2 days in.....

[strods]

Hi all, just wanted a bit of advice. I put a brew on, on Monday evening, now the air lock has started bubbling already. Is this normal ?

 

[warra48]

Yes.

 

[strods]

Nice one, just wanted to check

 

[crowmanz]

Just a FYI tip - don't trust your airlock for determining when fermentation has finished, use your hydrometer.

 

[mrsupraboy]

Just make sure you take a hydrometer reading at the end so you know it has finished. My biggest mistake was i was told you just waited 2 weeks and it was done.

 

[Weizguy]

Hi all, just wanted a nit of advice.. i put a brew on, on Monday evening, now the air lock has started bubbling already is this normal ?

It's normal, but don't panic if no bubbles after a day or so, for future brews.
Airlocks/lids don't always seal right. Just rely on the hydrometer or refractometer to monitor the progress.

If you use cling wrap and a rubber/elastic band or electrical tape to seal the cling wrap (in place of a lid and airlock), you can visually monitor signs of fermentation and krausen ring.

Welcome aboard the brew boat. We hope you have a pleasant journey!

 

[earle]

While this article http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/articles/article76.html is about airlocks not bubbling you may find it informative

 

[strods]

It's normal, but don't panic if no bubbles after a day or so, for future brews.
Airlocks/lids don't always seal right. Just rely on the hydrometer or refractometer to monitor the progress.

If you use cling wrap and a rubber/elastic band or electrical tape to seal the cling wrap (in place of a lid and airlock), you can visually monitor signs of fermentation and krausen ring.

Welcome aboard the brew boat. We hope you have a pleasant journey!

i think there's a little of froth building up around the sides , as ive said in a previous post its been a task getting the temp down to 18/20 degrees , best ive had it is 20/22 degrees. I'll be looking at using cling film on the next brew. Will be starting a porter once this current brew has been bottled. Feel like im been a bit too cautious already , just want it to be right .

 

[mrsupraboy]

Do you have temp control yet. Might be worth buying urself a fermenting chamber/fridge.

I dont see the hype in using cling wrap. Its too fidly and can easily cause infection. Just use your fermenting lid. Ive done a few years of brewing and never used climb wrap nor needed to.

 

[Coodgee]

try not to worry too much about things man. I know it's exciting but it's a pretty simple process. Once you add your yeast and seal her up it's out of your hands. Just leave it for a week now. Over the next few days you should see a large "head" of froth (called a Krausen if you didn't know) appear on top of the beer. The airlock will probably bubble for the next few days and then slow down. worst thing you can do is open it up and go playing around with it. just try to keep it in that 18-20 degrees range but it's not the end of the world if it sits at 22 degrees - it will just be a slightly different tasting beer with a larger contribution of flavours from the yeast. probably worth investing in a cheap fridge and temp controller in the future, especially as summer is approaching. Beer fermented at 30 degrees will not taste very good.

What brew have you put down?

 

[earle]

I dont see the hype in using cling wrap. Its too fidly and can easily cause infection. Just use your fermenting lid. Ive done a few years of brewing and never used climb wrap nor needed to.

Don't want to start a airlock/lid v clingwrap war here, just going to present a different opinion then suggest the OP reads some of the relevant lid v clingwrap threads to decide for himself. I like clingwrap because IMO you get a much better inidication of whats going on fermentation wise - condensation is easier to see, much better visual of the krausen rise and fall, some indication as the clingwrap bulges up then back down (though this would be as inconsistent as an airlock). Buy a wide catering roll and its in no way fiddly. I've had no issue with infection and if it easily caused infection I don't think it would be such a widely recommended method. Saves having to sanitise a lid which if you really want to do properly would also require removing the o-ring and grommet - I'm much more concerned about nasties hiding under the oring and grommet of a lid than in a roll of cling wrap that I keep just for this purpose.

Anyway, each to his own. Now the OP has 2 alternate opinions to consider.

 

[crowmanz]

Don't want to start a airlock/lid v clingwrap war here,

Anyone going to bring up rehydrating dry yeast vs sprinkle?

 

[Kev R]

A quick start is good. The yeast out breeds any nasties that might have got in ( and there will be some).
As Cromanz said, rehydrate dry yeast.
A good yeast starter and oxygenation and mine are usually in full swing the next morning.
Even after the hydrometer says your done leave it a few days to give the yeast time to cleen up after it self.

 

[strods]

try not to worry too much about things man. I know it's exciting but it's a pretty simple process. Once you add your yeast and seal her up it's out of your hands. Just leave it for a week now. Over the next few days you should see a large "head" of froth (called a Krausen if you didn't know) appear on top of the beer. The airlock will probably bubble for the next few days and then slow down. worst thing you can do is open it up and go playing around with it. just try to keep it in that 18-20 degrees range but it's not the end of the world if it sits at 22 degrees - it will just be a slightly different tasting beer with a larger contribution of flavours from the yeast. probably worth investing in a cheap fridge and temp controller in the future, especially as summer is approaching. Beer fermented at 30 degrees will not taste very good.

What brew have you put down?

Ive got a stout on the go at moment , should be ready to bottle next tuesday . Will definitely try and keep it around the 20 degree mark if i can , will beed a temp controller for sure in summer, im pretty limited on space so i will have to make do. Yeah once its sealed ill leave it alone, only check the temp and put the ice blocks around it. Does the size of the krausen mean anything ? Like the bigger or smaller the froth the better or worse the brew ?its all a learning curve at the moment

 

[Coodgee]

a big healthy Krausen is generally a sign of a good healthy fermentation but every Krausen is different from brew to brew. don't be alarmed to see big patches/clumps of brown/black/green crap in your krausen. that is totally normal. a stout has a lot of strong roasty flavours in it which will cover up any slight off flavours you get from high fermentation temps etc. what did you use? a coopers kit? any extras?

 

[strods]

A quick start is good. The yeast out breeds any nasties that might have got in ( and there will be some).
As Cromanz said, rehydrate dry yeast.
A good yeast starter and oxygenation and mine are usually in full swing the next morning.
Even after the hydrometer says your done leave it a few days to give the yeast time to cleen up after it self.

I'll be sure to look into a yeast starter , once i mixed everything together i had a load of froth on the top of the mix then aprinkled the yeast all other the froth and then sealed the fermenter. Started the brew on monday so will leave it till next tuesday then I'll add the finings and bottle wednesday.

 

[strods]

a big healthy Krausen is generally a sign of a good healthy fermentation but every Krausen is different from brew to brew. don't be alarmed to see big patches/clumps of brown/black/green crap in your krausen. that is totally normal. a stout has a lot of strong roasty flavours in it which will cover up any slight off flavours you get from high fermentation temps etc. what did you use? a coopers kit? any extras?

Thats good to know, its just starting to get a small krousen now, i used a mangrove jack irish stout kit with craft series dark ale yeast. Will look at other stout/porter kits after this brew.

 

[strods]

Checled the brew again last night when swapping the cool blocks ove, the krausen is really developing now. Cannot wait to try this atout next week...

 

[strods]

Just a quick question guys. The krausen has gone off the top of my brew, is this normal or do i have to start worrying ?

 

[manticle]

Normal. It won't stay forever although some are more persistent than others.

Taking a sample into a hydrometer tube and smelling/tasting at various points is a good way to learn about how a normal fermentation develops and as you get to understand the flavours, is a good indication of whether something is wrong.