what should I see...

[jjphillybrew]

This is my 2nd batch overall and this time I decided to use my carboy instead of my plastic bucket. Having said that I've never watched the fermentation process. I pitched the yeast around 18 hours ago, and it is bubbling about every second now.

Just wondering what I "should" observe over the next few weeks.

Thanx!

 

[BendBrewer]

That foam or krausen to grow a bit more then start to fall. Then your beer will slowly clear and you'll notice a clear line that slowly, over a week or so will travel down to the bottom of the carboy. If you wait long enough that is.

 

[Seven]

You may observe the krausen coming up and out of the airlock since it seems you don't have a lot of headspace in that carboy... although it's kinda hard to tell from the photos. You may want to have a blowoff tube handy in case that does happen. That way you'll be ready.

Other than that, you should observe the krausen rise then fall after a week or two. You should see some sediment swirling action in the beer for the first few days.

Your beer looks good!

 

[Seven]

Also, don't forget to put it in a dark place or cover it with a towel or something to protect it from the light.

 

[jjphillybrew]

Thanx guys! I have it in the basement where it is very dark and around 60-68 degrees. I am slightly concerned that I may have gone over the 5 gallon mark. What can happen if carboy is slightly overfilled? If krausen starts to bubble out of airlock does that mean I overfilled? Do I absolutely need a blowtube if that happens? Can I just use some the same tubing that I have been using to rack etc or should I get a separate blowoff tube?

Thanx!

 

[heferly]

doesn't necessarily mean you overfilled, some beers have spectacular blowoffs! if it's creeping closer, i'd use a blowoff tube...and you can use the same tubing if you don't have anything else around.

make sure you sanitize the tubing before using, and put the outlet end into a bowl/bottle with some sanitizer/cheap vodka.

edit: your s-lock may not work with racking tube...i've only used 3-piece airlocks before

 

[theonetrueruss]

You can just jam the racking tube into the bung. (almost sounds dirty..) sanitized of course... and the other end in a bucket/jar of water or sanitizer

 

[Seven]

Here's an example of a blowoff that I used recently. It has a different type of airlock than yours but if you search the forums you'll find many other ways of rigging up a blowoff tube. I think you can also just stick the hose directly into the rubber stopper hole if you can get it to fit.

You may not even need one this time but generally it's not a bad idea to always use one for the first few days of fermentation.