Is my beer fermenting?

[jmorgan83]

So I made an IPA this past Sunday that has a higher starting gravity than I'm used to (1.076) and I'm not sure if fermentation is working or not. It's in a bucket that seems to be sealed well with a blow off tube. I'm not getting bubbling from the blow off tube and it's been 40 hours. If i move the hose it will blow bubbles. The lid on the bucket is bowing up slightly like it usually does and if i push down on it the blow off tube bubbles. Am I just paranoid and use to seeing a lot of activity or may there be an issue with my fermentation. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.

 

[TyTanium]

Open it and take a look. See foam (krausen)? It's fermenting. Bucket lids are typically less than airtight. What's your temp?

 

[jmorgan83]

Will open it up and take a look over lunch and report back. Thanks!

 

[jmorgan83]

So I opened it up and there is a nice krausen on top. The temp is 65 degrees. So I guess all is well

 

[TyTanium]

Good to hear

 

[jmprdood]

Yeah beer!

Welcome to the board!

Cheers!

 

[Beer-lord]

I like the 'bucket' fermenters because they keep out the light but don't like them because natural curiosity makes you want to know what's going on. No matter how long I've been brewing, it's hard to always follow the RDWHAHB.
But, sometimes you just have to know what's going on in case of stuck fermentation. Especially with big beers.

 

[jmorgan83]

yeah I didnt like having to take the lid off but the confirmation was good. never have taken the lid off before, can anything bad happen from just peaking. Obviously no contamination or aeration happened.

What the heck does RDWHAHB mean?

 

[kh54s10]

If you used sanitary practices you should have no problems. You normally have to remove the lid to take gravity samples later in the process when the chance of infection is actually greater. Everyone does.

You also discovered a sign that you can use to determine your fermentation. If there is pressure in the bucket you probably have good fermentation.

 

[gallowjc]

RDWHAHB = Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew