No More Bubbles...

[perrito]

Hey guys, I brewed my second batch on Saturday ( a nutbrown ale extract with liquid yeast) and after around 24hrs it started to really bubble through the airlock ( 1 bubble every second) and then it shut right off to one every 15 seconds. Thoughts?

 

[MichaelBrock]

Completely normal. Fermentation can be done in 24 hours, or it can take weeks. The only way to know for certain is to take a gravity measurement. However, if I had this happen to me I would not consider it abnormal at all, I would just leave it for a full two weeks then check on it.

Edited to add: of course this assumes nothing has changed with regards to the environment the fermenter is in after that first 24 hours. If it is sitting on your porch and the temperatures suddenly plummeted then you might have a problem.

 

[hogwash]

I second MichaelBrock's post. And especially since a nut brown is fairly low in the OG dept. it can ferment out quickly with one of those english ale yeasts.

 

[beergolf]

Bubbles in the airlock really mean nothing. All it means is that the pressure inside the fermenter is higher than outside. This can be caused by fermentation, air pressure, or a temperature change.

Is this one done yet?

 

[dkennedy]

Bubbles in the airlock really mean nothing. All it means is that the pressure inside the fermenter is higher than outside. This can be caused by fermentation, air pressure, or a temperature change.

Is this one done yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jzT_KTTZ0Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'd give it a few more days

 

[BigFloyd]

Leave it alone for a week and then check the gravity. Four days later check it again. If it's the same, it's done.

 

[burninator]

One bubble every 15 seconds still seems quick enough to me to indicate fermentation may be still taking place.

 

[Homercidal]

Never trust the airlock for fermentation activity. Your airlock can bubble even when there is no fermentation happening. It can stop bubbling when there is fermentation happening.

Measure the gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer and visually inspect the beer.

 

[dkevinb]

I brewed an APA Sunday morning. By Monday morning the airlock was bubbling strongly. By Tuesday morning it had slowed down. By Tuesday afternoon it was blowing krausen out the top of the airlock and I had to install a blow-off tube. What had happened was that I'd noticed the temperature of the fermenter in the swamp cooler had crept up, so I turned a fan on and the temp dropped a couple of degrees, which dropped the pressure inside the fermenter. Fermentation was still going strong. Moral of the story: Airlock bubbles mean almost nothing.

My typical brews stop bubbling after 3-4 days. Sometimes 2 days. Sometimes a week. I let them all sit for 2-3 weeks, then I take the gravity and package. I've never had one not hit FG after 2 weeks, but even if it hit FG after 1 week I'd still leave it alone to let the yeast finish cleaning up the fermentation byproducts.

 

[brewprint]

I have 2 different buckets. One has a rubber seal and the other does not. I get a lot more activity doing the same beers the same way out of the bucket with the rubber seal. I don't believe that the buckets without the seal, seal completely. Again airlock activity means nothing.

 

[hunter_le five]

Another vote for "ignore the airlock, use a hydrometer".

 

[perrito]

All great words of advice, thanks. I'll take a reading in a few days and relax in the mean time. Thanks again

 

[perrito]

So I took a hydrometer reading and i'm a bit confused- it's reading 1.010 with an OG of 1.050. Does this mean that the fermentaion is messed up? I looked in the airlock hole and there's no krauzen. Any thoughts? This is only my second batch...

 

[perrito]

Thinking back- we used a smack pack yeast and I didn't realize that the pack had to sit for a couple hours to expand and we only waited a few minutes ( the bag was about half expanded) maybe the yeast didn't have a chance to do it's thing? just spit-balling.

 

[RM-MN]

Thinking back- we used a smack pack yeast and I didn't realize that the pack had to sit for a couple hours to expand and we only waited a few minutes ( the bag was about half expanded) maybe the yeast didn't have a chance to do it's thing? just spit-balling.

Stop worrying, it won't help a thing. Your hydrometer shows that fermentation happened, the reduction in the reading from 1.050 to 1.010 says that the sugars are mostly gone. Now relax and let the yeast have some time to clean up intermediate products and then to settle out. You can check the gravity again in about a week and if it hasn't changed you beer is ready to bottle.

 

[perrito]

OK will do. Is it at all normal for the fermentation process to complete so quickly? Basically 3-4 days?

 

[hunter_le five]

OK will do. Is it at all normal for the fermentation process to complete so quickly? Basically 3-4 days?

Sure. But I'd let it sit a few more days and then take another reading to be sure. No need to rush things.

Anywhere from 3-14 is not out of the ordinary, depending, on recipe, yeast strain, temp, etc.

 

[RM-MN]

OK will do. Is it at all normal for the fermentation process to complete so quickly? Basically 3-4 days?

Well, yes and no. The bulk of the fermentation where the yeast eats most of the sugars happens pretty fast but the yeast create some intermediate compounds that it can go back and break down if given some time. Since some of these compounds have weird flavors and others make more alcohol, it's a good idea to let the yeast have sufficient time. I prefer at least 3 weeks as the yeast is done and will have mostly settled out so I get less sediment in my bottles.

 

[Homercidal]

OK will do. Is it at all normal for the fermentation process to complete so quickly? Basically 3-4 days?

Normal? Yes and No.

Yeast prefer to ferment at higher temps. They go crazy and make lots of foam and then quickly eat through their supply of food and then move on the last little bits of other things.

However, it's usually not preferred to let them eat so fast. They get sick and create off flavors.

If you fermented at 75 or higher, you may have this issue. In general ale yeast make better yeast at 60-65 (beer temp, not ambient air temp. fermentation can make the beer temp rise 5 degrees or so...)

I know people who ferment in under 7 days but in my experience it takes me longer than that to fully ferment when the temp is low 60s. It has to do with amount of fermentables and the strain of yeast as well. You may have to find the temperature that you like for the yeast and beer style you are brewing.

For example I do not care for the fruitiness that Nottingham has given me when fermenting above 70. So I avoid that combination.