Fermentation Question

[Geremiah]

Hello all, I have brewed my first 5-gal, malt extract beer. It is a simple Cascade Pale Ale.

That aside I had a question on fermentation. The initial fermentation started after about 10 hours and was eventful for about two days, the bubbles slowed down significantly to about 1 every 5 seconds. It's now day 5 of overall fermentation and day 2 in the secondary fermentor.

My question is about how often should I expect a "bubble" out of my airlock? It seems to have slowed down to about one bubble every 30_40 seconds or so. I understand, although slow, yeast should still be active at this point.

 

[DannyD]

Well, the best thing is to forget about the bubbles! and just leave it at that constant temprature for a week or so extra! Why did you use secondery? Bubbles are not a true sign of fermentation, just the by product!

 

[RuffRider]

Your beer is just fine. Don't worry about the bubbles from an airlock. You'll drive yourself batty if you try to count those things. Leave the beer in the fermenter and don't mess with it for another two weeks...minimum.

 

[IFMracin]

Generally speaking, you transferred it way to soon.

You don't want to transfer off your yeast until fermentation is complete, which can not be measured by bubbles, must use a hydrometer to get the same gravity reading a couple days apart.


Not to worry, your beer will probably be fine, may just take a bit longer to finish.
Let it sit for at least a week or two as you have it now, then take a couple readings to see where the beer is at.

 

[agcorry00]

If you are racking based on kit instructions, be aware that they tend to rush you through the process.

 

[HeadyKilowatt]

Generally speaking, you transferred it way to soon.

You don't want to transfer off your yeast until fermentation is complete, which can not be measured by bubbles, must use a hydrometer to get the same gravity reading a couple days apart.


Not to worry, your beer will probably be fine, may just take a bit longer to finish.
Let it sit for at least a week or two as you have it now, then take a couple readings to see where the beer is at.

+1 to that. I never even take the lid off my fermenter for at least a week, and there really isn't any reason to unless you've seen NO airlock activity and there's the possibility that you significantly underpitched or pitched non-viable yeast.

The good news is that you racked "too early-enough" (if that makes sense) that there was probably still a good amount of yeast in suspension and it should fairly quickly re-establish a healthy population and finish off your fermentation. As stated above, just don't touch it for at least another week- and as RuffRider said, two would be better.

Most importantly, don't feel like you've made a dumb mistake or ruined your beer. This is how we learn, and your beer will be fine.

 

[Geremiah]

Thanks for the quick replies, this seems to be a very frequented forum.
My instructions from a LHBS said to move to secondary fermentor if available after the bubbles slow, usually after 2 or 3 days.

If bubbles all but ceased after moving to the secondary fermentor, it should still be fine, correct? Bubbles are not to be considered a direct indication that fermentation is taking place..

So I'm going to let this sit there for several weeks then. It smelled wonderful when moving it to the secondary. Very much like pale ale's I have enjoyed off the shelves. I wouldn't to rush it.

I already ordered a second extract kit, can this next batch be left in the plastic primary bucket for 2 weeks? Is there even a need for secondary fermentation with mild and pale ales? Once again thank you guys, I like the atmosphere of this forum.

 

[tre9er]

A hydrometer is your friend, though. There is no need for secondary fermentation unless you want to dry-hop and are worried about hops sinking into the yeast cake in a primary fermenter and losing some of their off-giving aroma.

Even in those cases you can suspend a hop-bag off the bottom. For ease, primary-only and use a hydrometer to know when fermentation is complete (3 days of constant reading), then let sit another few days at room temp to clean-up, then cold-crash (optional) and rack to keg/bottling bucket.

 

[HeadyKilowatt]

Bubbles are not to be considered a direct indication that fermentation is taking place...

Bubbles in the airlock ARE an indication that fermentation is taking place... but lack of bubbles doesn't mean that fermentation isn't taking place. When it come to really determining whether fermentation is done, trust thou in thine hydrometer, and nought but thine hydrometer.

And ditch those instructions from your LHBS. Sounds like they were written for new brewers who are going to be impatient to try their first brew. 2-3 days is too soon to rack. It will probably be okay to rack that soon, but definitely not ideal- while it may be true that most of your fermentation is often done within that amount of time, a minimum of a week in primary is a good rule of thumb to make sure as many yeasties as possible get their fill of fermentables before you rack and potentially reduce their numbers.

But fear not- you're beer's gonna be fine, and your next one will be even better.

 

[0202]

In the future I'd just pitch and forget it for a week, take a reading and if it is @ your target you are good to go - if you are paranoid wait 2 days and take another reading.

I only use a primary and let it sit 3-4 weeks (could probably do 2-3), and from what I've read you really don't need a secondary unless you are racking over wood or fruit or have a specific need to secondary. Although if you WANT to it isn't going to hurt anything, I like to minimize exposure to oxygen and contaminants (I'm a bit cautious). After pitching I typically open my fermenting vessel twice - once to check my final gravity (maybe again if I suspect it is trickling along still) and then once to rack to my keg or a bottling bucket.

 

[Seanwallner]

Geremiah. Cheers from West of the Mountains. Its a real simple fix. Next time leave it in the primary the whole time. I use 3 weeks total for pretty much everything I brew. So much easier. And like everyone else said dont bother checking gravity till the end of week three. Cheers SW

 

[tre9er]

...dont bother checking gravity till the end of week three. Cheers SW

In terms of "easy", sure. Wait 3 weeks. That doesn't mean beer can't be done (and taste great) in less time. My pales and IPA's generally only spend a little over a week in primary fermentation. Of course, I control ferm temps and check gravity to be sure...but the beers are great, hop aromas are maintained, and no off-flavors.

 

[Rogue14]

+1 on airlock activity. I have hef that has been fermenting for a week and have not seen the airlock bubble once. I know the yeast are working by sniffing the airlock and I can see the krausen as it formed. I will do a gravity reading at the end of the week to see how close I am to my FG.