Third 5 gallon batch...no bubbles or krausen

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Glaurung30

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So last sunday I brewed an AK-47 Pale Ale Kit from Norther Brewer. I followed the directions perfectly. Now I never have much activity in my airlock but the last two batches I have had a strong foam at the top. With this one there is no foam at all and I can't see any bubbling really. There is a little but of gunk around the top on the edges but I was just wondering if this sometimes happens and the beer still turns out okay?

I did use something different to clean out my bucket. I used some regular oxyclean and then rinsed it out really well, and then used bleack water on the bucket, but I did this a couple of days before I put the beer in it. I'm hoping this didn't mess anything up.

I guess time will tell.
 
What temperature did you pitch the yeast at? Did you rinse the bucket well after sanitizing with bleach? Bleach is a perfectly good sanitizer as long as your rinse very, very well to avoid off flavors.

I would take a gravity reading and repitch some fresh yeast if the gravity dictates.
 
Even that Cooper's sanitizer crystal stuff smelled like bleach to me when mixed with water. Like bleach,you gotta use a lot of warm water to rinse it off till you can't smell it anymore.
It's better & esier to use starsan wet sanitizer.
My last fermentation was like this. Not one bubble (which doesn't matter much). But I did get about an inch of krausen. Although I did have 5G in a Cooper's 6.5 G fermenter. Lots of head space. Sometimes the yeast just isn't all that vigorous.
 
I pitched the yeast at around 80 degrees, just slightly lower. I did rinse the bucket out a bunch of times with hot water after I put the bleach water. There was no bleach smell after I was done.

The last batch I did for an IPA seemed to be similar. Maybe it's just that I have a 6.5 bucket and it's not sealing perfectly and letting out a lot of CO2
 
Make sure the lid is on all the way around. My BB Ale Pail has no seal in the lid & when there's a lot of co2 pressure,it leaks a bit. I'm thinking of looking at the lhbs for a lid to fit it with a seal.
 
I checked the lid and it was snapped on, but I have a little test that I do. I press down on the center of the lid. The water level in the airlock should usually goes up and the plastic piece rises and hits the top. It didn't do that. When I pressed on the center of the lid I heard a hissing sound coming from the base of the air lock. I think it had just worked itself loose enough that air was leaking out there. There is a nice ring of crust around the top though so I think I will be okay.
 
Make sure the lid is on all the way around. My BB Ale Pail has no seal in the lid & when there's a lot of co2 pressure,it leaks a bit. I'm thinking of looking at the lhbs for a lid to fit it with a seal.

Don't bother. I have a lid with a nice gasket and it leaks worst than the BB ale pails. That bucket hardly ever seals well enough to get airlock activity.
 
Really? So much for that idea. My Cooper's micro brew fermenter has a seal on a screw on lid with clear plastic in the center. The way that one's molded,the seam runs across the seal area. I had to take an exacto knife & trim the lil bit of flash off the top & sides of the sea/threaded area. It seals great now. Can't say that for ther ale pails though. They're kind of hit or miss,depending on the batch or something...
 
So it's been a week and a half. I checked on my beer today and this is what I've got so far. The white specks are new. A good sign?

Funny thing is I had two left over Mr. Beer kits so I put them in their little fermenters. The one is an American Porter and the other the Bavarian one. The porter had so much blow off. I had never seen a Mr Beer kit go that crazy. The Bavarian one is less active. I did jazz them up a little. I put some honey in the Bavarian and for the porter I put some pure maple syrup, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. It smelled amazing.

IMAG3700.jpg
 
Okay cool. Everything smells okay. I have brewed enough to know that smell. I can't really describe it with words but it doesn't smell bad. haha One thing about brewing beer is that I have learned patience and letting things happen on their own.
 
I used a santized wine thief today to get a sample out and it has no off flavors. Tastes like watery flat beer. My last batch was the same way so I left it sit in the fermenter for an extra week. I think someone said "Time heals all brews". Maybe next time I'll use a yeast nutrient.
 
Well I bottled my beer this weekend. I figured I would just follow the directions completely. There were a couple of interesting bubbles on the top that worried me a little like maybe it was infected. I just opened my tester bottle. I always keep one bottle that I try it along the process. It's been carbonating since Saturday. Plenty of carbonation. A little bit of a filmy bubble was at the top and it popped. Tasted perfectly fine though. I've been looking through some "does this look infected" threads and mine didn't look anywhere near as crazy as some of the ones that were.

I'm judging that by taste a lone I will be able to tell if it's infected right? Also if I drink infected beer, what's going to happen? Upset stomach?
 
Brewers Best Ale Pails are by far the best buckets I have used. The lids fit well and snap down easily. Cant say that for most of them. I've even had some that the lids will not go on at all. Never had that issue with Ale Pails.
 
Infected beer is harder to make than most make it seem. If it is infected you will taste it. It will not kill you as nothing that can kill you will live in the alcohol but it will taste bad. So if yours tastes good Im gonna say its not infected.
 
Just an update on this. It's been a little over a week that this AK47 has been in the bottle. I opened a bottle...or two this weekend just to see how it was turning out. Everything is fine. No off flavors. It's a little weak but it's still early in the carbonating process and needs to condition. I have kind of found that I like to let my beer sit for more than 2 weeks in the primary. It seems to come out more flavorful.
 
I checked the lid and it was snapped on, but I have a little test that I do. I press down on the center of the lid. The water level in the airlock should usually goes up and the plastic piece rises and hits the top. It didn't do that. When I pressed on the center of the lid I heard a hissing sound coming from the base of the air lock. I think it had just worked itself loose enough that air was leaking out there. There is a nice ring of crust around the top though so I think I will be okay.

When I have a fear of busting the top and causing pressure to leak through the lid ill take the cap off the airlock attach a 1/2 in hose and let it drain in a pitcher. Do this after pitching and sealing the lid. The yeast will create its co2 atmosphere forcing air out but not letting any in
 
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