Smaller batch, no airlock bubbling?

[pursuit0fhoppiness]

Hey all, I brewed an oatmeal stout yesterday and transferred to my 6.5 gallon fermenter, and my total volume of wort was about 3.7 gallons. It's been about 18 hours and haven't noticed any bubbling in my airlock yet, is this because with the low volume the krausen has enough room and won't bubble through the airlock?

Thanks guys

 

[str1p3s]

I've stopped expecting my airlock to bubble at all. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't and I don't really know why. I know one of my buckets doesn't have a perfect seal, but other times I've sworn I've had a good seal and it still barely bubbles if at all and it still always ferments and makes beer. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Nokie]

More than likely that's what it is. When I do a 3 1/2 gallon batch in my 5 gallon it'll take up to and sometimes over 24 hours for my airlock to show any activity. If you've got krausem then you're in good shape.

 

[pursuit0fhoppiness]

My bung and lid were still a little wet with StarSan when I went to seal it up I think, cause the bung would keep sliding out a little bit when I pressed it in. So maybe there's a little air escaping around it too. Not enough room to let contaminants in though so I'm not too worried.

 

[kh54s10]

I will repeat the - don't worry about the airlock mantra. It might not bubble at all. Certainly 18 hours is too soon to get worried.

I would think it would take longer to pressurize the larger headspace, though.

I would also ferment it only until you get to FG and a day or 2 to totally finish. The large headspace will make it easier to have oxidation problems.

 

[pursuit0fhoppiness]

More than likely that's what it is. When I do a 3 1/2 gallon batch in my 5 gallon it'll take up to and sometimes over 24 hours for my airlock to show any activity. If you've got krausem then you're in good shape.

Mind you, I use a white plastic bucket so I can't actually see if there's krausen in there or not.. But hopefully I see a little bubbling eventually so I know it's a yeast feast in there..

 

[kh54s10]

Sometime tomorrow, pull the airlock and take a look through the grommet. Then replace the airlock and forget about it for 10 -14 days.

 

[eadavis80]

Take a gravity reading 7 days after brew day. That's what I do as my buckets don't seal properly so my airlocks never bubble, but I've come to learn to trust my process - pitch a lot of yeast + aerate + good ferment temp = happy yeast.