Fermentation

[Burtlake1985]

So this may be a rookie question, however since i'm new to this I might as well ask. When it comes to the beer fermenting, what kind of bubbling action is suppose to take place in the air lock? Should you see the water moving in the air lock (like boiling water?) or is it more subtle?

Once I put the air lock on and the next day there were hundreds of tiny air bubbles and they have been hanging around since and that was more than a week ago.

Anyone have any pictures of what it should look like?

Cheers

 

[dranderson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bKG84Md2GMk

This should show what it will looks like. Remember, lack of airlock activity does not mean that fermentation isn't happening.

 

[Newsman]

Don't worry about the airlock bubbles. As long as there is activity in the airlock you're fine. One of the most common posts around here is that you should not use airlock activity as a gauge of when your beer is done fermenting. Get a beer/wine thief (or turkey baster from the grocery store) and check your gravity. Once the gravity is the same over three consecutive readings, it's done fermenting. With that being said, it's also a good idea to leave things alone for a week or so after it's done fermenting to allow the yeast to clean up after itself.

 

[dranderson]

Hmm...that link didn't work. Got to the recipe section near the bottom in the main forum and click on cider. Then go to page two and at the very bottom there is a video of edworts apflewein thread. It will show what a very active ferm looks like.

 

[bobeer]

What these guys said ^^^

If the tiny air bubbles you speak of are on the inside of your carboy it's probably just c02 bubbles from fermentation. Sounds like you're fine!

 

[RonPopeil]

it won't look like boiling water. it should be a gurgling noise similar to blowing bubbles in your soda with a straw. at the height of fermentation the bucket will pulse in intervals and sometimes even stay at a constant bubble.

air lock activity isn't a direct indicator of fermentation. the air lock lets you know that CO2 is being produced causing the air pressure in the bucket to increase. without an air lock (and sometimes even with) the bucket lid or carboy bung would blow off.

don't consider this activity as fermentation so much as one part of the fermentation process as yeast go through a process and not all of the steps of the process produce CO2.