I'm New And I Can't Get My Fermenter To Bubble

[brettule]

My previous 2 attempts at brewing have been dire, this is my 3rd attempt and I'm just wasting money. Can someone please help?

I've got the Bewcraft British Bulldog Ale kit, it contains two can's of the gooey stuff and Safale S-04 yeast, no dextrose so I figure it's mixed into one of the two cans? Made up the fermenter to recipe one the box but the sticker thermometer on the fermenting tub read 32 degrees when it was time to pitch. So I stuck the fermenter in the fridge for an hour and a half at which time the thermometer read 28 degrees. At this point I pitched the yeast, stirred the first few bits in and sprinkled the rest on top. The past week or so has been quite hot so I turned off the fridge and put the fermenter inside it where it's had a consistent reading of 26 degrees. It's been 5 days at this temp and I've not seen a single bubble in the fermenter, the airlock is sitting dead even. I took a reading yesterday which was 1.016 and it was full of sediment and stuff. Without seeing any bubbles I fear the yeast hasn't activated - again! Any advice?

 

[sponge]

It sounds like ur beer has finished fermenting

No airlokc activity is probably due to a poor seal in the fermenter somewhere, and the CO2 is finding that going through that poor seal is better then pushing through the airlock

No problems there mate. The sediment at the bottom of the fermenter is just the yeast trub, and if the reading has been constant over a few days I'd be saying its time to bottle.

But with it being an ale, i wouldve thought a reading of 1.012 would have been a little better... maybe it just hasnt finished fermenting yet


But dont u worry, all is working normally


Sponge


P.s Just try and keep your fermenting temperature down a bit (18-20'C is much better)

 

[jonw]

If you're gravity's at 1.016, it sounds like your yeast has done its stuff. Maybe your fermenter isn't properly sealed. How does the beer taste?

EDIT: You've got to be quick around here!

 

[beerguide]

Is your fermenter opaque or see through? Can you see any foam on top?

If you have sediment (like chunks) I'm guessing it could be yeast that has falled to the bottom and clumped together. Your reading (1.016) is reasonbly low also which makes me think its fermenting - you didn't happen to take a reading at the start did you to compare it with?

My best guess would be you don't have a perfect seal with your lid and the CO2 is escaping somewhere other than the airlock. Once the CO2 starts to build up a perfect seal isn't as important as the gas will protect your beer.

Try tightening your lid, and maybe giving the sides a slight squeeze. If there is gas when you squeeze slightly it should bubble at the airlock.

Leave it a while longer, I think you'll be fine from the sounds of it - but before your next batch make sure you have a good seal on your fermenter. Check the rubber o-ring hasn't perforated or anything like that.

Edit: Wow, I type slowly and get beaten to the punch...

 

[KGB]

As stated, dont stress about the lack of bubbles. Next time make sure you take an original gravity reading - if its steadily going down then the yeast is fermenting the sugars in your wort and making you some beer!
By the sounds of it one of the cans is a liquid malt which would take the place of the kilo of dex and should give a much better result.

Also try and keep your temps down around 20 degrees. It will take slightly longer to ferment, maybe 10 days instead of 7 for example but should give a better tasting beer. To get your starting/pitching temp down use a little less hot water next time when mixing up the wort, after a few brews you'll be able to tell what amounts you need to get a good starting temp. I like about 24 degrees or so.

Also, search here - this topic gets covered all the time, and search online for "how to brew" by John Palmer (I think?). If you can't make beer after reading through that then take up knitting.

 

[bad283]

i also had a seal problem to start with and i all i did was buy some food grade grease(inox makes a brilliant one in a handy resealable tube)and dab some around your o-ring and make sure your lid is on nice and tight.Just make sure your grommet is in nice and snug aswell and your airlock is sitting in it nicely.to test if the airlock isn t leaking just put some cooled down boiled water around the section where the grommet sits and if no bubbles come out everything should be right.

 

[wyatt_girth]

I am only new to HB but I have quickly learnt to not rely on the airlock bubbling. My last brew didn't bubble the airlock at all (not a good seal) but my hydrometer told me that things were ok. Also I am yet to set up a fridgemate but am using a fridge - turned off - for insulation. I was suprised at what 2 x 1.25ml frozen water (salted) bottles on the top shelf could do. I realise that it was probably the air temp that was being shown on the stick on thermometer but once I had the brew down a bit it was easy to keep it there constant. I only changed them once each arvo but I could feel the cool air when I first open the door. Thermometer read 18/20 and the fermenter was cool to touch so they must have had some effect.
Anyways just thought this might be of some help.
Cheers

 

[afromaiko]

As others said, sounds like it's nearly done

If you are concerned about the lack of airlock bubbling, get some food grade lubricant such as Lubrifilm and smear a light coating around your fermenter lid o-ring and thread. You can get it from the below sponsors:

http://craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=874
http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=7275

Also, don't make the mistake of screwing up the lid too tight as you might find you can't get it off again! Once you have lubed it up, gently screw it on, then off again, then back on. Do this a few times and it will help seat the o-ring properly. With the lube it's really easy to over-tighten.

If you have one of the 'S' shaped airlocks, you might like to get a sharp knife and trim off the raised molding ridge on the stem. It will help it to seal better in the grommet. You can also lube the airlock stem a little if you like.

Next brew, after a couple of days if it's still not bubbling you can try re-seating the lid again as above. Give the fermenter a little squeeze and see if the airlock bubbles. Also watch the airlock water level and see if it stays up after squeezing. If it settles back down to equal levels again it's a hint you may have an air leak still.

Happy brewing! :beerbang:

EDIT: The Cooper's style plastic fermenters are notorious for not sealing properly. I think this is because of the raised seams that are left around the top from manufacture. I tried filing one of my fermenters down but it didn't really help, so I left my second one as is. Following the above steps I now rarely have any problems.

 

[brettule]

That's for all your input, it sounds like my seal is not great. I just went out to the garage and took a look and guess what? The fermenter lid was cross threaded so obviously it wasn't sealed properly. I took the lid off and rethreaded it properly then I took a reading of 1.014 and it's day 5 now. Still at a constant 26 degrees. I tasted it and although it was pretty dire it smelt like an ale and was bitter like an ale. Here's hoping that a poor seal like that didn't let any nasty yeasts in to infect the brew. I've been told it would smell plain wrong if it was infected?

 

[afromaiko]

... I took a reading of 1.014 and it's day 5 now. Still at a constant 26 degrees. I tasted it and although it was pretty dire it smelt like an ale and was bitter like an ale. Here's hoping that a poor seal like that didn't let any nasty yeasts in to infect the brew. I've been told it would smell plain wrong if it was infected?

You will definitely know if it's infected but also don't forget that you are tasting warm, flat beer :icon_drool2:

I wouldn't expect much more bubbling at all now so keep measuring your gravity and once it's stable for a few days it's time to bottle it.

When you take your gravity readings a bit of crud will probably come out the tap each time first, perhaps up to a small cup's worth. Chuck it down the sink and drain off a bit more until it's clearer then take your reading from that. It may not go totally clear unless you leave it settle for a few more days, but at least try not to get too much cruddy 'trub' in your samples.

I used to do the racking (transfer) off the trub to a secondary fermenter for another week or two to help it clear up. But lately I've just been leaving it sit in the primary fermenter for another week after fermentation has stopped before bottling or kegging and find that works just as well.

Just before filling your first bottle, drain off the first cup of crud that comes out the tap again and chuck it away.

 

[beerguide]

Brettule, as I mentioned earlier a poor seal doesn't necessarily mean the baddies will get in. CO2 itself will do a fantastic job of creating a safe layer between the outside air and your wort/beer. I think you'll be fine. I've had a cross threaded lid a number of times and touch wood I've never had a spoiled batch yet.

I have smelt a bad batch and trust me as afro mentioned above, you'll know if its gone bad.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Try using gladwrap instead of a lid + airlock

Simply cover the fermenter with gladwrap and use the o-ring from the lid to secure

- It lets you see inside to see if the beer is fermenting and it'll dome up during fermentation and the Co2 will find its own way out

- You don't need to worry about bubbling

- Means you don't have to sanitise a lid + airlock

- And all the cool kids are doing it!

Pictures here http://hyperfox.info/webalbum01/index.html

Cheers

 

[cdbrown]

Is a constant 26 degC good for fermenting this type of beer? Would say a 22-24 be a bit better?

 

[brettule]

Well, the kit says to keep the temp between 18 and 28... so I figure I'm safe

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I'd be tempted to keep it at the lower end 18-20 and leave it in the fermenter longer

Cheers

 

[floppinab]

- And all the cool kids are doing it!

I'm a nerd and I'm proud <_<

What's been wrong with your previous 2 attempts brettule????

Afro put it well, it's hard, particularly for a new brewer to make a call on your beer based on the taste out of a 3/4 fermented brew. An infection most likely will give you a pretty sour/vinegary taste and smell. If you look on the top of your brew in the fermenter there will often be a thin white film that looks a bit like the "skin" on top of a hot cup of milk.
If you've got none of these then you're probably OK. Your beer will continue to improve in taste given time (2 months and even further if you can wait that long) in the bottle.

 

[KGB]

The yeast will probably keep fermenting until the temp gets into the low 30's before they start kicking the bucket so yes 26 will work fine, and it will also be reasonably quick to ferment.
The thing is though, at higher temps the yeast produce more byproducts (flavours) that you don't want in your beer. Closer to 20 degrees or so will take longer, but not ridiculously long, and give you a better tasting beer.
Coopers et al recommend 22-28 degrees because its an easy room temp kind of range and will give a nice quick ferment for the rookie brewer.