I may have killed my first brew

[Nolesy]

G'day Brewers,

Yesterday, I brewed my first beer. I did everything by the book; I even sterilised the whole kitchen. It was all going so well.

Last night, the airlock still wasn't showing any signs of bubbling. I'd been checking it all afternoon. I went to bed a little concerned. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I snuck out of bed to check it. I had dreamed that the bubbling had begun. But it hadn't. Nor had it when I got up this morning.

I was under the impression that if it wasn't bubbling after several hours, something was desperately wrong. I found out a few minutes ago that that isn't necessarily the case. Apparently sometimes they don't bubble, right?

Anyway, I wish I'd known that a few hours earlier because I thought I may not have sealed the fermenter properly. So I unscrewed it and re-screwed it back on. But I'm worried that during the few seconds while I was adjusting the lid, the few seconds when the seal was compromised, that I may have destroyed my inaugural brew.

Please let me know what I should expect. Should I ditch the whole thing and start again, or is there a good chance it will be fine?

Thanks in advance,

N

 

[rewster451]

First off, DON'T ditch it.
Second, I know how you feel. My first brew was done in the basement, directly below my room. We had it up on a block of wood to keep it from the cold cement floor, and one night I woke up thinking I had heard it fall over. Our basement is more of a cellar, i.e. you have to go outside to get into it. I ran out in my boxers and into the basement, and... it was fine.
So is yours.
I don't know what kind of setup you have, (bucket, carboy?) but taking the lid off for a few seconds probably won't hurt anything. Furthermore, sometimes it takes yeast a while to wake up after you pitch it. Did you do a starter? If you still don't see any activity (evidence of krausen, bubbling airlock, reduced gravity, etc.), do a starter and pitch more yeast. Either way, your beer is almost certainly not ruined.

--Rewster

 

[El Pistolero]

Relax and have a brew or four...just give it some time. If you don't have any bubbles or krauzen after 48 hours, then you can start to worry.

 

[homebrewer_99]

First, chill out. I don't think you did anything wrong...yet. Opening your container is nothing to worry about as long as it's for a short period. But you should not have reason to open your container once it's closed until the activity in the airlock has subsided and you are ready to rack (transfer) to the secondary container.

It seems that you did not make a yeast starter. One thing I always recommend is a starter. When you make a starter you know your yeast is good.

Let's start by asking/answering these simple questions:

What type of beer was the recipe for?
What kind of yeast did you use? Liquid or dry?
What temp was the wort when you pitched (added) your yeast?

 

[Beer Snob]

Yes it does sound like you need to relax a bit. I brewed a sweet coffee stout years ago (it was out of ths world for anyone who loves coffee.... wish I could find my old recipes) and it was a REAL SLOW fermentation. It did not start to really go off till about the 3rd day and even then it was slow. But it worked out in the end.

Above all... certainly don't do anything drasitc like toss it. If you don't get any action you are a far cry from tossing it yet... repitching the yeast would be a good next step. You got a lot of good people here for advice. Keep smiling

 

[Beer Snob]

Oh by the way Nolesy If you are overly interested in what is going on inside the bucket.. like I am... I could never not open it... gotta see whats going on. Well what I do is use a 6.5 gal glass carboy Love it and it always seems to give a shock to whoever comes in the room They are like 10 bucks more then a bucket, but will keep your curiosity at bay you know

 

[Nolesy]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the comments. I'm relaxed now...chilled out. I used a dry yeast - the one that came with the can. It's a 'Canadian Blonde' beer. The temperature was about 75 degrees when I pitched the yeast. I didn't use a starter; I've never actually heard the term. It's been 24 hours now and there's still no bubbling. But it seems to be fermenting otherwise: there's a lot of condensation on the lid; there's a lot of sediment on the bottom; and there's stuff forming around the top of the wort.

My biggest concern was that the seal wasn't intact for a period of time. I thought that may have jeopardised the whole thing. Apparently not, eh? Excellent.

Thanks for the advice. It's much appreciated.

N

 

[homebrewer_99]

OK. One thing at a time.

Next time you use dry yeast you should re-hydrate it per the directions on the packet. In general, mix packet with 1 cup of warm water, stir it in and let sit for 15 mins prior to using. It'll dissolve just fine.

Better yet, read up on how to make a starter. You will reduce all this waiting time and be certain your yeast is good as well as making sure you have a good healthy colony of yeast.

The temp wasn't too high. That's good.

The condensation on the lid is a reaction to temp differences. The sediment on the bottom is trub consisting of your hot/cold break proteins, hops and kitchen sink. As for the "stuff forming around the top of the wort" that's called "kreusen" DO NOT OPEN your fermenter at this stage. That's the good stuff. Leave it alone...you're making beer dude!

You were right to be concerned about a sealed lid. But don't worry too much.
If you can see activity in the fermenter and no activity in the airlock then there is a problem that needs correcting.

Fortunately, during fermentation the air inside the container is being displaced (pushed out) by CO2. This will continue during the entire process. Be sure to keep water/vodka inside your airlock to prevent any possibility of something entering your container. If it's filled to the line then it's basically a one-way valve and your brew is safe and secure.

Go relax and have a homebrew!

 

[Nolesy]

Thanks for that. One other thing: When I got up in the middle of the night last night, the temperature of the fermenter had reached about 90 degrees, by virtue of the heating belt I put on it before I went to bed. I figured that was too hot and turned it off. I had it on because our house gets quite cool through the night but I had no idea that belt would heat it up that much.

Will such a high temp impact on things?

How do you stop the belt from heating it up so much?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Usually heat effects the yeast by producing fruitier beer (in wheats), but it really depends on the yeast.

You could put some padding/insulation under the belt to reduce so much of the heat getting to the fermenter. I would look into using some 1x2 boards around the container. Just enough to hold the belt away from the container all the way around without it touching. You could duct tape the boards in a ring around the fermenter, tape then into place and put the belt back on. Also place a thermometer somewhere close so you can measure the temp. If it's still too hot then the belt needs to be further away.

 

[Beer Snob]

Depending on how cold it is as well you might just not want to use it. I mean... we talking 65 degrees here... 40? I wrap my carboy with a big towel or blanket. You could put a heating blanket on the floor and then pile two or three towels on it. Sit the carboy right on top. That would give a nice mellow rise in temp.

What is the best temp for fermentation? I thought it was in the 65 to 75 area... 90 is certainly way too up there.

The White Labs Hefeweizen Ale Yeast I am staring at says... 70 to 75 is what is best for this stran (WLP300).

 

[justbrewit]

you could also get a Electronic Temperature Controller if you wanna go high tech. that way you don't have to worry about it getting above whatever temp you set it at or below what you set it at.

 

[bobbyc]

giving your fermentor a good shake after pitching seems to help, too. i had a pale ale that didn't seem to be bubbling for the first 36 hours or so. a guy we've been brewing with with 15+ years of experience suggested shaking it up for a bit. it was foaming/bubbling like mad within 8 hours of that. foamed right out of the airlock. that was the best beer i've made to date.

 

[Nolesy]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Bobby, it's been about 42 hours and still no bubble, so I just gave it a bloody good shake - I'll let y'all know how that works out.

By the way, the booklet that came with the can recommends a brew temperature of 70 - 80 (21 - 27) degrees.

I might consider making a starter(?) if nothing's happening by tonight. I have another packet of dry yeast here. Can I make a starter out of that? And is it too later after 48 hours to add more yeast?

Also, I took a gravity reading this morning: 1019. I'll check it again tomorrow to see if it's changed.

Thanks again.

 

[rewster451]

Wow, 1.019 is low if it isn't fermenting. I bet you still have a leak in there if you're airlock isn't bubbling. Especially if there's a krausen. I'd just get that lid on there as good as you can and sit back and have a brew.

 

[Nolesy]

Thanks rewster. I might be able to confirm your theory: When I squeeze the sides of the fermenter together, as I have just done, I can hear air escaping around the lid. Does that necessarily mean the seal's not good enough?

 

[rewster451]

Yeah, it does. You should get that sucker in a carboy with an airlock. You'll have to drop about thirty bucks, but so long as you don't drop the carboy and break it, you'll never need to buy another one. Unless you decide to make more than one beer at a time.
Otherwise it sounds like you've got a beer on your hands. You'll want that gravity to drop a bit more, but unless you get it in a carboy or figure out how to seal your fermentor, I would hesitate to leave it in there too long. Don't bottle it now though, or you'll blow up your bottles.

 

[Nolesy]

What should I let the gravity reading get to before I bottle it? Also, it's been in there for almost 48 hours at an average temperature of about 79 degrees: how soon do you think it might be ready? Even a guess. The instructions say about six days.

 

[rewster451]

Do you know what your OG was? I'd guess six days sounds about right. Usually if your OG is 1.035-1.050 you can expect it to get as low as 1.010. When it stops dropping for a few days, you're golden.

 

[Nolesy]

No, I didn't take an OG reading. I will next time. So despite the leaky seal, I'll just let it go and check the G each day. When it gets to about 1010 and stays there, I'll bottle it. Sounds good. Thanks heaps.

 

[rewster451]

Well, it may not get to 1.010, but when it stops, it's good, wherever it is. Also, to minimize contamination, I wouldn't check it every day. Check it in a couple days, see where it's at, and then again in a couple more. When it stops dropping, bottle 'er up.

 

[Nolesy]

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[homebrewer_99]

If the brew is at 1019 then you definitely had fermentation taking place. I'd suspect a leak also.

 

[Beer Snob]

Hey Nolesy, whats the news man.... gonna keep us in suspense all week long? Anything new going on over there with your brew?

 

[Nolesy]

This is where it's at, Michael: It's definitely fermenting. The gravity reading was 1019 on Wednesday, 1016 yesterday, and 1013 today. I think I'm getting close!

But still not a single bubble spotted. I'm pretty sure the problem is the lid of the fermenter is not sealing properly. The gas can escape under the lid and doesn't go through the airlock. I'm going to return the brew kit when I've bottled this one, and get a new fermenter.

I just hope the brew hasn't got contaminated because of the sh*tty seal.

By the way, it's set to be 108 (42 C) degrees here in Melbourne tomorrow. I wish my first brew was ready!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Chances are the CO2 pushed out all the air so you should have no problem with contamination.