what to do....

[bigwill69]

i brewed my pumpkin ale on saturday morning. (first yeast smack pak) It fermented like crazy saturday nite to tuesday afternoon...then nothing I mean not a bubble one in air lock...Now I know the importance of takin gravity readings ( at least now i do )but I didnt....My LHBS told me it was done and to rack in secondary...sooo I did. Now it just sits there... no bubbles nothing...since i used soo much puree i only got 3 1/2 gallons in my big fermenter..I NEED TO KNOW ......leave it .... bottle it...how do i know if i will have yeast in it for carbination..

 

[bigbeergeek]

Everything is fine, your beer is going to be a-ok.

4-5 days is too short of a "primary fermentation" time for most beers. You should take a gravity reading in about a week to see where the beer is. Don't rely on bubbles in the airlock to determine if your beer is fermenting. If the beer has reached a final gravity that is appropriate for the yeast strain you are using (check out wyeast's website) the beer is probably finished. You could then wait another week and take anopther gravity reading to make sure the beer is finished. Add your priming sugar and bottle as you normally would. There will be plenty of yeast still is suspension (even if the beer appeared crystal clear) to carb up your bottles.

Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Homebrew.

 

[chambs]

What does your gravity read now? What's it taste like?

You're likely fine. Did you ferment a little warm? Yeast ferment more quickly the warmer they get.

As long as you haven't chilled the beer enough to drop all the yeast (40ish F) or heated it enough to killed them (90ish F), they're in there and they'll be fine. Remember that all you need to carbonate is about 1 million cells/ml, which can look nearly clear.

 

[lumpher]

never move a beer at less than 3 weeks primary, except some are ready to keg/bottle at 2 (english milds and hefeweizens). i brewed a pumpkin ale 2 weeks ago, and it's going to sit in the primary for 3 more weeks. i'll secondary it for 3-4 weeks more, then keg.

 

[passedpawn]

or heated it enough to killed them (90ish F),

FYI, yeast thrive at 100F. If you want to grow as much yeast as possible, that's the temp I'd recommend. Won't make good beer though.

My neck of the woods gets above 90F in May and stays that way until Thanksgiving. We have all the wild yeast you could want outside.

140 will kill yeast dead, anything over 120 is bad. Glad FL doesn't get that hot!

 

[chambs]

FYI, yeast thrive at 100F.

Lager yeasts can't survive above 90, ale yeast loves the heat until about 95 for many strains. Guess I shouldn't say it kills them, but they switch into protection mode and shut down the ferment. Brewers' yeasts have been bred to do well at cooler temperatures, since the cool gives them a competitive advantage over most wild yeasts and bacteria which really thrive at warm temps.

 

[bigwill69]

thanx everyone...its thursday afternoon and to my astonishment , its bubbling very slow...like 1 every 2 min...i guess ill leave it for a week and bottle.I pitched my yeast at 70 and the temp has stayed at 68 to 72 the whole time..Sorry i freaked out..this was a pretty expensive batch and i tried to do everything correct. I guess i just got excited..again thank you guys for the help.

 

[TopherM]

Also, remember that "bubbling" is not the only sign of fermentation. On almost EVERY batch you are ever going to make, there is going to be a 2-3 day period after the bubbling stops where there is still active fermentation, just not enough to increase the pressure under the lid to push through your airlock. As available sugars decrease, CO2 production decreases, but it ain't done till it's done!

The prevailing wisdom these days is ferment for 3 weeks in primary. This is plenty of time for full fermentation and for the yeast to consume their byproducts to clean your beer.

NO NEED TO RUSH THINGS!

Patience is the #1 ingredient in beer, try adding some to your next batch!

 

[terrapinj]

unless your hydrometer has a login here no one will really be able to post to tell you it's done

 

[Germelli1]

Lager yeasts can't survive above 90, ale yeast loves the heat until about 95 for many strains. Guess I shouldn't say it kills them, but they switch into protection mode and shut down the ferment. Brewers' yeasts have been bred to do well at cooler temperatures, since the cool gives them a competitive advantage over most wild yeasts and bacteria which really thrive at warm temps.

Lager yeasts are propigated at 85 degrees in White Labs...