First Batch is Underway

[sloosky]

I worked all day yesterday on my first batch. It's a Pale Ale that I got with a starter kit I purchased from WindRiver. This kit is a great deal! The batch has been in the primary now for 20 hours; I'm getting a bubble in the airlock every minute. Is that a decent rate for this stage? I know that fermentation can take anywhere from 24-72 hours to begin. I'm really excited. I just hope I didn't screw it up...

 

[Parker36]

Fermentation has almost certainly started, but don't rely on the airlock to measure how far fermentation is. They are made to release gas from the system while not allowing more in. Do you have a hydrometer?

Good luck on your brews, Pale Ales are always a crowd favorite - even with people more used to Bud Light

 

[sloosky]

I actually just received my hydrometer from ups 5 minutes ago. So I was unable to get the reading at the beginning. What should I do about that?

 

[android]

not much you can do. you can take readings after a week or 10 days until it evens out over the course of a few days to find your FG to know when to rack to secondary, or just leave it in primary a while longer and bottle. or just blow off the readings all together and see how warm it makes you feel when it's ready.

 

[beerfan08]

my first two batches of beer i did not use a hydrometer. first time i was so concernrd about contamination I forgot to get a reading. second batch, I really wasnt sure how to read the thing, so i didnt. both batches turned out fine. If the bubbles from airlock are more than 1 minute apart, should be safe to bottle. this took about 1 week. dont stress.