# My Beer Is Not Bubbling (in The Fermenter)



## SerLung (23/11/10)

I've just put on my 3rd batch of beer - so i'm fairly new at this.



My first batch was a Coopers Heritage with a tin of Coopers Liquid Malt - Light. Success > drinking it now and loving it.



The second was a batch of the cheapest. Coopers Larger with a kilo of wollies white Sugar, This is now in the bottle.



This batch however, I've tried to make a premium beer and I *think* I may have stuffed it.



Here was the attempt:

CORONA* (Ferment 12-15C)

1.7Kg Morgans Canadian Light

1.0Kg Aussie Brewmakers "Beer Improver"

400g Dextrose

1 x Morgans Tea Bag Hops Supa Alpha

15g Brew Cellar Premium Lager Yeast





After 5 days in the fermenter, there is no air bubbles coming out of the air-lock. So i got to thinking about the ingredients. I *think*.... I may have forgot to add the 400g of Dextrose.



What do I do?

Do I wait and see what happens?

Will it work at all? (there is some Dextrose in the "Beer Improver" right?



I'm a real novice and I hope someone out there can help.



Matt

AKA SerLung


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## drtomc (23/11/10)

Has the gravity dropped? Just because you can't see activity doesn't mean it's not happening.

What was the original gravity (OG)? Did you measure it? What is the gravity now? If the gravity is dropping, the yeast is working, and you can relax. At that temperature, you can expect fermentation to take longer than a few days.

T.


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## bignath (23/11/10)

Hi mate, welcome to the forum!

Will it work - absolutely.

Would i do anything - no.

You don't need to add "sugar" to brew successful beer, and you're airlock doesn't have to bubble for it to be fermenting. It isn't an accurate sign of fermentation. 

Got a hyrdrometer? If not, you'd better get one. If you do, make regular checks of your beers gravity. 

"sugars" are a big family of fermentable products. Dextrose is one of them obviously.. If you haven't added the dextrose you intended on adding your beer may finish a little "fuller bodied" than expected, but after three batches, you won't notice the difference without it, as you won't have a yardstick to compare to.

Relax, all will be fine. Crack a beer and welcome to making beer.

nath


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## zebba (23/11/10)

Forgetting the dextrose just means the beer will be a bit lower alcohol and have a little more "body". Don't worry about that.

Bubbling - when I was using an airlock it never bubbled ONCE. Don't worry about it. Look for other signs - a layer of foam on top of the wort, condensation on the lid, and your gravity readings going down.


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## MarkBastard (23/11/10)

Do you have a hydrometer?


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## jonocarroll (23/11/10)

Welcome to the forum. Good to see you seem to be off to a great start with additional hops and a good yeast. As mentioned by others, don't worry about the airlock - a small leak in the seal will stop it working. Use the gravity readings to monitor fermentation.

Just aside, be careful of the above (incorrect) statements about 'bigger body' by not adding the dextrose - there's a big misconception here that the adding of dextrose to a recipe will reduce the body. It can't and won't. *_Replacing_* some malt with some dextrose will have that effect, but there's no way to reduce the body of a given recipe by adding more fermentables.

Cheers! :beer:


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## SerLung (23/11/10)

Wow, you guys are tops. I thought I would have to wait days for a reply. I'm going to change the "I" to "we" as I brew with a friend.
We do have a hyrdrometer > I guess we better put it in and get a reading ... lol
this has been a real help > I can relax a little and look forward to bottling this "Corona without dextrose"

boss is calling, better get back to work!

Thanks again,

Matt
AKA SerLung


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## chadjaja (23/11/10)

don't put the hydrometer into the fermenter. Use the tap to draw out a sample and test it in the tube you would of got with your hydrometer.


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## MarkBastard (23/11/10)

SerLung said:


> Wow, you guys are tops. I thought I would have to wait days for a reply. I'm going to change the "I" to "we" as I brew with a friend.
> We do have a hyrdrometer > I guess we better put it in and get a reading ... lol
> this has been a real help > I can relax a little and look forward to bottling this "Corona without dextrose"
> 
> ...



Did you take a hydrometer reading at the time of adding the yeast? That will be a good indicator of whether you put Dextrose in or not, and can be used to work out what your expected abv % will be at the end.

Taking a hydromater sample now will be helpful to see if it's changed since the first one, which means it's fermenting. After 5 days you'd want it to be significantly less.


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## Bubba (23/11/10)

SerLung said:


> Wow, you guys are tops. I thought I would have to wait days for a reply. I'm going to change the "I" to "we" as I brew with a friend.
> We do have a hyrdrometer > I guess we better put it in and get a reading ... lol
> this has been a real help > I can relax a little and look forward to bottling this "Corona without dextrose"
> 
> ...



Another tip that has been done to death is to throw away your lid to your fermenter and instead keep the rubber seal from the inside and use it like a large rubber band and spread a sheet of gladwrap over your open fermenter instead of a lid and keep in place with the rubber band.
I know, it is a leap of faith but trust us, no bugs will get in, but the gas will be able to find its way out!

The benefit of this is to observe the fermentation stages visually through your "glad wrap window", and rely in visual signs and your hydrometer to determine fermentation start and finish.

What you are looking for in active fermentation is the "Krausen", a foamy, pavlova like build up on top of your liquid, and you can actually hear the tiny little fizzing through the glad wrap. This Krausen will eventually drop and dissipate, and you will see you beer then clear after a couple of more days. Then it's time to check your hydrometer and make sure you get steady readings with no change over a period of 2-3 days before you bottle/keg.

Krausen is a sign of healthy and active fermentation, not an airlock bubbling. The airlock is really just a way of letting gas out and no bugs in.


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## Batz (23/11/10)

I wonder if BennyBrewster would know?


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## FreeBaseBuzz (23/11/10)

Bubba said:


> The benefit of this is to observe the fermentation stages visually through your "glad wrap window", and rely in visual signs and your hydrometer to determine fermentation start and finish.




I'm new at this too, and have done 4 brews now.. initially a ginger beer then a standard K&K, then Extract, now boiling with extract with hop additions and if i can get all the gear together in time, this weekend will be my first BIAB attempt. 

however, so far all the fermentations have been extremely active, could be because I'm jsut fermenting at room temp, which at my place has been steadily raising from around 20 to it's current 26 since I started brewing .. I feel that given the amount of ferment I'm getting that a gladwrap lid wouldn't work as well as the airlock. Besides, seeing the "glooping" each afternoon after getting home from work is kinda satisfying..


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## felten (23/11/10)

nope


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## SerLung (24/11/10)

chadjaja said:


> don't put the hydrometer into the fermenter. Use the tap to draw out a sample and test it in the tube you would of got with your hydrometer.



I've got a neighbour that brews and has been for years. He sticks the hydrometer in the actual fermenter. 


Is there an issue with doing this? What are the advantages of using the tube?



chadjaja said:


> don't put the hydrometer into the fermenter. Use the tap to draw out a sample and test it in the tube you would of got with your hydrometer.


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## argon (24/11/10)

SerLung said:


> I've got a neighbour that brews and has been for years. He sticks the hydrometer in the actual fermenter.
> 
> 
> Is there an issue with doing this? What are the advantages of using the tube?




Many advantages... here's a few

1. you don't have to open your fermenter possibly exposing it to ariborne nasties = possible infection
2. your not introducing foreign bodies into your beer by opening it up and putting a hydrometer in there = possible infection
3. you may accidently drop or break your hydrometer in the main batch spoiling the whole batch with small lead balls and glass shards = heavy and sharp beer  
4. you can draw off a small sample and check for colour, aroma and a sneaky little taste
5. you can read the hydrometer more accurately at the miniscus
6. I'm sure there's more... but that's a start


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## Bubba (24/11/10)

argon said:


> Many advantages... here's a few
> 
> 1. you don't have to open your fermenter possibly exposing it to ariborne nasties = possible infection
> 2. your not introducing foreign bodies into your beer by opening it up and putting a hydrometer in there = possible infection
> ...



+1 to all of the above, as well as the fact that there will still be some carbonation level in your fermenter that will effect the reading...in a sample tube it is easy to eliminate any carbonation with temp and spinning the hydrometer, or simply by leeting it go flat.
Also in the sample tube you can easilly let it get to 20degrees without havinng to make adjustments for temp, as the thermometer on the outside of your fermenter measures air temp, as well as the temp of your beer so is not always 100% accurate.

In essence it is the simplest, safest, most accurate and sterile way of doing it, and it is what the hydrometer and sample tube were made for...


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## cdbrown (24/11/10)

Hard to read the markings on the hydrometer when it's surrounded by krausen!


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## stux (24/11/10)

And my favourite...

Its a good idea to sample your beer every few days, see how its developping, improve your beer sense.

Nice tip i saw on http://biabbrewer.info

Draw off one sample, and leave that in the tube next to the fermenter... It should ferment with a similar profile... thus showing you what's happening inside, without needing new samples, and without violating the sanctity of the fermenter

(might not want to drink that sample though)


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