Very little fermentation

[nyer]

I brewed a true brew pale ale last Sunday morning. Everything seemed to go ok just like in the past when I used these kits. As of this morning I have very little fermentation going on. It did build up some foam and the temp. jumped a couple of degrees to 70-72. I just not getting any bubbling. Should I pitch more yeast or just let it be?

 

[david_42]

Foam (AKA krausen) = fermentation

Bubbles <> fermentation. Most likely the lid isn't sealed completely.

 

[nyer]

I checked to make sure evrything is sealed up good. I had a blowoff tube on it until this morning and I never saw or heard any bubbling. I put an airlock on it this morning and it did finally raise the plastic cup inside. It's definately doing something, just not like any other batch I have made.

 

[Antifreze]

so will resealing cause the yeast activity to jump back up? I had a blow off and might have the same situation now.

 

[illin8]

No, resealing will just reroute all of the CO2 out through the airlock producing more activity in it than before with the unsealed lid (if you had any activity at all)...just let the yeast do their thing.

 

[IlliniSox4Life]

There are two reasons (As far as I know) for sealing the entire thing up. The first is to prevent contamination, and the second is to prevent oxygen from getting to the beer. Whether or not it is sealed will have no actual effect on the fermentation. However, if it is not sealed properly, the airlock wont be bubbling as much (or at all) because the excess CO2 will be escaping through the area that is not sealed instead of the airlock, and for somebody who uses the airlock as a guide, it will appear as if less fermentation is occurring.

You say that you see krausen, that means that the yeast are fermenting the beer, so you should be fine. Just give it time.


Did you take a hydrometer reading before you pitched the yeast? The only real way to tell if fermentation has completed is with before and after hydrometer readings. Looking at the airlock can be used as a guide, but I wouldn't trust it.

 

[nyer]

I'm definately sealed, it's a carboy and cap. I didn't take a gravity reading, I was in a hurry to finish things up and forgot. All of my iother brews have really bubbled like crazy and the last one went everywhere so I had to use the blowoff tube. This one just doesn't come close to what the others did. I'll sit back and wait it out.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I have been having the same issues the last few months myself. My primaries are pails and despite replacing the little black washer doo hickey numerous times, I have not gotten any bubbling however, if I crack the lid, its foaming like Cujo on a hot summer day.

David 42 said it, if you have foam, its fermenting. Mostly likely, like me, you have a leak somewhere. If you had foam for a couple of days, you should be fine.