First brew

[Cameron13]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying out my first brew and even after reading that I shouldn't get nervous about the fermentation I'm nervous.

Here is what I did following John palmers cincinnati pale ale recipe (slightly modified)

3 lbs. of Pale malt extract syrup.
3 lbs. of Amber dry malt extract.
1 oz of Nugget added at start of boil
2 oz of Cascade added at 30 mins, 45 mins, 55 mins
2 packets Fermentis Safbrew S-33 Dry Ale Yeast

I pitched the yeast ahead of time to make sure it was fine.
boiled 2 gallons of water and added it to the fermentor (pictured below), However i had problems getting it to cool off obviously I didn't think ahead putting it in an insulated container when it was still hot. I measured it at around 90F then I added the wort.

After the wort had finished boiling I allowed it to cool for about 20 minutes temp was about 150F. ( I didn't want to do this but I was trying to cool off the other two gallons of water during that time) I tried to do the cold chilling as fast as possible however it took about an hour I got the wort to about 75 degrees and the added it to extra two gallons of water and added my pitched yeast (about 4 hours after pitching) temp was 85 degrees when I added the yeast. I did all of this thursday night. I haven't seen any bubbles come out of the hose (hose runs into a jar of water with bleach).

Am I okay? is it that the CO2 is leaking out of the container around the edges?

 

[Spartangreen]

"Am I okay? is it that the CO2 is leaking out of the container around the edges?"

Can's see CO2- invisible.
If the top is leaking anywhere you wont see airlock activity.

 

[gandalfiii]

I have a cooler like that and I don't really think the lid creates a completely airtight seal. I may be wrong. You could open up the lid and check for visible signs of fermentation. If you have a layer of foam (krausen) on top then you know that it's fermenting.

 

[Cameron13]

No krausen is present. The lid is dirty as if something was there at one point, is it possible that the krausen has already gone down? there are small flake like things floating on the top almost like a film but it doesn't completely cover the top it is just pieces. I also took the temp its 84 degrees warmer than the air temp (78).

 

[Face Eater]

Seems like a high temp for fermentation. I would assume that the high temp made it ferment out fast. Take a gravity reading and another one in three days. If its stable its done fermenting.

 

[Cameron13]

I agree that it is a high temp do you think it would be a good idea to move the fermentor into a water bath? I'm just not sure how successful that will be since the cooler obviously has insulation. do you think adding a santitized ice pack or ice cubes would be more effective? I'm obviously hesitant to move it.

 

[gandalfiii]

Yes, it's certainly possible that the krausen has already come and gone. Seeing that the wort is warmer than the air could be an indication that active fermentation is happening. That is a little warm for fermenting but I've fermented at temps around there with no real issues.

 

[gandalfiii]

I wouldn't put ice or ice packs directly into the wort. That might be a shock to the yeast. You'd be better off putting it into a tub with some water and maybe some ice in that. That will bring the temp down more gradually and not shock the yeast.