Bobcat
Member
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2018
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 1
Hey folks!
First I just wanted to say thanks to all the people out there that put time into helping others with their home brewing questions! I've gained a lot of knowledge just from reading the forum posts, but now I have a question that I can't quite find the answer to. (I'm pretty new to all this, and I think that I need to buy a hydrometer to truly solve my question.) But if someone could just give a little bit of reassuring advice, it would be much appreciated!
I'm making a (pathetically) tiny IPA in a 4L carboy. The first 2 days were going similarly to my last Pale Ale... The air lock was bubbling, sediment had gathered near the top with a bit of white froth, and when I leaned in to smell it, it smelled awesome! So I figured it must be going well because it is mimicking my last batch and I was super happy with how that one turned out.
However, since about day 2.5ish, the air lock stopped bubbling and the sediment at the top has disappeared. There hasn't really been too much "barm" (the white frothy stuff?) since then and I was wondering if that's okay? My previous Pale Ale had sediment/barm near the top and was bubbling almost constantly for the full week that I was fermenting it.
I plan to condition this IPA in bottles for 3 weeks with just a bit of sugar. That's what I did for my last Pale Ale and I loved the way it turned out. I'm on day 4 now, and I guess I'm just surprised that it looks so different from the way my Pale Ale looked at day 4. (I like to keep notes of how it looks each day for future reference, but I feel like maybe that's just messing with me at this point! )
Am I just being a "helicopter" parent, or does the fact the air lock stopped bubbling, and there is little to no sediment/barm concern anyone else?
I think I'll buy a hydrometer this week and then I suppose I'll know for certain if it's going fine. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to help me out!
First I just wanted to say thanks to all the people out there that put time into helping others with their home brewing questions! I've gained a lot of knowledge just from reading the forum posts, but now I have a question that I can't quite find the answer to. (I'm pretty new to all this, and I think that I need to buy a hydrometer to truly solve my question.) But if someone could just give a little bit of reassuring advice, it would be much appreciated!
I'm making a (pathetically) tiny IPA in a 4L carboy. The first 2 days were going similarly to my last Pale Ale... The air lock was bubbling, sediment had gathered near the top with a bit of white froth, and when I leaned in to smell it, it smelled awesome! So I figured it must be going well because it is mimicking my last batch and I was super happy with how that one turned out.
However, since about day 2.5ish, the air lock stopped bubbling and the sediment at the top has disappeared. There hasn't really been too much "barm" (the white frothy stuff?) since then and I was wondering if that's okay? My previous Pale Ale had sediment/barm near the top and was bubbling almost constantly for the full week that I was fermenting it.
I plan to condition this IPA in bottles for 3 weeks with just a bit of sugar. That's what I did for my last Pale Ale and I loved the way it turned out. I'm on day 4 now, and I guess I'm just surprised that it looks so different from the way my Pale Ale looked at day 4. (I like to keep notes of how it looks each day for future reference, but I feel like maybe that's just messing with me at this point! )
Am I just being a "helicopter" parent, or does the fact the air lock stopped bubbling, and there is little to no sediment/barm concern anyone else?
I think I'll buy a hydrometer this week and then I suppose I'll know for certain if it's going fine. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to help me out!