First Timer - Fermentation Stopped

[KennyPowers55]

I brewed my first batch on 5/20. The air lock was bubbling pretty good for the first 3-4 days but since has seemed to stop. I opened the bucket and there is no foam. The temperature of the room has been in the low to mid 60's.

Should I just wait it out for the rest of the week and keg as I originally planned to?

 

[dnslater]

Sounds complete but you could get a gravity reading to be sure. No point in rushing it. Does it some good to sit for a couple of weeks after fermentation is complete. I am a big fan of a 3-4 week primary.

 

[beergolf]

The airlock is not a fermentation gauge. All it does is let out excess pressure.

Your brew sounds like it fermented out, but the yeast may still be working. The only way to tell if it is finished is with a couple of gravity readings several days apart. If the gravity is stable then it is done.

Is this one done yet?

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4jzT_KTTZ0Q[/ame]

 

[stuknkrvl]

I let all my beers ferment for at least two weeks before I mess with them at all. I have an idea as to where I expect it to finish (style, desired alcohol content, expected yeast attenuation, BJCP blah blah blah). If it's ready at two weeks I bottle the batch and move on to the next. I've had pretty good results so far.

 

[Nickyssix]

Yea my usually bubble for 2 days and thats it. But the gravity will drop a whole lot more over the following few days. Many of my brews have no airlock activity and still ferment at the same rate. Airlock means nothing except that your bucket is less likely to explode.

 

[RM-MN]

For future reference, this is what you should expect from your yeast. I find that the timeline represented is shorter than what I see but all beer fermentation goes through the same set of processes. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

 

[kurtratliff]

For future reference, this is what you should expect from your yeast. I find that the timeline represented is shorter than what I see but all beer fermentation goes through the same set of processes. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

Thanks for the link! Definitely going to bookmark that one in my browser.