Im new to the hobby and made my first batch of an extract ipa which i finished up around 1am friday. its now 12pm sunday and im not 100% sure my beer is fermenting. I made sure to sanitize everything and to pitch at the correct temp. I used safale us-05 yeast and have it stored at the correct temp. The reason why I am unsure is because there is no activity in the airlock, however I did take a peek inside (I know not the best idea) and there was foam on the top and it smelled like beer. Any thoughts?
Fermenting help.
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meatcleaver
Well-Known Member
36 hours may seem like a long time but its not really. in fact you shouldn't start worrying til after 72.
anyway, you looked. it's foaming, so its fermenting. all is well.
also, don't sweat it if you don't see airlock activity. buckets don't seal up all that tight & often co2 will escape from under the lid.
anyway, you looked. it's foaming, so its fermenting. all is well.
also, don't sweat it if you don't see airlock activity. buckets don't seal up all that tight & often co2 will escape from under the lid.
BrewingTravisty
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I had the same concerns with my first batch of brown ale, after that the next 2 brews I've done I've made a starter and fermentation has started within 12 hours. Like pretty much everyone else, I highly recommend making a starter. And don't worry if it takes a few days to show fermentation, yeast run on their own schedule lol.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
^ This. You don't need a starter with dry yeast.
This is not true. Most people do not make starters for dry yeast, but depending on the og of the brew a starter may very well be needed to pitch the correct amount of yeast. Definitely worth a look at the calculators to determine what's best.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
Yes, to clarify you should always pitch the correct amount of yeast. But it's much easier to get near the correct pitch rate with a packet of dry yeast than with liquid yeast as the viability doesn't drop off as fast. You generally don't need to do a starter to confirm the viability of dry yeast, and there is is a concern that in doing a starter with dry yeast you may be doing more harm than good by using up the cell reserves that dry yeast has when it is manufactured.
Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
Remember this: Airlocks lie!
Ignore the airlock. If you have krausen (foam on the beer) it is fermenting. If it smells like fermenting beer it is fermenting. Use a hydrometer and if the gravity is dropping your beer is fermenting. If it stops dropping fermentation is most likely done.
Airlocks lie. Hydrometers don't.
Cheers and welcome to the addiction!
Cheers!
Thanks for the help everyone but i still have a bit of concern because i checked it again today and there was a very small amount of krausen so little that
i could see the majority of the beer underneath it. I decided I was going to check the gravity (which i mistakenly did not get the original gravity) and it was at 1.010 which is around what the finishing gravity is for my beer. I it possible that I missed the first stage of fermentation or did
i mess something up? It just doesnt make any sense to me that the gravity could be 1.010 after 3 and a half days in the fermenter.
i could see the majority of the beer underneath it. I decided I was going to check the gravity (which i mistakenly did not get the original gravity) and it was at 1.010 which is around what the finishing gravity is for my beer. I it possible that I missed the first stage of fermentation or did
i mess something up? It just doesnt make any sense to me that the gravity could be 1.010 after 3 and a half days in the fermenter.
It sounds right on track. Fermentation generally takes 3-5 days for most ales if the proper amount of yeast is added and the beer fermented at the proper temperature. If it's much warmer, fermentation can actually be done overnight.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
It's definitely possible the bulk of fermentation is finished at 3.5 days, especially if you were fermenting on the warm side. If your hydrometer is calibrated you should be able to trust the reading. If your volumes were on you can pretty much just use the kit OG since this was an extract batch.
edit: oops, Yooper beat me to it
edit: oops, Yooper beat me to it
Thanks, yea maybe I'm just overreacting since it is my first brew. Yes i followed the instructions for the kit and the og was supposed to be 1.064. Im just surprised that I didn't really see any signs of fermentation and now I'm reading 1.010. It also says in the instructions 1-2 weeks in primary and 2-4 weeks in secondary. Is it necessary to ferment for that long if I'm already getting those readings?
Well, to be technical (sort of!), you don't ferment that long. The yeast ferment as long as they ferment, and it's definitely not 2 weeks in primary and 4 weeks in secondary- fermentation is generally done in 5-7 days or so. That's the yeasts' job and it will go on no matter what vessel it is in, or what your plans are. After that, the yeast go through another phase where they are still active, and then when the fermentable sugars are gone they start digesting other material, including their own waste products. That takes a day or two after the fermentation is finished.
Some recipes from beer kits always recommend a schedule like 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in the clearing vessel, not matter what the beer is or if it needs more time in the fermenter.
So, the shorter answer to your actual question is "no".
Then, depending on yeast strain and temperature, the yeast will start to fall out and go dormant. That is when the beer starts clearing. After the beer is clear or clearing, it can be bottled, or it can be aged in a carboy (the 'secondary'). Many people don't use a clearing vessel (the secondary) for a beer with non-complex ingredients or if they aren't adding more ingredients like oak chips or some reason to age it in a carboy instead of bottling it.
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