First Batch Questions

[jcounter]

Hey guys first post here from a new member and brewer.

Last weekend I did my first extract brew with a partial boil. Everything went incredibly smooth and my wife and I had a ton of fun, were hooked.

I'm sure this has been on here but I'm noticing tons of activity in my 6.5 big mouth bubbler plastic after 48 hours, definite krausen forming. My question is though are the seals on the bubbler that bad that I would not have any and I mean none activity in my airlock? If I push on the lid a bit the star San moves in the lock but doesn't bubble. Again sorry if this has been asked before, I just want to make sure the ole brew with be good to go. Any body from around the Detroit metro area!?

 

[kylieWylie]

One thing they have taught me is that the fermenter can actually breathe in through the airlock when it gets going. If you have star san in your airlock it could suck it in. Just a technicality. I don't think it really matters. It takes up to 72 hours to see signs of fermentation but you said you saw a krausen. It is fermenting if you saw a healthy krausen. I just had a bucket that didn't seal well enough to make the airlock go and it produced beer. I am a beginner also. Good luck. Plus if you are using a bucket and you take the lid off it could take time to rebuild the pressure.

 

[eadavis80]

I have a Big Mouth Bubbler also, which I prefer to use over my 2 buckets because you can SEE fermentation happening. The seals aren't the best on the Bubblers. I bet if you SUPER TIGHTEN the lid you'll see airlock activity, but it doesn't really matter. If you see the yeasties doing their thing (should look like a lava lamp when you look at the side of the Bubbler) and you see foamy stuff (krausen) on top, then you've got fermentation going. Congrats on your debut batch!

 

[unionrdr]

I definitely have to say it's the cheap seals on those things. Like Cooper's screw cap bottles, they have to be cranked down stupid tight to seal. Reminds me of the Brewer's Best buckets, they had no lid seals & leaked under the higher pressures of initial fermentation.

 

[jcounter]

I definitely see the "lava lamp effect". It looks as though there is a solid krausen forming. Probably best to just leave it be rather than removing the cap, bung and airlock? Also is it possible to put the white part of the bubbler upside down? Either way beer is being made haha.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd say just leave it be for now. At the least, you might have to tighten the lid down more. At the most, you might have to experiment with seals & the like to get a good seal on it. I had to do that with the red/white Italian spigots. I had to use this brown rubber sheet- like something you'd gut inner tube patches from- to make a secondary seal to go on the inside end of those spigots to make it easy to get them sealed properly.

 

[jcounter]

I read online that it is in fact possible to orient the white piece the wrong way causing the seal to not be as good. Do I risk an infection if I removed the cap and check the white part of the bubbler? This would mean removing the. Entire cap, bung and airlock. Would I need to resanitize everything? I like the idea of just leaving it haha. I was planning on leaving it in the primary for 3-4 weeks before bottling. It's a pale ale.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, if you want to check for proper orientation of the parts, you could sanitize some plastic wrap or foil to cover it while you clean & re-sanitize everything before proper re-assembly. Working quickly, & not disturbing the Co2 blanket over the beer should be ok. Otherwise, let it finish, but don't leave it any longer than necessary. Leaving it too long after FG can cause a partial vacuum, or " suck back" that can draw nasties in. A bit of a double-edged sword...

 

[jcounter]

I wonder if it's worth it. I believe the instruction sheet said to ferment for 7-14 days and then bottle. That seemed awfully short to me. It's the Midwest supplies front porch pale ale kit.

 

[flars]

I wonder if it's worth it. I believe the instruction sheet said to ferment for 7-14 days and then bottle. That seemed awfully short to me. It's the Midwest supplies front porch pale ale kit.

I will usually take the first SG reading about day 14. My beers have usually been at final gravity by this time, but the beer is still has suspended yeast and some hop debris. At about 21 days the yeast/trub layer has compacted and the beer is clear and ready for bottling.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, with a proper, healthy yeast pitch that's within 10 degrees of wort temp, kept in the proper range for the yeast, I've seen beers finish in 10 days. But more often as not, the weather & yeasties have other plans. I've had beers take 3.5 weeks to finish & settle out clear or slightly misty on average. Beer is like bbq, it's done when it's done.

 

[jcounter]

Two other questions. I have the bubbler upstairs in tbe dark in a room around 70-72 degrees. Would it be better to move it to the basement where it's around 63-65? Now this one maybe be real dumb but the red cap on the air lock should be on correct?

 

[andy6026]

It's been quite a few batches gone by since I heard the glorious sound of bubbling in the airlock. The seals are often bad. But I wouldn't replace a fermenter on that account. It's rather normal, and as your visual inspection has told you - everything is going tickity-boo.

Instructions that come with kits are notorious poor - often suggesting ferment times that are well under what most homebrewers actually do. Someone once posted on here that their instructions said to bottle it after only 4 days. I hear of very few brewers that ferment for anything less than 10 days, with most giving 2-3 weeks. Many will also to tell you that time itself is never the proper indicator but rather doing 2-3 gravity readings in as many days and if they're the same, then fermentation is done. I don't usually follow that rule any more. Instead I usually give my batches 2-3 weeks and just take one reading when I'm transferring (to secondary or to the keg). One advantage of giving the beer extra time in the fermenter is to allow the yeast to clean up after itself and to settle any adjuncts (such as the yeast and hop debris) to the bottom - giving the beer a clearer and cleaner character.

 

[unionrdr]

With the "S" type airlocks, the red cap should be on. Or the vented milky-clear one on the three piece airlocks. Depending on the yeast used, 63F might be a hair too cool. But 70-72 could be a hair too warm. The ideal temp range for the yeast used will tell that tale.

 

[mongoose33]

I have a Big Mouth Bubbler also, which I prefer to use over my 2 buckets because you can SEE fermentation happening. The seals aren't the best on the Bubblers. I bet if you SUPER TIGHTEN the lid you'll see airlock activity, but it doesn't really matter. If you see the yeasties doing their thing (should look like a lava lamp when you look at the side of the Bubbler) and you see foamy stuff (krausen) on top, then you've got fermentation going. Congrats on your debut batch!

I've got the same system, and the same result, i.e., you have to tighten the blue ring down very well to get the right seal.

I had that issue with the batch I'm fermenting right now--I could see activity but no bubbling. That meant an incomplete seal, either with the ring and lid, or that the stopper/airlock was letting air by. One good "oomph" on the ring and problem solved.

That batch was bubbling like mad--about a bubble a second. "bloop, bloop, bloop!"

 

[jcounter]

The yeast packet had no info on it just as generic as could be. It just said Brewers yeast. I gave the blue ring a twist today and it was firm but no bubbles. The beer has only been in the fermenter since about 2 on Saturday. Maybe my bubbles are coming? I think the basement runs at about a solid 63-64. I can regulate the room it's in now (guest bathroom that as of now no one can use haha and I'd hate to have it that way for 3-4 weeks) between 65-75 easily. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. I'm helicopter parenting my brew.

 

[flars]

The yeast packet had no info on it just as generic as could be. It just said Brewers yeast. I gave the blue ring a twist today and it was firm but no bubbles. The beer has only been in the fermenter since about 2 on Saturday. Maybe my bubbles are coming? I think the basement runs at about a solid 63-64. I can regulate the room it's in now (guest bathroom that as of now no one can use haha and I'd hate to have it that way for 3-4 weeks) between 65-75 easily. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. I'm helicopter parenting my brew.

I suspect this may be Muntons yeast. Having the fermentor in an ambient temperature of 63° to 64°F is more desireable than where the temperature gets into the 70° range. Fewer fruity esters are produced with most yeasts when fermented on the cool side. The fermentation also produces heat. During active fermentation the temperature of the beer will always be above the ambient temperature.

 

[daveMN]

Regarding the BMB seal, @passedpawn has a great thread on a solution to the BMB sealing problem. Essentially, you buy the universal gasket for the BMB and use it with your screw-down lid. Until then, know that your beer is happily fermenting away for the next week or two, bubbles in the airlock or not.

 

[jcounter]

I just saw this on the Midwest website. I'll pick one up for the next batch. I also have the plain ole fermenting bucket as well. I wish Midwest would post something stating there may be sealing issues. Well this is a good learning experiment haha. Well when I get home from work tonight I will check the temp in the basement and move the fermenter down there for rbe remainder of the time carefully and just cross my fingers that the sealing situation will work it self out. I'll order the new bubbler part soon after I communicate with Midwest.

 

[jcounter]

I spoke to Midwest and they assured me it would be a ok. So I'm just going to carefully move it to the basement and ride it out. You'd think BMB would have sorted the issue by now. What do you guys use for a primary fermenter? I might be looking for something better after this batch. I also have a plain ole bucket fermenter too.

 

[unionrdr]

I switched to the 7.9 gallon shorty buckets with sealed lid from Midwest last year or so. It's about the same height as my Cooper's Micro Brew FV. I figured, when I build a fermenter cabinet, the shorter FV's would be better?
In this shot,I was cleaning & rearranging, but you can see the height comparison of the 7.9G Midwest bucket compared to the Micro Brew FV;

 

[jcounter]

That may be the same bucket that I have as well. Maybe going forward I won't monkey with the BMB and just stick with the buckets.

 

[jcounter]

Mines actually the 6.5 gallon from Midwest. The next thing I need is to figure out how to start using a hydrometer. This still perplexes me. I would really like to keep up the brewing hobby. What would you guys reccomend I pick up and gain knowledge on to continue to move forward?

 

[flars]

Mines actually the 6.5 gallon from Midwest. The next thing I need is to figure out how to start using a hydrometer. This still perplexes me. I would really like to keep up the brewing hobby. What would you guys reccomend I pick up and gain knowledge on to continue to move forward?

Link to Palmer's first edition. This is the appendix on using a hydrometer.
http://howtobrew.com/book/appendices/appendix-a/using-hydrometers

Would be worthwhile to buy Palmer's latest addition. Also purchase the latest addition of "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian.

 

[unionrdr]

Definitely get a hydrometer! Northern Brewer sells this blue hard sponge ring dirt cheap that fits one end of the tube the hydrometer comes in to stand it up.
Here's a shot of the hydrometer storage tube with NB's ring on the bottom;

I bought another floating thermometer from Midwest that has the red or black vinyl hanger at the top. It's storage tube only opens at one end & is a bit shorter/wider. I use it for testing now;

 

[jcounter]

Alright, so get a hydrometer and figure out how to use it. Get a few books. Start using the Midwest buckets. I also have a dark star burner I plan to use as well once I get a propane tank. My kettle works just fine for now. Should I shy away from secondary fermenting? I plan to brew a lot of stouts, porters, kolsch, saison, maybe some lagers. Definitely dark and smoky beers.

 

[unionrdr]

None of those beers you listed require a secondary if you don't want to. Unless you have only one primary & wanna make room for brew #2. And reading hydrometers is easy. At 60 or 66F, depending on the exact one, it should float at the 1.000 line (longer line) in water @ that temp. After that, the longer lines read 10, 20, 30, 40,etc. Read as 1.010, 1.020, 1.030, 1.040. The shorter lines in between are read as 2, 4, 6, 8. Or 1.012, 1.014, 1.016, 1.018 & so on. And the newer books on IPA's, Yeast, Water, grains, classic styles & the like are worth the read.

 

[jcounter]

Should I be smelling anything near the fermenter lid?

 

[unionrdr]

Lightly, yes. The airlock not only releases excess Co2, but some aromas as well. There's a lot of airlock huffers on here, so don't be embarrassed...

 

[jcounter]

Unionrdr I posted a second update to this post you may want to check out. Lots of interesting developments since yesterday and they don't appear to be great haha.