New-B question - Opening Fermenting bucket

[skcm2006]

While a batch is in the fermenting bucket - what would be an acceptable number of times I can open the bucket to to check the final gravity?

My current situation is that the batch has been the bucket since Saturday and the air lock is not showing any bubbles for the past 36 hours. I am not sure if I will infect the batch by opening the bucket too many times.... I know everything that come into contact with the bucket must be cleaned and sanitized...

 

[glick]

I'd give it 10 days, check it, wait 3 days, check it again. You can't judge fermentation from airlock activity.

 

[skcm2006]

Ok. I could not stand it any longer - I checked out the gravity ( this beer smells AWESOME) - original gravity was at 1.066 and on the light side.... I just checked it and the gravity was 1.014 ( the paper in the kit stated gravity should be 1.015 - 1.018). I a within gravity and plan on checking tomorrow to see if there is any change. It has been in the fermenting bucket for 8 days as of tomorrow - If the gravity doesn't change should I put it in the secondary or just start bottling it? This is the Best Brew 'Holiday Ale'.

 

[RM-MN]

Ok. I could not stand it any longer - I checked out the gravity ( this beer smells AWESOME) - original gravity was at 1.066 and on the light side.... I just checked it and the gravity was 1.014 ( the paper in the kit stated gravity should be 1.015 - 1.018). I a within gravity and plan on checking tomorrow to see if there is any change. It has been in the fermenting bucket for 8 days as of tomorrow - If the gravity doesn't change should I put it in the secondary or just start bottling it? This is the Best Brew 'Holiday Ale'.

No. Just no. That beer doesn't need to be in a secondary and from experience of brewing one like that it isn't ready to bottle either. Your yeast doesn't make a clean malt sugar to CO2 and alcohol, it goes through different steps as part of the process and creates other chemicals along the way. If you give it time it will break down these chemicals into something more palatable. Put the lid back on and back away from these awesome yeasts that are hard at work and let them have the time they need. Think of another week at least and 2 more wouldn't hurt (except the wait is hard). Then bottle it and be prepared for more wait. This beer contains spices (which make for a nice flavor, I love it) that need time to settle in the bottle because if they haven't settled when you open the first bottle, those spice particles make a nice place for CO2 bubbles to form and your beer will gush out of the bottle when you open it.

 

[rustym]

The hardest thing to learn in brewing is patience!

Let the yeast do their job.

 

[skcm2006]

Ok. I am going to wait although it is hard!

 

[skcm2006]

Now my concern is did I infect the batch by opening it?

 

[jhoneycutt]

Yep, a general rule of thumb for many many many beer styles is three weeks in primary. That's p,entry of time for most yeast strains to do their job fully. Unless you are dry hopping, fruiting, or bulk aging there's no real reason to secondary at all. Not on a homebrewing scale anyways. Then bottle and wait at least another 2.5 weeks.

 

[insanim8er]

There is a 1-2-3 "rule"

1 week primary
2 weeks secondary
3 weeks bottle

Not everyone does secondary, so they will let it rest on the lees in primary. Lees are basically dead yeast. Remember not to let it rest too long on the lees or off flavors are possible. General rule is no more than 45 days. But I'm sure you won't be able to wait that long

And you'll hear this a lot if you don't learn patience - Rdwhahb

Btw, start planning your next brew, so you always have something else to drink while waiting put your next batch. It makes it easier to not rush things.

 

[RM-MN]

Now my concern is did I infect the batch by opening it?

Stop worrying. When you open the fermenter your beer is covered with CO2 which protects the beer from the things that would infect it but which need oxygen. Unless you really tried to get rid of the CO2 blanket, being heavier than air it just stayed there while you took your sample.

The time to worry more is if you would move the beer to secondary as the CO2 blanket would not come with it leaving your beer mostly unprotected. That is why it is recommended to secondary in a vessel (carboy) that is just barely big enough to hold the beer. There will be some CO2 dissolved in the beer that will eventually fill the empty space but it might not happen quick enough to protect the beer.

 

[insanim8er]

Stop worrying. When you open the fermenter your beer is covered with CO2 which protects the beer from the things that would infect it but which need oxygen. Unless you really tried to get rid of the CO2 blanket, being heavier than air it just stayed there while you took your sample.

The time to worry more is if you would move the beer to secondary as the CO2 blanket would not come with it leaving your beer mostly unprotected. That is why it is recommended to secondary in a vessel (carboy) that is just barely big enough to hold the beer. There will be some CO2 dissolved in the beer that will eventually fill the empty space but it might not happen quick enough to protect the beer.

Well to add to this the alcohol in the beer will also keep a lot of contaminants at bay. If you infect your beer once you pitch, it may not be noticed because the yeast out produce the infection again keeping it at bay. An un fermented beer is at more risk than a fully fermented beer. The same goes with a high gravity beer is less prone to infection than a low gravity beer. This is why vodka doesn't go bad.

And reducing the head space in your secondary vessel also help minimize the surface contact of the beer to oxygen. This limits the chances of oxidization/off flavors. I would ferment in a large 6.5 glass carboy with huge head space, but the co2 blanket protects it. Once it's in secondary it's filled to the neck of a 5gal