First time brewing and I think I ****ed up

[Therealpaulsen]

Ok, so I bought my first kit and thought I should start of with a simple extract set from Mangrove Jacks. Everything went ass planned and I followed the instructions given in the extract set. It’s been over 48 hours and I haven’t seen any action in the stopper.

I didn’t re-hydrate my yeast before pitching it, and I’m afraid that I ruined my first batch..

The set was Rye IPA from Mangrove Jacks if anyone was wondering.

 

[rsquared]

Nope, a lot of people don't rehydrate...that's not an issue. Chances are that you're just fine. I'm guessing you've got this in a bucket that you can't see into? (otherwise you'd be able to see some visible signs of fermentation)

Not having bubbles in the airlock just means there's no gas coming through the airlock. That can be an indication that fermentation hasn't started producing much CO2 yet, but much more often it just means the air is coming out somewhere else. In other words, the lid may not be on completely tight, or it may not quite be an air tight lid to begin with. Neither of which are actually problems.

 

[Therealpaulsen]

Nope, a lot of people don't rehydrate...that's not an issue. Chances are that you're just fine. I'm guessing you've got this in a bucket that you can't see into? (otherwise you'd be able to see some visible signs of fermentation)

Not having bubbles in the airlock just means there's no gas coming through the airlock. That can be an indication that fermentation hasn't started producing much CO2 yet, but much more often it just means the air is coming out somewhere else. In other words, the lid may not be on completely tight, or it may not quite be an air tight lid to begin with. Neither of which are actually problems.

Thank you!! The wort is in a semi-transparent fermentation-bucket, what should I look for?

 

[rsquared]

During the first few days of fermentation, you'll often have a bit of a foamy layer on top of the wort, called a krausen. If you search google for that, you'll find may varied examples of what it looks like.

Sometimes it's quite short (half an inch) but usually at least an inch or two tall. It also will fall away before fermentation is actually done, but will leave a ring on the fermenter. You may be able to see sort of a shadow of this from the outside of the bucket, especially if you shine a flashlight onto the bucket.

This was the best I could find for how that will look from the outside of a bucket. It's much taller than you'll probably have, but the area from the 17 liter up to 25 on this pic is all from the krausen. Title: brewinghome Instagram posts (photos and videos) - Picuki.com

 

[Therealpaulsen]

During the first few days of fermentation, you'll often have a bit of a foamy layer on top of the wort, called a krausen. If you search google for that, you'll find may varied examples of what it looks like.

Sometimes it's quite short (half an inch) but usually at least an inch or two tall. It also will fall away before fermentation is actually done, but will leave a ring on the fermenter. You may be able to see sort of a shadow of this from the outside of the bucket, especially if you shine a flashlight onto the bucket.

This was the best I could find for how that will look from the outside of a bucket. It's much taller than you'll probably have, but the area from the 17 liter up to 25 on this pic is all from the krausen. Title: brewinghome Instagram posts (photos and videos) - Picuki.com

Alright, will be on the lookout! Thanks mate!

 

[Shermwormbrew]

I’ve had this happen too and once I reseated the lid I saw airlock activity.

 

[NGD]

What @rsquared said. Its not uncommon to have a small leak using a brew bucket. Sometimes you just need to reseat the lid, other times the gasket is just shot. Look at a couple photos of yeast rafts and krausen and it will probably look similar to your.
If I have a leaking bucket...sometimes just shining a bright light from the side or top of the bucket will show you if you have krausen buildup on the sides. The only sure way to tell if fermentation took place is a gravity reading.

 

[Moose_MI]

Any idea what temperature the wortwas when you pitched the yeast?

After a couple days I would be expecting to see signs of that Krausen mentioned earlier

 

[jimyoung]

yeah even a small leak will make the airlock look dead. Did you look inside? is it churning, etc?

was it old / unbranded yeast? I'd consider tossing another pack of fresh yeast in.

When I first read I thought you /did/ rehydrate it. In my early days, I rehydrated in too-warm water and killed my yeast

 

[Therealpaulsen]

Ok guys, thank you for a lot of good tips and fast response! To try and reply to all of you..

1. I double checked the lid, and it looks tight, but it might leak somewhere. I can see that there is some gas buildup underneath (the lid is bulging) but no activity in the airlock.

2. I haven’t been able to spot any krausen although I pitched it saturday around 1 pm. (current time being Tuseday, 5 pm.) I added the yeast to the wort after adding the rest of the water to the fermenter (it being an extract kit, I just boiled 3 liters of water and added some bags, then added the rest of the water) so it shouldn’t have been to hot..

3. I tried to open the lid, and I can definitely smell some fermentation, but again, I see no krausen.

The recipie says to add hopps after a week, so I haven’t yet. Would this affect the production of krausen? Or should I mabye call it at this point and start off with a fresh batch?

 

[jimyoung]

if the lid is bulging, under pressure, I'd be worried about the airlock. is it clogged or maybe faulty if it's a new one? Air should leave very freely. The weight of the liquid won't make the lid bulge.

Hops won't impact fermentation really. You add it a little later so that the activity doesn't just off-gas all the wonderful hop smells

 

[devilssoninlaw]

The bucket I got from NB when I first started out didn't have a gasket with the lid and the CO2 would leak from under the lid. It's not a problem but I do enjoy watching those air locks bubbling!!

 

[Mtrhdltd]

I haven’t been able to spot any krausen although I pitched it saturday around 1 pm. (current time being Tuseday, 5 pm.) I added the yeast to the wort after adding the rest of the water to the fermenter (it being an extract kit, I just boiled 3 liters of water and added some bags, then added the rest of the water) so it shouldn’t have been to hot..

Did you take a temp reading? Too hot for yeast is not very hot. Did you aerate your wort prior to pitching? Aerobic stage of yeast life can take some time if not given some help. I usually re- pitch if I don't see activity within 72 hours.

 

[Therealpaulsen]

Did you take a temp reading? Too hot for yeast is not very hot. Did you aerate your wort prior to pitching? Aerobic stage of yeast life can take some time if not given some help. I usually re- pitch if I don't see activity within 72 hours.

No, unfortunately I didn’t have a thermometer at the time, but it was aprox. 25°C (77°F) If that’s to much, I’m guessing I should get some yeast and re-pitch.

 

[Mtrhdltd]

That temp should be fine. Any chance you still have the packet from the yeast? If so is there a date? Maybe yeast was old and not stored properly. Dry yeast is usually pretty hardy though.
Do you have ability to take SG readings? That would tell if fermentation is actually happening. Just some ideas.

 

[Knightshade]

This happened to a good friend of mine a couple of states over. He somehow missed the part where he was supposed to put some type of sanitizing liquid in the airlock. Nothing but air...hence, inability to actually see any bubbles...

I am completely serious...I wanted to reach through my phone and smack him around a bit.

 

[Therealpaulsen]

Ok guys, went to check on my brew and since the lid was still bulging today, I tried pressing gentley down on it and bubbles shot through the airlock. The smell in the room afterwards was surprisingly fruity, and I decided to peak under the lid as well (since I’ve tried looking through the sides of the fermenter and not being able to spot any krausen..) and I was met with this!! (Hoping my pictures actually uploades)

To me, this looks like it’s going the right way! Will definitely check on that airlock once this batch is finished, and make a list off lessons learned!

 

[jimyoung]

Looks good! My guess then is the bulge in the lid isn't from pressure, it's just a warp in the lid.

Now do the most important thing and stop touching it. Leave it alone until it's done!