# First Alc Ginger Beer - It's Not Glooping!



## drfad (22/9/10)

Hi all,

First time poster very new to brewing. 

I put down a Coopers ginger beer kit yesterday with 1kg raw sugar and a large knob of fresh ginger (boiled before putting in). So far I've only heard the airlock gloop once. The temp appears ok at around 20C.

Is it OK? Should I wait for a couple more days in the hope it starts up, or should I get some more yeast to try and start it up again?

Any ideas??

Fad


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## manticle (22/9/10)

What does the glooping mean to you? What does the lack of it indicate?


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## Wolfy (22/9/10)

drfad said:


> Any ideas??


As long as you didn't kill your yeast (which you should have rehydrated and proofed before pitching anyway), I'd bet on an incorrectly fitted fermenter lid.
Take by itself, the fact the airlock is 'Not Glooping' does not indicate anything useful - good or bad.


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## unrealeous (22/9/10)

My Airlock Woes


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## drfad (23/9/10)

manticle said:


> What does the glooping mean to you? What does the lack of it indicate?




The lack of it to me indicates fermentation either hasn't kicked off or is very slow.

I've checked the SG this morning and it is 1030 at 18/19C. The original SG (on Tuesday 8PM) was 1034 but this was at 26C, so by my uninformed calculations this is equivalent to about 1031 at 18/19C.

Sorry for such noob questions. I've done a bit of reading of the stickys etc but as I'm new to this I am a touch unsure of everything.

Cheers :huh:


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## bum (23/9/10)

Don't worry, bloke. We've all been there.

Your hydrometer adjustments are a bit out. Looks like you've actually lost maybe 4 points so it is fermenting. Don't trust the airlock as a sign of fermentation - all it is there for is to stop bad shit getting into your beer. CO2 likes to find all sorts of ways out of your fermenter to make you worried nothing is happening. Looks like your temps are good and you're set up for a solid ferment. Good luck with it.


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## drfad (23/9/10)

bum said:


> Don't worry, bloke. We've all been there.
> 
> Your hydrometer adjustments are a bit out. Looks like you've actually lost maybe 4 points so it is fermenting. Don't trust the airlock as a sign of fermentation - all it is there for is to stop bad shit getting into your beer. CO2 likes to find all sorts of ways out of your fermenter to make you worried nothing is happening. Looks like your temps are good and you're set up for a solid ferment. Good luck with it.




Thanks for the reassurance mate. :icon_cheers: 
I'll be leaving it in for about a week anyway as we're heading away.


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## manticle (23/9/10)

drfad said:


> The lack of it to me indicates fermentation either hasn't kicked off or is very slow.
> 
> I've checked the SG this morning and it is 1030 at 18/19C. The original SG (on Tuesday 8PM) was 1034 but this was at 26C, so by my uninformed calculations this is equivalent to about 1031 at 18/19C.
> 
> ...




Lack of bubbling does not necessitate lack of fermentation. Hopefully by now you've done a bit more reading and have discovered that.

Being unsure is understandable. 

1034 at 26 degrees is actually 1035 at 20 degrees so 1030 indicates it is dropping (fermenting) provided you are reading the hydrometer correctly.
Other signs to look for are krausen (less likely with ginger beer), bubbles, condensation on the lid etc. As I wrote in a thread on the same subject that appeared about 20 minutes before yours - bubbles are not a good measuring device unless in a spirit level.


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## bum (23/9/10)

manticle said:


> Other signs to look for are krausen (less likely with ginger beer)


Tell that to the GB I had where the krausen was against the gladwrap (with 10L headspace).


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## fasty73 (23/9/10)

I HATE my airlocks NOT glooping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## manticle (23/9/10)

bum said:


> Tell that to the GB I had where the krausen was against the gladwrap (with 10L headspace).




You tell it.


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## bum (23/9/10)

Like it is?

I always keep it real, brah.


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## seemax (23/9/10)

All the more reason to ditch the airlock and use glad wrap so you can see what's actually happening inside.


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## drfad (30/9/10)

OK.. so we've been out of town for a week and 9 days from when it was put down the SG has dropped to 1020 at 15/16C.
This would put the final alc content at about 2.3%. The SG seems pretty high for final gravity, but I've been unable to monitor the temp as we've been away. 

Should I give it a bit of a swirl to try and get it going again or does this sound like as far as it will go?


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## .DJ. (30/9/10)

leave ot for at least another week. your gravity is still reasonably high...


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## mkstalen (30/9/10)

Give it a bit of a swirl around and try to get the temp back up to about 20 odd (15/16 might be a bit low for the kit yeast) then check the SG in a couple of days to see if it's still dropping. I'd think bog standard kit Ginger beer should finish well under 1.010. My tricked up Ginger beer finished at 1.005.


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## drfad (30/9/10)

stienberg said:


> Give it a bit of a swirl around and try to get the temp back up to about 20 odd (15/16 might be a bit low for the kit yeast) then check the SG in a couple of days to see if it's still dropping. I'd think bog standard kit Ginger beer should finish well under 1.010. My tricked up Ginger beer finished at 1.005.




Great, thanks for that!


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## drfad (3/10/10)

I gave it a swirl and a hot water bottle and it's going nuts! Thanks for te advice all.


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## drfad (7/10/10)

16 days fermenting and it stabilised at 1008. Botlled it tonight. So how long will this take to be fully carbed and drinkable?


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## SuiCIDER (7/10/10)

drfad said:


> 16 days fermenting and it stabilised at 1008. Botlled it tonight. So how long will this take to be fully carbed and drinkable?



I'd give it a week, maybe two. You should check a bottle every 2 - 3 days to check.


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## manticle (7/10/10)

Depends on the temp and some other things. Bottle one into PET and wait till it's hard when you squeeze it. No innuendo intended.

When it is, open it - if it's carbed the others should be similarly.

I'd give it two weeks for carb. Drinkable is a different story and not something I can answer..


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