Is my fermentation progressing right?

[neumann]

Brewed my first lager on Sunday. I've got it in the temperature controlled freezer (I don't want to call it a keezer until there is a keg in there ) at 52 degrees. I was a little nervous after today and not being able to see any bubbling in my air lock. I had a few slip-ups that created most of my paranoia; I didn't make a starter because I was under the impression that dry yeast would have enough cells, I forgot to sanitize the container that I rehydrated my yeast in, and I forgot to bring the yeast starter down to wort temps. But at the same time, I had hope but I had to know for sure. Took the lid off the fermentor and with a (cleaned and sanitized!) turkey baster took a sample for a hydrometer reading. Brew day temperature corrected SG was 1.070 (.004 higher than the SG listed for the kit?) and today's reading was 1.062. Does that sound about right for 48 hours of fermentation?

 

[Evan!]

First you said you didn't make a starter, then you said you forgot to bring the starter down to wort temps. Huh?

Anyway, if it came out higher than the SG listed for the kit, it's entirely possible that you hadn't stirred it up enough and thus got a bogus reading the first go round. If you haven't seen any activity, then, again, it's possible that it's still in growth phase. Just leave it be...see what happens in a week.

 

[neumann]

I forgot to bring the rehydrated yeast down to wort temps, whoops. All the extract seemed well dissolved. Is it possible that I got more extract out of the jug than what the recipe makers had assumed? I also did a late addition so it is possible that my extract wasn't fully dissolved, but I did my best.

 

[double_e5]

Did you do a full or partial boil?

If it was a partial boil, you just didn't get the top off water mixed well with the wort.

 

[neumann]

It was a partial boil but what I did was pour the wort into one (sanitized) bucket with gallon markers on it add the water and then pour into my main fermentor and take my reading from that sample so the top up water should be well mixed. I did it like that for two reasons, the bucket that has gallon markings on the side is my brother-in-law's and he may come looking for it anytime now. Also, it's me ghetto way of aerating the wort.

 

[double_e5]

Even pouring back and forth you may not have gotten it mixed well enough. If you hit the right volume, you will be right on with what the kit says the OG should be. Its nothing to worry about.

 

[Evan!]

in any case, stop stressing, leave it alone. If, after a couple more days, you see no signs of fermentation either by airlock or by looking at the wort itself, then you may want to repitch. Fermentation is obvious, even with lagers, by a good bed of yeast/crud and co2 bubbles cropped all over the surface of the liquid, so if you see a perfectly still surface with no bubbles or krausen, then it's safe to assume h'aint nothin goin on. You don't want to base ANYTHING on airlock activity alone, though, so take a hydro reading to be sure...

 

[neumann]

I know, I know. RDWHAHB. And I am trying not to stress too much. I've got it in a bucket so I can't see if there is a layer of crud at the bottom and the only way I can look at it is by pulling of the lid, which scares me every time I do it. Still no bubbles in the airlock. Although when I pulled of the lid for the hydrometer reading, there was probably 3 inches of foam. Is that krausen?

 

[double_e5]

Yes, now leave it alone.

 

[thedigitale]

I don't know... Maybe you should ask Revvy about the lack of bubbles in the airlock.....

 

[neumann]

Yes, now leave it alone.

Haha. I've only opened it once. But I vow to leave it alone for at least another week. That will be 10 days in primary. Then I will take a hydrometer reading and transfer to secondary if all is right. Hand-to-God.

 

[corvax13]

The foam is indeed krausen, and you beer is fermenting just fine. The reason behind there being no bubbles in the airlock may be because your lid isn't 100% sealed. Don't worry, its probably tiny and there is enough CO2 being produced to stop any bacteria from entering. I would just let it sit for at least a week before opening again - (my most recent batch, a brown ale, showed no signs of fermentation until after about four days...)