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

[51dimes]

I made a gallon of brown ale from a starter kit on Thursday. The first day, it was very active, actually blowing off the air lock and spilling over the top. I put some vodka in the airlock and put it back in there, and since then it hasn't done a whole lot. Today I noticed sort of a foam at the bottom of the carboy, which threw me off a bit. I thought that foam (krausen, I guess would be the technical term) started at the top.

Part of me thinks, "everything you've read says be patient and wait" and another part is, "my beer! What's happening to it?"

 

[owentp]

I am having the same problem. I normally see activity within 8-10 hours & then in the morning it is going crazy. I made 2 batches of same beer a day apart. The one from yesterday is bubbling. The first one still nothing but there is a heavy krausen on top. I may have a leaking airlock as I retrofit it with a bung and 90 d barb to hose in water.

Should I be worried? This has only happened one other time but it finally took off after 28-30 hours. It has now been almost 30 hours and nothing.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I made a gallon of brown ale from a starter kit on Thursday. The first day, it was very active, actually blowing off the air lock and spilling over the top. I put some vodka in the airlock and put it back in there, and since then it hasn't done a whole lot. Today I noticed sort of a foam at the bottom of the carboy, which threw me off a bit. I thought that foam (krausen, I guess would be the technical term) started at the top.

Part of me thinks, "everything you've read says be patient and wait" and another part is, "my beer! What's happening to it?"

The bottom? A picture would help, but I'd guess it's a mixture of flocculated yeast and trub settling after primary ferment.

What was the yeast strain?

How much yeast did you pitch for the gallon batch?

What was the wort temp when you inoculated it?

There's nothing you can do about the beer now in regards to these questions, I'm simply curious.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I am having the same problem. I normally see activity within 8-10 hours & then in the morning it is going crazy. I made 2 batches of same beer a day apart. The one from yesterday is bubbling. The first one still nothing but there is a heavy krausen on top. I may have a leaking airlock as I retrofit it with a bung and 90 d barb to hose in water.

Should I be worried? This has only happened one other time but it finally took off after 28-30 hours. It has now been almost 30 hours and nothing.

If there's krausen, it's fermenting. Let it go a week to 10 days from the time you pitched and take a gravity reading. I'd bet it's done in that time frame.

 

[Matt0112]

I am a new brewer and new to the site. My first batch showed signs of fermenting within 18 hours (bubbles in the air lock). I am on my 4th day of fermenting, should I still have signs of bubbles in the air lock?

 

[bleme]

I am a new brewer and new to the site. My first batch showed signs of fermenting within 18 hours (bubbles in the air lock). I am on my 4th day of fermenting, should I still have signs of bubbles in the air lock?

Bubbles are meaningless. Wait 2 more weeks and measure a sample with a hydrometer. Wait 3 more days and measure another sample. If both hydrometer readings are the same and within a couple points of expected Final Gravity, you are safe to bottle.

 

[femme_brewer]

I made my first brew almost 48 hrs ago now. It's a brown ale and I used S-05 as the yeast. During clean up, I realized that the bucket I was using as primary wasn't completely sealed (probably ~45 min). There was a smell similar to that of bread rising so I took that as a good sign at the time. But since sealing it completely, I've seen no bubbles in the airlock. The temperature should have been constant at 73.

How long should I wait before opening it and checking on it? Also, should I be concerned about contamination since it was unsealed?

Thanks!

 

[bleme]

About 1 in 4 of my buckets don't seal well. Your excess CO2 is probably going out a leak instead of your airlock. You can usually tell through the bucket if there is a krausen. You might need a flashlight.

I've never had a problem with a leaky seal, but I usually don't use those buckets in a swamp cooler as I tend to get mold growth under the tshirt and there's no real point in tempting fate.

 

[cavrecon22]

New here as well, have the same issue haha

From all the reading I have been doing, bubbles are not a good sole indicator. I am waiting a week myself to make sure.

The popular options seem to be: Wait, sneak a peek, re-pitch after a few days. I have considered all of them...

So far the best advice I received was: check for yeast or beer aroma, peak for krausen, wait...

best of luck!

 

[BaronVonMclaughlin]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I cant seem to find it - started my first brew on friday night, was bubbling away all day saturday and sunday but it seems to have stopped today (monday), seems to be no activity at all - is that normal?

 

[BaronVonMclaughlin]

actually - just did a bit of reading there and it's answered my question, basically bubbling isnt a good indication of whats going on - cool, was getting worried!

 

[cavrecon22]

I had the same question a few weeks ago when I started my first homebrew.

 

[progmac]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I cant seem to find it - started my first brew on friday night, was bubbling away all day saturday and sunday but it seems to have stopped today (monday), seems to be no activity at all - is that normal?

It's normal. If your seals are all good, the presence of vigorous bubbling means fermenting. It more or less stops bubbling when active fermentation is over. The next step is to give the beer a little time for some of the yeast to drop out of suspension.

 

[kuredood]

This thread kept me going after no real signs of fermentation after 48 hours. This is my first brew (since one kit 16 years ago) and I did a full boil. I have an IC but was not prepared for the wort to take just over 2 hours to cool and I had rehydrated my dry yeast way early.

I thought my yeast had sat out for too long. I thought my airlock wasn't tight enough.

AND THEN TODAY IT WAS GOING OFF LIKE A ROCKET! Full krausen and bubbling every half second. I noticed this at like 68 hours after pitching this am so it was probably active sometime over nite.

Be patient fellow noobs! My 60 min IPA is ALIVE!!

 

[BrewBee74]

I've got my fourth home brew batch (pumpkin recipe I made up) in the primary now. Been in there almost 72 hours now without a single bubble out of airlock the entire time. I've read that the airlock shouldn't be relied upon to gauge if fermentation is happening, so I peeked in through the side of the lid and saw this...

View attachment 146107

It appears that I may have fermentation taking place, but not sure. I used 2 packets of Safale US-05 dry yeast in the 5gal batch, rehydrated it, and pitched it once wort reached ~75degF, and have maintained at ~68degF since. But I forgot to aerate wort and didn't realize it until the 48 hour mark. Would this be causing the lack of bubbles out of airlock? I've checked the lid seal, no leak. I will check the gravity this evening at the 72 hour mark. Any advice on whether I should pitch more yeast if gravity has not changed? Thanks.

 

[progmac]

brewbee74, that attachment isn't coming through for me. can you upload using something like imgur?

i would guess that 2 packs of rehydrated s-05 pitched into 75 degree wort may have already finished fermenting. that's a whole lot of yeast

can you take a gravity reading?

 

[bleme]

I'm curious how you checked the lid seal.

 

[uatuba]

One tip to check your lid seal is to gently press down on your bucket lid. If the lid is sealed, you'll get a bubble or two out of the airlock.

I bought a brand new bucket and it didn't seal properly. My trusty 7 gallon that I bought 9 years ago still seals like a champ.

 

[BrewBee74]

progmac, here's another attempt at including the image. Let me know if it works. It's just not producing the volume of krausen I've experienced with my previous three batches (not to mention the lack of bubbles in airlock). Just took a gravity reading. OG was 1.062, it's now at 1.020, so it's looking promising. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Bleme, I used the method uatuba mentioned. I pressed down on lid, causing a bubble out of the airlock.

 

[bleme]

Every fermentation is different. I've even split a 10 gallon batch into 2 buckets, same yeast, same temperature, and they turned out noticeably different.

 

[Rufus_T_Firefly]

I just searched for the "No fermentation after XX hours, what do I do?" Thread and found this one and several others. As recommended, I pulled a sample after 40 hours with no blowoff and no bubbles in the airlock. I could see activity before I even checked the gravity. It's got a head and plenty of CO2 bubbles.

It even tastes sorta like beer. It's my first brew from a Cooper's English Bitter Ale kit. Assuming it gets better from this point, it won't be half bad when finished. Good to have someplace to get some of the details left out of the books.

 

[saeroner]

Just came in to post that my 4th batch was going on 60 hours in the carboy with NO signs at all. The wort looked like flat iced tea -- no bubbles ay all. I left it alone. Did not open it up and waited like everyone said.

When I got home from work at 70 hours - BOOM! activity.

I was very relieved.

Now i understand the meaning of RDWHAHB

 

[dave8274]

The last 2 batches I've brewed have used US-05. I've started cooling my wort much more before pitching, so I am getting it down to about 64 where I intend to ferment, where before I was pitching as soon as I got the wort in the bucket in the high 70s and letting it cool with the yeast in it.

Anyway, these last 2 batches have taken about 36 - 40 hours to start fermenting. The 1st one, I pitched the yeast dry. The second, I re-hydrated and also used yeast nutrient. No difference. Is the slow starting caused entirely by the cooler wort? Is there anything I can and/or should do to get it started quicker, possibly pitch a little warmer?

The original post says "It is preferable to have a brew start fermenting as soon as possible. If you follow correct and advised procedures then I say most brews see activity in 6 to 18 hours." I'd like to get into the optimal time-frame if possible.

 

[progmac]

dave8274 - define "start fermenting"

if i pitch in the 59-62 range and hold the temp there, lag time is usually 24-36 hours for me with rehydrated yeast and using pure oxygen. this is time until i see bubbles on the surface of the wort. bubbles from the airlock may not happen for another 12 hours.

lag time is less if pitching an active starter. can't say i've noticed a difference in the finished beer.

 

[dave8274]

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

 

[bleme]

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

And the yeast isn't sitting there doing nothing during that 'lag' time. They are consuming oxygen and reproducing. It has nothing to do with your beer being protected or not. They will protect their territory just as aggressively as they do during their anaerobic phase.

 

[progmac]

Thanks. I was defining it as airlock activity. I know airlock activity isn't always the best indicator, but my buckets do have tight seals. Sounds like I have about the same lag time as you do.

i'm incredibly guilty of 'peeking.' i probably open my beer two or three times within the first 36 hours. i like to smell it and check for bubbles on the surface. much as i feel like i can taste the gravity of wort, i feel like i can smell how far along fermentation is.

 

[hopsfan76]

i'm incredibly guilty of 'peeking.' i probably open my beer two or three times within the first 36 hours. i like to smell it and check for bubbles on the surface. much as i feel like i can taste the gravity of wort, i feel like i can smell how far along fermentation is.

good to know im not the only one who needs to peak and take a whiff of my beer.

 

[WoodsonNoles]

Time for me to be a noob:

So I did my first ever brew Monday night in my apartment using the NB deluxe kit (Irish Red Ale). Storing the carboy in my guest bathroom (dark, 76* in my apartment) . The brew went well, the only place I may have faltered is cooling the wort down (ran out of ice), I had it cool but not sure cool enough. Monday night and into Tuesday there was a lot going on in the carboy. Some foam lot of bubbles in the wort, etc. No bubbles up in the airlock though. Each day since has been fewer and fewer activity (bubbles in the wort smaller and less frequently). Now it looks like what is attached. Just some small gatherings of bubbles. I've never had anything going on (bubbling) in the airlock so I am starting to get nervous. I didn't get anything in the kit to take a reading so I'm looking for help (or someone to say everything looks fine give it another week and then move on to the second fermentor dude).

 

[bleme]

It looks fine but your 78F is too high. There will likely be some solvent flavors in there. In the future, pay attention to your yeast's optimum range and try to get it at least 5F below the maximum.