when should i be concerned with fermentation?

[mmonteiro]

i havent seen bubbles yet in my airlock. and while i know bubbles dont indicate fermentation, it would be great to see some. its only been 6 hours since i put it in the fermenter, but my first bath started bubbling in 2 hours. what is a normal timeframe for bubbling to start, and when should i get nervous?

 

[JPHussey]

Depends on your pitching rate, yeast health, temperatures, etc. 2 hours is really fast and 6 is still pretty quick. Within the first 24 is normal I'd posit.

 

[mmonteiro]

thanks man... still a noob and micro manage/panic over my brew. first batch was a 2 gallon one and this was 5 gallons with the same amount of yeast.. this is a stout vs a wheat ale maybe those also factor?

 

[veritas524]

Your airlock is not an indication of fermentation as it is only gas escaping the fermentor. You should get nervous if your gravity hasn't budged in a few days...

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Don't sweat it, man. Seldom will you see a fermentation begin in that short of a period of time, it happens but it's not the norm. If it's still not going by the morning, read this sticky before you panic.

 

[mmonteiro]

Your airlock is not an indication of fermentation as it is only gas escaping the fermentor. You should get nervous if your gravity hasn't budged in a few days...

my bucket was really hard to seal so i didnt take an og reading.. should i do one now? i thought the og wast really important, and only the fg matterd?

 

[mmonteiro]

took a hydrometer reading last night, exact OG as the ingredient kit said, and when i woke up the airlock was bubbling well. another case of premature panicking.

 

[stratslinger]

In case you missed it, there's a VERY helpful sticky right here in the Beginner's section labeled, helpfully enough, Fermentation can take 24-72 hrs to show visible signs.

As you've already seen for yourself, you were definitely worrying prematurely.

Also, if you pitched the same amount of yeast for a 2 gallon wheat beer and a 5 gallon stout, and never checked OG, you may want to check out the pitching rate calculator over at MrMalty.com. Play with that just a little bit, and you'll start to see why knowing your OG is important, and you might also start to think about pitching more (or even less) yeast depending on OG and volume...

 

[kh54s10]

my bucket was really hard to seal so i didnt take an og reading.. should i do one now? i thought the og wast really important, and only the fg matterd?

You should take your OG before pitching the yeast and sealing the bucket. OG is not too important unless you want to know if you hit your target or want to calculate ABV.

FG is important to determine whether your fermentation is finished. Unfinished fermentation can lead to bottle bombs. - too much pressure for the glass -

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

In case you missed it, there's a VERY helpful sticky right here in the Beginner's section labeled, helpfully enough, Fermentation can take 24-72 hrs to show visible signs.

If it's still not going by the morning, read this sticky before you panic.

Nah, really, it's a good sticky, everyone's reading it.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

OP: I've read that sticky. There may be reasons fermentation does not start within 12 hours. From my experience, if I have a beer that does not start within 12 and certainly 24 hours, you bet your A## I'd be at least considering plan B.

Here's what a very respected brewer had to say directly under the first post in the sticky

Great sticky, because it is a popular question.

I will say though, let's not advocate that thinking fermentation starting in more than 12 hours is a good thing. It isn't. Any longer than 12 hours and you are looking for trouble--infections, sub-par beer and quite frankly it is a bad brewing practice.

Let's stress this thread on doing starters, aerating and oxygenating, and fundamental brewing practices!

His quote has been my experience, too.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

OP: I've read that sticky. There may be reasons fermentation does not start within 12 hours. From my experience, if I have a beer that does not start within 12 and certainly 24 hours, you bet your A## I'd be at least considering plan B.

Here's what a very respected brewer had to say directly under the first post in the sticky



His quote has been my experience, too.

Mine too. It can take up to 72 hours, but after a day would be when I decided to take action. And that action would be a repitch.
I still think that anyone concerned about 'no fermentation' after only twelve hours should read that.... mainly because a good amount of the time that newer brewers think they have 'no signs' of fermentation it's something simple like a leak in the bucket. I had a brown ale ferment with zero krausen this past winter, it was in a carboy, so I knew it was cooking. But had it been in a, say Brewers Best Ale Pail that's known to not seal properly, I'd've never had 'visible signs' of fermentation, nor would I have had a tell tale krausen ring to go by. Since beer and wort look the same in the fermenter, and since this beer was pretty much done fermenting in ~72 hours, only a gravity reading could've proven fermentation took place in that scenario.