How do I know...

[pitt100]

Alright I made my first brew on Saturday morning; EDME Devishly Red Ale and at 24 hours it was bubbling like crazy. It is now 48 hours out and I'm getting 1 bubble every 3 to 4 seconds. Temperature is 68 F. Does this sound ok? I only sprinkled the yeast on top and mixed it in. I didn't make a starter. How do I know whether it has stalled or is fermenting like normal? The smell out of the bubbler was yeasty the first day and more beer-like today. Just a newbie asking the more experienced masses here. Let me know if you need more info. Oh, I took a OG and it seemed a littel low prior to adding the yeast it was 1.033. I hate screwing up!
Thanks,
Pitt

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Sounds good to me...still fermenting, as well. If it were stalled you wouldn't be getting any bubbles. That OG is a bit low...do you have a recipe? How much top-off water did you add, and did you stir it in before taking a gravity reading?

 

[pitt100]

I followed the recipe from my HBS for this one and it said to use 5 3/4 of water. Most everything I read up to brewing said to top off to 5 gallons, so I was over the mark in the end. My wife made me follow the directions instead of doing what I wanted to do! Women! I thought that might have thrown off my OG but wanted to know what everyone else thought. What does it mean for the end result, lower alcohol %? taste and color will be weaker? Not sure? Let me know and thanks. Will let you know how it turns out.
Pitt

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

It would mean a bit lower abv, perhaps dilute the flavors slightly, but really no big deal. However, like I said above, if you didn't stir the whole kit and kaboodle after topping off you got a lower gravity reading than what you actually have because you would have had dense wort on the bottom of the fermenter with mostly water (sg 1.000) on top.

 

[SteveM]

It will be fine. I always go a little over five gallons. Your yield will be lower from leaving behind trub as you siphon.

I would not worry excessively about gravity readings. If you have only a primary fermenter, let it sit there two weeks and go right to bottle. If you have a secondary, rack it after a week. Either way, you will be fine.

Oh - one more thing - no need to stir in your yeast. If you use dry, just sprinkle it on the top of the fermenter and it will do its thing just fine.