First Brew went well!

[ian]

Hi guys,
I (and a buddy) brewed my first batch on Saturday. Everything seemed and seems to be going well. It is a Belgian White from extract. I have a question though. We finished brewing and poured into the primary about 5:00 PM on Saturday. By Sunday morning it was fermenting nicely with a bubble every second. But, this morning I checked on it (Monday) and its only bubbling about every 8 seconds or so. Is this normal? I expected to see fast bubbling for several days.

Thanks,
Ian

Oh, I've posted some pics of the event if anyone's interested. Click HERE

 

[kenmc]

sounds right - it bubbles really fast for a while and then starts to slow down.... eventually coming to a stop. My latest (Muntons Connoisseur Bock) is almost stopped and should be ready to bottle tonite/tomorrow.
All is well
K

 

[ian]

OK, I feel a little better now. But, is that slow for the second day? I plan to rack to a secondary in a couple of days and then let sit for about another week before bottling. Or should I go solely on the bubble rate?

Ian

 

[kenmc]

well I'm an almost noob to be fair (brew number 4 now), and also I go straight from primary to bottle and let it condition there, so I let it stop bubbling completely.
AFAIK if you're gonna go to a secondary you should leave it a week in the primary, and then when the bubbles in the secondary stop it's off to the bottles with it...

edit: "is it slow for the second day" - probably not - apparently some brews can finish up fermenting in a day or so, others take a lot longer. It depends on the amount of fermentable stuff, the yeast, the temperature of the whole shebang etc etc... Basically as long as there's bubbles coming out of it I'd be happy enuff.
K

 

[ian]

OK, I went home at lunch and checked on the fermentation. Its now doing a bubble about every 20 seconds. Much slower than yesterday.

I guess I'm a little unsure about when to rack to the secondary. Anyone have any recommendations? I thought it'd would bubble pretty heavily for about a week then stop, but at this rate it will slow down to a virtual stop by tomorrow.

 

[El Pistolero]

OK, I went home at lunch and checked on the fermentation. Its now doing a bubble about every 20 seconds. Much slower than yesterday.

I guess I'm a little unsure about when to rack to the secondary. Anyone have any recommendations? I thought it'd would bubble pretty heavily for about a week then stop, but at this rate it will slow down to a virtual stop by tomorrow.

My first batch (brewed on 7/4) went along about the same way yours is...I racked it on day 4. I've heard some here say go to secondary as soon as the krausen has subsided, and heard a lot of others say leave it for a week. I suspect the consensus is that as long as the SG has dropped below 1.020 then you're good to go, tho it certainly won't hurt it to leave it in the primary a few more days either.

 

[ian]

Thanks,
I did not check Original Gravity so I can't use that as a measure. I know I bought a hydrometer, I just couldn't find it in all the excitement!

I'll leave it for a couple more days and then maybe rack on Wed?

 

[ian]

I racked to the secondary on Friday (7/22) and it actually tasted like beer! Even better, it tasted like good beer . Planning on bottling on Sunday the 31st and brewing the second batch, a stout.

I was pretty psyched. Have had no real activity in the secondary but the airlock has risen so I guess its bubbling slightly.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

your on track! you might see activity every once in a while in the secondary, and that's okay. the hard part is letting it carbonate for 2-3 weeks once it's bottled. gets even better about 4-6 weeks!

 

[ian]

Alright! Bottling on Saturday. Got most of the labels off my bottles.

I don't know I'm telling ya'll this, guess I'm pretty excited.

 

[Shmohel]

How you planning on sanitizing your bottles? Dishwasher method? If so, don;t make my mistake. After telling my friend that putting them through the dishwasher was fine, he encouraged me to add a tiny drop of detergent (the kid is a real hypochondriac). So, to appease him I did.

Let's just say half the bottles were flat. O well, last time I will listen to him!

 

[Dude]

Oh, I've posted some pics of the event if anyone's interested. Click HERE

NICE HAT!
Looks like you had fun....makes me want to brew right now!!!!

 

[ian]

We had an awesome time! It got better as the brew went on and we emtied more bottles!

I thought the hat was kind of fitting for the day!

Shmohel, were you saying not to add detergent to the dishwasher? I had planned to. I've got them in a large plastic tub right now in a mixture of water, bleach, and oxyclean. I read earlier that someone was having trouble getting the oxyclean off the bottles, so I hope that won't be a problem.

I planned to put them in the dishwasher tonight, then quarantine them until Saturday when I'll put them in a rinse of one step and water.

I'm now wondering whether to use detergent in the dishwasher or not? I had planned to . . .

 

[Shmohel]

I'm now wondering whether to use detergent in the dishwasher or not? I had planned to . . .

I would suggest putting them in the dishwasher the morning of bottling. No need to do them now and let them sit. And do NOT use detergent. The soap residue will DESTROY your beer's head. NO DETERGENT!

The heat from the dishwasher is plenty enough to sanitize the bottles and kill off any bacteria.

 

[ian]

Yeah, but now I'm a little worried about residue from the oxyclean that I've got them sitting in right now. . .

 

[Dude]

The heat from the dishwasher is plenty enough to sanitize the bottles and kill off any bacteria.

OH-OH.

 

[homebrewer_99]

If you rinse the bleach off of the bottles with some hot water you'll be OK.

As for your carboy on cement...OW!!! One sharp point and it's a goner!

Get a milk crate. I have several layers of cardboard on the bottom of my crates for padding.

 

[ian]

As for your carboy on cement...OW!!! One sharp point and it's a goner!

Wow, that never even occurred to me. I'll have to be a little more careful in the future.

I've got two identical carboys that have survived for over 20 years. My parents used to use them to make wine. They had been in storage and were quite dirty when I asked my Mom if she still had them.

 

[Rhoobarb]

... I've got two identical carboys that have survived for over 20 years. My parents used to use them to make wine. ...

Wow, you lucked out there!