: 1.021

So, it's been 8 days and it's barely at 3.35%abv. It is also really cloudy with tons of hop/grassy flavors (granted that should get taken care of with aging / conditioning).

The bottom of the carboy has two layers of sediment, a dark brown stuff (i'm assuming, normal; and whitish stuff - yeast?)

I plan on leaving it in there for another couple of weeks, but is there anything I can do to help it along? Maybe stir the yeast back into suspension (with proper sanitation and without aerating it)?

Or should I just RD[frickin]WHA[damn]MB?

Thanks!
-D

 

[llazy_llama]

So, I've been RDWH[lots of]MB for the last week but now I'm starting to get worried again

This is my first batch - brew day went well but all I had to ferment in was the 5gal better bottle so I got a nice blow off overnight. Hops everywhere. I woke up in the morning cleaned it up and put the airlock back in. Carboy was warm ot the touch so I was worried I might have killed the yeast. There was a very small layer of krausen on top then it disappeared. Took a couple of gravity readings, here they are:

feb 6th (OG): 1.047
feb 9th: 1.027
feb 14th: 1.021

So, it's been 8 days and it's barely at 3.35%abv. It is also really cloudy with tons of hop/grassy flavors (granted that should get taken care of with aging / conditioning).

The bottom of the carboy has two layers of sediment, a dark brown stuff (i'm assuming, normal; and whitish stuff - yeast?)

I plan on leaving it in there for another couple of weeks, but is there anything I can do to help it along? Maybe stir the yeast back into suspension (with proper sanitation and without aerating it)?

Or should I just RD[frickin]WHA[damn]MB?

Thanks!
-D

Totally normal. I know the temptation to mess with it is high, but just leave it alone. There's no need to stir up the yeast, they are pros and know what they're doing.

 

[CnnmnSchnpps]

Totally normal. I know the temptation to mess with it is high, but just leave it alone. There's no need to stir up the yeast, they are pros and know what they're doing.

Cool, thanks! What do you think I should be shooting for in terms of FG with this recipe?

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.30 lb Muntons Amber LME (18.0 EBC) Extract 51.97 %
2.50 lb Muntons Dark LME (55.0 EBC) Extract 39.37 %
0.55 lb Muntons Light LME (10.0 EBC) Extract 8.66 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.90 %] (60 min) Hops 15.7 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.80 %] (30 min) Hops 11.8 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.80 %] (15 min) Hops 7.6 IBU

 

[Orfy]

probably 1008 - 1010

 

[ScottSA]

I checked on mine today and it should be lower...
2/14/9 OG: 1.086
2/18/9 it is at 1.030

the recipie calls for it to be at 1.070 OG and end up at 1.014-1.018. I gave it a stir and will let it sit for a couple more days, but there is no more lock activity. Think this one is done?

 

[Eves]

I checked on mine today and it should be lower...
2/14/9 OG: 1.086
2/18/9 it is at 1.030

the recipie calls for it to be at 1.070 OG and end up at 1.014-1.018. I gave it a stir and will let it sit for a couple more days, but there is no more lock activity. Think this one is done?

After 4 days a lot of beers aren't done fermenting. That is especially true of the higher gravity beers. Give your beer 7-10 days before thinking about it being done. And even then there is the whole thing about letting the yeast clean up after themselves...as in 3+ total weeks in the primary before it is truly done.

High gravity beer + FG not reached yet + only 4 days in the primary = most definitely not done.

 

[haris]

I know I shouldn't be worrying, but I just want to double check with you guys.

I'm brewing my 3rd batch and it's kind of worrying me. The first problem started with pitching the yeast. As I was measuring the temperature while cooling my thermometer slipped out of my hands and broke. The last time I measured, it was about 88 degrees. I waited a bit longer to pitch the yeast and it looked as if it cooled a bit.

I only noticed fermentation for a day and it wasn't as fierce as the previous batches. It's been in primary for a month and the gravity reading is 1.010 (which is what it should be).

The only thing that is bothering me is that the beer has a strong smell, not as if it stinks, but when i take a sniff I can really, really smell the alcohol.

Is everything OK, or should I be worried about anything? I want to put it into secondary any time now and just want to make sure that it's not ruined.

Thanks in advance for help, and sorry for the long post.

 

[smizak]

What was your OG?
If your ABV is high enough, you can detect alcohol in the aroma.

What temp was the fermentation done at?
If the yeast fermented at high (>70-75F), higher order alcohols can be produced, which tend to be more pronounced in the aroma than ethanol.

 

[jg12333]

So i brewed my first brew; a Brewers Best Weisenbier, about 3 days ago and i dont want to sound like a noob. but ill say it anyway after 3 days no bubbleing in the airlock i took the lid off ecpecting to see a layer of foam i only saw little spots of foam, so i took another SG reading and boom same reading as the first day. and it worrys me after 3 days because im pretty sure i started my yeast in about 90 degree water and im begining to believe that i might have killed it from the begining.

 

[Lazlo_Hollyfeld]

well, we're waiting a bit impatiently for our second batch to get going. it will be 48 hours in about an hour. planning on waiting another full 24 hours then taking a SG measurement. not easy waiting. tick...tock...tick...tock

 

[tridean]

Hi Guys,
I have started my first home brew beer, with a brand new home brew beer kit.

The OG was 1042 when I first added yeast, and the temp was 28C.

I noticed that although I had the lid on nice and tight, there was no bubbling in the airlock, but coming to this forum, I didn't worry about it.

A day later and still no bubbles, but what I did notice was that if I put my nose to the underside of the lid,I could smell the brew, so I was assuming that there was a slight air leak. This was a little disappointing considering it is brand new and was on pretty tight (I did make sure it was on properly!)

Three days later, there was still no bubbling, and this time, the smell was very weak compared to before when putting my nose to the lid. I took a gravity reading and it is where it is supposed to be for this brew, at 1008.

So based on this, and the fact that although I didn't see bubbles in the air lock, there is some serious condensation underneath the lid, that it is near ready for bottling. I also assume that maybe because the kit is new,the seal may need some sort of lubricant. Is there anything people can suggest as a good lubricant to wipe on the o-ring seal?

Cheers
Dean

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Vasiline or silcone lubricant would probably work.

 

[jeanguyd]

Hi there,

New to beer making and I just made my beer kit last night (Black Rock, Nut Brown Ale) and put it in the pail with yeast and all at proper temp and now how do I tell if it's bubbling without opening the lid? I know they say not to open the lid. My gravity reading was 1040 by the way.

I read that it should start to bubble 6-12 hours later.

My current temp at this time is 24 degrees. It was 19 when I put the yeast in.

Could someone help me out?

Thank you.

 

[llazy_llama]

Hi there,

New to beer making and I just made my beer kit last night (Black Rock, Nut Brown Ale) and put it in the pail with yeast and all at proper temp and now how do I tell if it's bubbling without opening the lid? I know they say not to open the lid. My gravity reading was 1040 by the way.

I read that it should start to bubble 6-12 hours later.

My current temp at this time is 24 degrees. It was 19 when I put the yeast in.

Could someone help me out?

Thank you.

You wait. As the title of this thread should have told you, fermentation can take 24 to 72 hours to show visible signs. That's not just a catchy title, it's the truth.

 

[Revvy]

I wish Orfy had left the original title of this thread alone...I think the "visiable signs" of fermentation line is once again confusing to some of you..Even though he says repeatedly the Airlock Bubbling or lack of is not a good indication of activity...

People keep going with bubbling airlocks as a sign and worry if they don't see bubbling.....

And if you look around the forums you might think there is an epidemic of stuck fermentations...when in reality it is simply an epidemic of not bubbling airlocks...once the new brewer takes a hydro reading he/she is surprised to find that they worried for nothing...Becasue fermentation did occur, despite the lack of bubbling.

I'm sure I've posted this in here before...and many of us say it over and over and over...so here I go again...

You should never rely on the bubbling or lack of on a cheap plastic airlock as a "fermentation Gauge," it's not...It's an airlock, nothing more, a VALVE to release excess CO2, to keep from blowing the lid off the fermentor...

If it's not bubbling that just means that there's not enough CO2 to climb out of the airlock, or the CO2 is just forming a nice cushion on top of the beer like it's supposed to, or the airlock is askew, or it is leaking out the cheap rubber grommet, or you have a leak in the bucket seal, or around the carboy grommet...all those are fine...if CO2 is getting out then nothing's getting in....

Over half of my beers have had no airlock activity...AND that is spread out among carboys, buckets. water bottles, and anything else I may ferment in, and regardless of the type of airlock...I have 9 different fermenters...

That's why I and many others say repeatedly that the only gauge of fermentaion is your hydrometer (or refractometer) . Those are precision calibrated instruments...

More than likely your fermentation is going nicely at it's own pace but for a dozen possible reasons your airlock isn't bubbling...simple as that. Get out of the habit of thinking it is a precision instrument and you will find you are less worried...The only precise methid of gauging fermentation is taking gravity readings.

Back in the bad old days, the predominant airlock was an s type...and often they were made of glass and sat relatively heavy in the grommet, and that's where people like papazain and those who influenced him got into the habit of counting bubbles...but now adays with 3 piecers being the norm, and most things being made crappy these days...it's just not a reliable means anymore.


The trouble is, that even the authors for the most part have been brewing so long that they don't pay attention to the airlock, yet the perpetuate the myth from the old days of bubbles meaning anything....though I figure, as a writer myself, they have long moved past the basic methodology that they wrote about...it's easy to do...to "preach" something very basic, while doing a process somewhat more complex...or like most of us who have been brewing awhile, taking shortcuts.

Co2 is heavier than air...there can be plenty of co2 going on, plenty of active fermentation happenning but there is not enough excess co2 rising or venting out to actually lift the plastic bubbler

The 3 piece airlock is the most fallable of them all, often there is simply not a strong enough escape of co2 to lift the bubbler. Or they can be weighted down with co2 bubbles, ir hteir is a leak in the grommet or the bucket seal, anynumber of factors.

If you push down on your bucket lid often you will suddenly get a huge amount of bubbling as you off gass the co2 that is there present but no needing to vent on it's own.

I find that the older S type airlocks, even plastic are much more reliable...in face I have started to use those old school ones exclusively. Not to use them as a gauge of fermentation...but because I like to watch the bubbles..

But even those don't always bubble..BUT you can tell theres CO2 pushing out because the liquid will be on the farthest side away from the grommet or bung hole.


Even not bubbling. you can see that something has pushed the water to the other side...

There's quite a few people on here who do not use an airlock at all, they simply loosely place their lids on the bucket, or cover with saran wrap, or tinfoil or pieces of plexigalss, these just sit on the top and if the CO2 needs to void out it doess...Because as I said before if the co2 is pushing out, then NOTHING is getting in.

If you look around on here at all the supposed "stuck" fermentation panic thread are not true Stuck fermentations, or deads yeasts, but are simply people like you using treating the vent like some precision instrument...And they, just like you use the words "Signs of fermentation." And that is our clue that you are going by arilocks.

And 90% or more come back and say they took a hydro reading...and everything was fine...

Rarely do yeasts these days get stuck...this isn't like the 70's when there was one or two strains of yeast, and they came from Europe in dried out cakes, and nowadays with our hobby so popular, even most tinned kits with the yeast under the lid turn over so fast that they are relatively fresh most of the time.

So nowadays the only way our yeast "dies" or poops out is 1)If we pitch it into boiling wort 2) There is a big temp drop and the yeasts go dormant and flocculate out, or 3) if there is a high grav wort and the yeast maxes out in it's ability to eat all the sugar...and even then the yeast may poop out at either 1.030 or 1.020...But other than that most fermentations take....

AND this is regardless of any airlock bubbling...

Seriously, many of us pitch our yeast, walk away for a month and then bottle, and our beers have turned out great...The yeasts have been doing this for 5,000 years...they know what they're doing,

Hope this helps!

You will find you are much more relaxed and able to RDWHAHB...if you ignore the airlock...

and read this as well...http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Think_evaluation_before_action/

 

[jeanguyd]

Now how will I be able to tell if it's fermenting in my pail without removing the cover? Removing the cover is bad isn't it?

 

[llazy_llama]

Now how will I be able to tell if it's fermenting in my pail without removing the cover? Removing the cover is bad isn't it?

You just have to trust that the yeast, with their 5000+ years of experience, are doing their job.

They are. Leave them be.

 

[Revvy]

Now how will I be able to tell if it's fermenting in my pail without removing the cover? Removing the cover is bad isn't it?

There's no danger of opening your bucket unless you have birds pooping overhead...The co2 is providing a cushion to protect your beer...

But you don't need to do anything for at least a week, then you can take a hydrometer reading....

Like I said above...

Rarely do yeasts these days get stuck...this isn't like the 70's when there was one or two strains of yeast, and they came from Europe in dried out cakes, and nowadays with our hobby so popular, even most tinned kits with the yeast under the lid turn over so fast that they are relatively fresh most of the time.

So nowadays the only way our yeast "dies" or poops out is 1)If we pitch it into boiling wort 2) There is a big temp drop and the yeasts go dormant and flocculate out, or 3) if there is a high grav wort and the yeast maxes out in it's ability to eat all the sugar...and even then the yeast may poop out at either 1.030 or 1.020...But other than that most fermentations take....

There really is no need to worry...the yeasties have been making beer for over 5,000 years and they are pros at this stuff....

 

[reim0027]

At some point, you should remove the cover to check the SG. That will tell you if it is fermenting. Removing the cover is not the end of the world. You risk oxidation. This is a minimal risk because of the protective layer of CO2 (which is heavier than O2). You also risk infection. This is also minimal if you follow sanitary procedures. I sanitize the lid, where it connects to the fermentor before i take it off (spray bottle of Star San works well). Then, I tip my lid upside down and spray more sanitizer on it (on the underside - the side that contacts the bucket and is exposed to the beer). I quickly collect my sample. Then, replace my lid and resanitize.

As far as when and how often to check the SG, I have my times, but, I'll defer to the experts to give you better advice.

Again, check my sig - I am a noob with a basic understanding of how things work.

 

[jeanguyd]

And my last question, when I take my sample in a week, do I dump out the sample or dump it back in the pail? Does it make a difference?

 

[reim0027]

Drink it. Most people here tell me not to put it back in. You are only taking a few ounces to sample. It is not worth introducing infection to put it back in the fermentor.

Drinking it also allows you to appreciate the changes in your beer as it ferments.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Drink it. Most people here tell me not to put it back in. You are only taking a few ounces to sample. It is not worth introducing infection to put it back in the fermenter.

Drinking it also allows you to appreciate the changes in your beer as it ferments.

Yes, and on 3 day old beer it's also a right of passage/initiation/hazing!

 

[Oaky]

Ok. Here my new and (not) improved situation.

Starting with a batch of Alexanders wheat 4lb LME, added 3 pd DME.
Followed good procedures. pitched yeast at 70 degrees on the noggin.
Used Danstar Munich - classic wheat beer yeast

SG at 1.06.

Did this on Wednesday round 11PM.

No activity on saturdat 11:00AM.

My furnace is on the fritz so I suspect temperature is the culprit. temp = 14c or round 60 degrees in the liquid. The yeast didn't do the usual bubbles and all - which is weird but i havent done beer yeast in a while.. so i forget what to expect.

I took a hydro reading which came in right around 1.057 - probably same as original - more settled now.

So - I'm not getting activity.
I'm warming up the wort again (space heater in smaller room.)

I have nottingham on deck from another batch.. It's in liquid form, but was in the fridge. How can I tell if the yeast is active?

What behavior should i expect from this yeast? should it bubble?
I know that munich doesn't flocculate much and i think its a top yeast... whereas i think nottingham is bottom.

i don't want to repitch and be in the same conundrum.

any ideas?

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

If your hydro readings don't show a drop then temp is likely the culprit. 14c is a bit low for most yeasts, though I have used Nottingham at that temp to make a real clean tasting lager like ale.

 

[Oaky]

If your hydro readiongs don;t show a drop then temp is likely the culprit. 14c is a bit low for most yeasts, though I have used nottingham at that temp to make a real clean tasting lager like ale.

thanks D.
I actually went out and bought some wlp400 liquid.. to see if i can get that strain started. creating a hot room - at 70 - perfect for the 67-74 indicated by white labs...
starting a bit of yeast in some very aereated wort.. we'll see if it goes.

i also have some nottingham from a buddy... so few backups...

 

[Revvy]

Ok. Here my new and (not) improved situation.

Starting with a batch of Alexanders wheat 4lb LME, added 3 pd DME.
Followed good procedures. pitched yeast at 70 degrees on the noggin.
Used Danstar Munich - classic wheat beer yeast

SG at 1.06.

Did this on Wednesday round 11PM.

No activity on saturdat 11:00AM.

My furnace is on the fritz so I suspect temperature is the culprit. temp = 14c or round 60 degrees in the liquid. The yeast didn't do the usual bubbles and all - which is weird but i havent done beer yeast in a while.. so i forget what to expect.

I took a hydro reading which came in right around 1.057 - probably same as original - more settled now.

So - I'm not getting activity.
I'm warming up the wort again (space heater in smaller room.)

I have nottingham on deck from another batch.. It's in liquid form, but was in the fridge. How can I tell if the yeast is active?

What behavior should i expect from this yeast? should it bubble?
I know that munich doesn't flocculate much and i think its a top yeast... whereas i think nottingham is bottom.

i don't want to repitch and be in the same conundrum.

any ideas?

For the 10,000th time...what is YOUR definition of activity???? Bubbling???? we sayt over and over and over and over..Bubbling doesn't mean ****.....Hydrometer readings are the only thing that matters.........