Forgot to take OG reading

[jhudson3030]

Hi, I'm new to the site but so far everything seems very informative. I'm also new to home brewing and feel I've made a rookie mistake. I started my first batch (honey porter extract kit from Midwest Supplies) on Saturday (12/28). As far as I'm concerned everything went well as far as the boil, sanitation, and transfer to primary fermenter (bucket.) Anyway to the point, I did not start my yeast, I just added it dry straight from the packet. I gave it a slight stir and put the lid on and then the air lock. I forgot to take an OG reading. All the way up to today I have not seen any action in the air lock as far as bubbling. I can tell that there is pressure on the water in the air lock. I went to a friend of mine and seen his batches bubbling like crazy and thats when I became concerned. Tuesday I removed the lid and did notice a good amount of foam so that helped me rest at ease somewhat. I just hope the yeast did its job but I have no way to tell since I didnt take an OG reading. Thanks to all who can provide and help!

 

[whoaru99]

If you used all the ingredients in the kit and the correct volume (presumably 5 gallons) went into the fermenter then the OG will be very close if not spot on what the kit (or calculation) says it will be.

So, if you did take a gravity reading now, you could compare it to the OG listed on the kit instruction (assuming the above).

Also, if there are air leaks in the fermenter sealing you may not get much airlock activiity.

 

[Brew-Jay]

Your beer is fine. Sometimes it can take a while before visible fermentation starts. Also, don't worry about forgetting the OG reading. Since it was an extract kit you can be pretty confident that the OG would have been right on the money with what the kit says unless you added too much (or not enough) water. If the kit did not say what OG to expect it can be easily calculated knowing how many lbs of extract you used. Not knowing the OG just means you have to guess at the ABV when it's done. You will still have delicious beer.

 

[Quimby]

First off Welcome and happy brewing!!!
Secondly... yes I use buckets still sometimes when I have to, but I dont trust the airlock activity in a bucket. Sometimes you may get little tiny leaks around the gasket of the lid and it will cause the airlock to not bubble.
I now use keg lube on the gasket on the bucket to get a better seal.
If you popped open the bucket and noticed that you did have activity with a krausen around the edges then you are probably fine.
Forgetting to take an original OG is not that uncommon... and really only affects knowing your ABV at the end.
2 things you can still do.
1. take a reading now and see how close it is supposed to be to your final gravity (referencing from the midwest supplies instruction sheet)
2. then take another reading in 2 days and see if the gravity has changed.
This will tell you if fermentation has completed.

 

[NickTheGreat]

The yeast is probably doing it's job. Bubbles do not necessarily equal fermentation.

If you're curious, you can take some gravity reading days apart to see how it's progressing. Actually once those numbers stabilize, your beer is done.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

If you can see a difference in the height of the water between the two sides you have positive pressure. It doesn't take much for most bucket lids to leak (especially if they don't have a gasket between bucket and lid). As long as it is under pressure 1) yeast are consuming sugar to make the CO2 that produces that pressure and 2) bacteria can't get in.
Relax and let those little burping single celled organisms do their work.

I rarely take an OG anymore. It isn't going to change anything, just make me wonder what I did less than perfect. So aside from tracking efficiency OG doesn't affect me, I'll drink it regardless. But if you're going to enter competitions then it pays to keep track of everything.

 

[jhudson3030]

thanks so much

 

[C-Rider]

I ferment in 2 g paint buckets from HD. No gasket and who cares? The pressure from fermenting CO2 will keep anything from going in and that goes for the airlock seal as well.