No Gravity Reading

[gunsl1nger]

Hiya guys! Newbie here!

Doing my first ever brew of a blonde beer.

I mixed up the the batch with water, but it went so foamy that I couldn't take a gravity reading. I literally lost my hydrometer in the foam for a little while.

Is this now going to be an issue for knowing when it is done, as there isnt a lot of airlock activity. The instructions say 4 days and bottle, but I don't want them to blow.

 

[ThomasPaine]

Ok, sounds like you are doing a no boil recipe. Correct? If you used exactly the right amount of water that the recipe says, than gravity readings aren't needed. Don't bottle after 4 days. Give it 14 days and you should be fine. You should also see airlock activity pick up by day 3

 

[gunsl1nger]

Yeah it was just a kit i bought of canadian blonde.

Awesome thanks for the reply. I read it wrong it actually says 6 days not 4. Does leaving it longer no risk ruining the brew?

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I would wait 14 or even 21 days to bottle unless you don't mind glass bottle bombs

 

[Sammy86]

Yeah it was just a kit i bought of canadian blonde.

Awesome thanks for the reply. I read it wrong it actually says 6 days not 4. Does leaving it longer no risk ruining the brew?

Leaving it longer in the primary fermentor doesn't risk ruining it. A nice "blanket" of CO2 will cover it providing a nice layer of protection before you bottle it. Many Brewers on here will leave their beer in primary for 2, 3 or even 4 weeks before bottling or kegging!

Congrats on the first brew!

 

[ThomasPaine]

It depends on batch size too. A one gallon batch where the yeast takes right off should be good in 6days. But a 5 gallon batch I would leave for at least 2 weeks. Is the airlock more active now?

 

[ncbrewer]

You didn't get an OG reading, but you can still take an FG reading. It's a good idea to check gravity 2 or 3 days before the planned bottling day. Then check it again on bottling day. Gravity should be stable. If it is, you can bottle. If it has dropped since the earlier sample, it's not finished - wait a few days and check again. I rarely find it still fermenting - you can normally plan on bottling on your planned day if you've given it at least 2 weeks.

 

[King_Coaster]

Just wondering if you stuck your hydrometer into the primary to have it lost in the foam...

If so you should really get a test jar to avoid potential impurities getting into your beer. If you do have a test jar just leave it for a few mins and the foam should subside.

 

[ThomasPaine]

Just wondering if you stuck your hydrometer into the primary to have it lost in the foam...

If so you should really get a test jar to avoid potential impurities getting into your beer. If you do have a test jar just leave it for a few mins and the foam should subside.

I hate to disagree, but with a no boil recipe that gets mixed in the bucket you would need to stick something in to get the wort out and into a cylinder and then you would need to dump that test wort or be at even more risk when dumping it back in. That being said, I wouldn't worry about bugs in either circumstance if everything is sanitized.

 

[ncbrewer]

IMO there's no reason to take an OG reading on an extract batch. The recipe amounts (assuming everything was measured correctly) determine OG. Besides possible contamination, there is also an issue with the wort and the top-off water not mixing completely - you can get a sample that's not representative. I stopped taking OG samples several years ago for extract batches.

 

[malt81]

IMO there's no reason to take an OG reading on an extract batch. The recipe amounts (assuming everything was measured correctly) determine OG...

Not sure about that. I don't have so much experiences compared to you guys (5 extract batches and one all grain), but so far I have noticed that using kits (pre-hopped cans, no boil) the OG is every time lower than estimated OG by recipe. Examples: est OG 1.042, actual OG 1.038, or est OG 1.040, actual 1.030 (!). As to the last one I had to add some table sugar to hit est OG.
I'm quite sure I measured all correctly, water and so on...strange

 

[ncbrewer]

There pretty much had to be an incorrect weight or volume, or incomplete mixing of wort and water to be off that much on OG. If top-off water was used, that could easily account for it. With extract, it really is predictable. The calculation is just basic chemistry, which thankfully, somebody has already worked out for us.

 

[gunsl1nger]

Hiya Guys! thanks so much for all of the replies!

Its been 6 days now, Im not seeing any activity in the airlock, although if i slightly press on the lid with the tip of a finger the airlock does move, so there is definitely some gas in there ( I hope )

Im going to leave it 2 weeks like has been suggested, since I don't want bottle bombs! As long as this won't affect the brew!

This is the kit i used if anybody is interested or has used it before. https://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/coopers-canadian-blonde.html

I did put the hydrometer into the wort (sterilized) As i didn't have a test jar, and didn't want to take too much out of the wort and risk contaminating it, i tried to be as careful as possible with it being my first brew!

Thanks again for all of the replies!

 

[gunsl1nger]

Still no activity in the airlock 10 days

 

[Gavin C]

Still no activity in the airlock 10 days

10 days on an ale and it's probably done especially if fermentation got a bit warm.

It sounds from your earlier post that the lid on the bucket or the seal around the airlock (the grommet) has a leak.

No OG taken don't worry about that. I broke my hydrometer right of the bat and didn't take any gravity readings till my third brew. Extract kit, if your volume was right in the fermentor you had the right OG. Not a problem.

When you place the sanitized hydrometer in the beer after taking the lid off what did you see?

Were you able to read the gravity?
Was there a ring of crud around the fermentor like picture below?

A more accurate way to measure gravity is to use a test jar

Krausen

Ring of crud from dissipated krausen. (Sign that fermentation happened)

These are visual clues that fermentation is happening or is finished. With the OG of the beer you are making, assuming you pitched viable yeast, it's in all liklihood done and ready to be bottled/kegged.

That's what I would do if visual signs of completed fermentation were noted.

The other thing that you can do, and one of the benefits to using a test jar for hydrometer readings is to taste the beer.

Is is sweet/dry, is the sample effervessent, is it tasting like beer, is the sample cloudy/clearing/clear.

All useful things for a brewer to be able to assess and add to hard numbers to better make a decision when to package the beer.

 

[JPicasso]

Are you saying you never saw airlock activity, or it's stopped now?

Normally, I"ll see activity starting 1 day after I pitch the yeast through about 3 or 4 days, then it will drop off significantly / stop. I've had batches ferment out overnight and I never caught it bubbling either. You might have a small air leak in lid or near the airlock hole?

Anyways, after airlock activity stops, the yeast are still working, so best to leave them to their work, as suggested.

Here's a basic question: After you mixed and such, you added the packet of yeast to the wort, correct? (Don't want to assume anything if we are troubleshooting)

Anyways, I'm sure it's fine, and congrats on the new brew.