AHHHH My Baby lost her heartbeat!!!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ragman131

New Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Northern MI
First things first, "Hi my name is Damon and I'm a wanna be homebrewer"
Working on our second batch of brew and seem to have encountered an issue...
First batch we did was a muntons wheat, straight can extract, sugar, cook, you know the deal nothing special, racked to secondary after 5 days when airlock slowed substatially... Seems to be doing well...
Now to the issue, second batch is the BB Scottish Ale, foloowed instructions to a tee Sat night, Sunday morning airlock was blowings like a nuclear wxplosion, I was tickled to death... Came home tonight and nothing, just stopped completely, I'm seriously confused and to tell you the truth a bit concerned... Any ideas??? My first batch I couldn't get to stop, no this one just died!!!
Thx,
Damon
 
Bubbles in airlock do not indicate start/end of fermentation. Only a hydrometer will tell the truth with stable readings over 2-3 days. You racked the first batch WAY to early after 5 days and it may not have been completed yet. I reccomend to wait till stable hydrometer readings or absolute minimum of two weeks in the primary fermenter next time for best results.
 
What Mosquito said, plus some beers ferment out a lot fast than others. Regardless of bubbles or the lack of, let that thing sit a few weeks before touching it.
 
2 weeks in the primary??? I went by the destuctions that came with the kit I bought it it said from primary to secondary in 3 to 5 days when bubling had subsided to one to two times per minute, guess if it's screwed it will be a learning experience... Leaving in secondary for 2 1/2 weeks before bottling so hopefully that will help... Thanks for the advice I remember being the NOOB over on my bike forums and I know now how frustrating it gets when the same questions come up thread after thread... Thanks again...
Damon
 
Hello Ragman, I am just starting out also but spent a lot of time reading these forums so I will take a shot.

The first thing you will read is that airlock activity is not an accurate method of gauging fermentation. Only trust your hydrometer. The type of yeast is another thing at play. Being different beers I would assume different yeast were used and different yeast act differently as they are living organisms. I would wait a week or so and take a hydrometer reading to compare to your orginal reading.

Based on my reading and very slight experience, I would guess your beer is just fine or I could just be full of it...lol I know some of the experienced folks will respond with more details, etc.

Good luck
 
Welcome to HBT!

As mentioned above, the main fermentation is probably done but the yeast still has lots to do. It will finish eating the sugars and will turn to eat its waste (off flavors). This process takes a while. I leave mine for 4 to 6 weeks in primary so it is clean flavored and crystal clear.

The most important thing you should know if that more than a few of the instructions that come with the kits are crap. The are written to sell lots of kits but not make quality beer. It's MUCH better to read good brewing information (HBT or www.howtobrew.com) than using the kit instructions.
 
Actually your airlock is more like your baby's (and your) anus, then it's heartbeat. :D

Your airlock is not a fermentation gauge, it is a VALVE to release excess co2. And the peak of fermentation has already wound down, so there's simply no need to vent off any excess co2.

Your "baby" is either farting excess gas, like we do, or it is not...nothing more.

The bubbling just means that it is venting excess CO2, nothing more. If it's not bubbling, that only means that it is not producing enough co2 to need to vent.

If your airlock was bubbling and stopped---It doesn't mean fermentation has stopped.

If you airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean your fermentation hasn't started....

If your airlock starts bubbling, it really doesn't matter.

If your airlock NEVER bubbles, it doesn't mean anything is wrong or right.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years.

You'll be much happier if you get out of that habit, of equating airlock bubbling with fermentation...you will find that fermentations rarely don't take off, or just Stop...In fact I've never had a beer not ferment. BUT half of my fermentations, spread out across 9 different fermenters, never blip once in the airlock.

What is happening is that fermentation is slowing down, and therefore not producing excess co2, and therefore not NEEDING to bubble.

Just leave it alone for at least another 8 days OR MORE, they you can take a hydrometer reading and decide if you want to secondary it...OR you can do what many many many of us do and leave your beer alone for a month, that will let the beer finish fermenting and then let the yeast clean up after themselves, that way they will get rid of all the byproducts of fermentation that often lead to off flavors, and if new/impatient brewers move to soon, they end up stuck with.

Thoughts about that have shifted over the last few years, now we have found that leaving the beer in primary for a month improves the flavor of beer by cleaning up the byproducts of fermentation...There is about 1,000,000 threads about it, including at least 5 threads active today alone in the beginners section...look for threads about secondary, long primary, no secondary, long primary, autolysis, and you will see our answers, over and over and over again.

All my beers stay in primary for a month, been doing it for 3 years now, and have won awards for my beers doing so....

Even John Palmer talks about this in How To Bew;


How To Brew said:
Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

But in other words, everything fine.
 
sometimes those 3-piece airlocks get "stuck open" by the expelling gas.

don't worry, no gas'll get in. it's just expelling so much it's holding the airlock open.
 
As said in many of the earlier posts, the airlock really doesn't mean much, but it can be fun to watch. It's likely that your beer is done with the active fermentation already. That could mean that you pitched some really healthy yeast, and lots of it, and it could also mean that your fermentation temp might be a bit warm. You might want to check out the temps in your fermentation area. Being in Northern Michigan, I'm betting that you shouldn't have a problem finding an area in your home that stays around 65 deg.
 
Your beer is fine. If fermentation started, it will finish just fine 99% of the time, regardless of what it looks like, especially with a kit.

Enjoy :mug:
 
Thanks for all the quick and appropriate responses... I guess I need to slow a bit and just let things happen. I have done alot of reading on the subject and know what the airlock is doing, I understand what you are all saying about the primary as well. Being new to the forum I haven't had a lot of time to read all of the posts, jut mainly scanned through the areas I though were pertinent to my situation at the time... Bottom line thanks and I will be around, seems like the best group I could find to do what I'm doing...
L8tr,
Damon
 
damon, this is very common, everyone is eager to get that first beer down the hatch... so don't sweat it too much. once you get a few beers in the pipeline, you will develop patience you never thought possible.
 
Damon...

I found myself in a very similar predicament last week Friday. I brewed my first batch...an autumn amber ale from MW...on Wednesday. On Friday, nothing seemed to be happening in the fermenter so I got worried, as a NOOB would get. On Saturday, I popped open the fermenter...I'm using a bucket...and took a gravity reading. It was not at the suggested F.G. reading from the instructions, but it was close [1.02 as read vs. 1.012 as suggested]. I racked the wort over to a secondary...a BB carboy. If the gravity would have been higher, I think I would have left it in the primary. It sure did SMELL close to beer.

It would seem that I racked it over prematurely. But it also seems that in just 48 hours, we got close to suggested F.G. I figure I'll leave the thing alone for 2 1/2 weeks, so the yeast in suspension can continue to work. And my NEXT fermentation is gonna happen in a carboy, where I can keep an eye on it and actually SEE what's happening. Also, with a carboy, only a small plug has to be removed to take a gravity reading, rather than taking off the entire top of the bucket.

So, I will keep my fingers crossed for both your brew and mine! Let's hope neither one of us screwed up too badly!

glenn514
 
Just leave it alone for at least another 8 days OR MORE, they you can take a hydrometer reading and decide if you want to secondary it...OR you can do what many many many of us do and leave your beer alone for a month, that will let the beer finish fermenting and then let the yeast clean up after themselves, that way they will get rid of all the byproducts of fermentation that often lead to off flavors, and if new/impatient brewers move to soon, they end up stuck with.

So to clarify: are you guys not using a secondary fermenter and just leaving it in the primary fora month before transitioning to bottles/kegs?
 
So to clarify: are you guys not using a secondary fermenter and just leaving it in the primary fora month before transitioning to bottles/kegs?

Darn straight. Works wonderfully.

I just broke my right index finger, so it looks like my current brews will be in the primary for about 2 months. I'm not worried in the least.
 
Darn straight. Works wonderfully.

I just broke my right index finger, so it looks like my current brews will be in the primary for about 2 months. I'm not worried in the least.

Well I am certainly sorry to hear about the finger - not cool at all.

Thanks for the help.

My kit directions, like the OP, say 5-7 days so I was going to rack tonight. Now I will just let it be for a few more weeks.

I can really use the carboy for a 2nd batch then! This is terrible news :mug:
 
I'm pretty new to this too, so every time I make a batch I try to take a step forward, either in process, or equipment, or technique.

For your next batch, I'd really suggest A) getting a simple kit from Northern Brewer, or Austin Homebrew, rather than doing the canned "just add water" thing. The quality of the ingredients will be much higher. B) Either buying John Palmer's "How to Brew" or reading it online. Kit directions (as you're learning) are pretty sketchy.

Good luck!
 
I had the same kit. except i used a wheat malt liquid extract instead of sugar. the beer turned out horrible, pretty sure it was a sanitation issue. let me know how the beer turns out
 
You have to keep in mind, kits, and the instructions that come with them, are for "people who want to make beer."

Here at HBT, most of us are "people who want to make great beer". We do things a little differently. It takes a little longer to let a beer sit in the fermenter for two weeks to a month, but the payoff is better beer.

Remember: brewing is a craft, and there is almost always more than one path to the goal. My experience (and that of a lot of other brewers) is that a little more time in the fermenter makes for better beer than a short primary and longer bulk conditioning.
 
i did the same Scottish Ale kit and don't worry it happened to me too. by day 2-3 there was no activity in the airlock but i still let it sit for 10 days before bottling.
 
Stopped by my LHBS last night and spoke with a guy there. He bascially said the same thing, for a beginner brewing Ales he said you could leave everything in the primary almost indefinitely - no need for a secondary. Mine will sit tight for a few more weeks :)
 
If you're in Parker, I assume The Brew Hut is your LHBS? If so, you're all set. They know what they're doing. Plus, you can stop for a pint at Dry Dock Brewing after you buy ingredients.
 
If you're in Parker, I assume The Brew Hut is your LHBS? If so, you're all set. They know what they're doing. Plus, you can stop for a pint at Dry Dock Brewing after you buy ingredients.

Indeed! That place has been extremely helpful getting me on my feet.

The first time I walked in was Brew Day at the Brewery and it smelled so good I had a hard time leaving!
 
My last two batches never bubbled once thru the airlock, and turned out great. If you didn't record your OG, than wait until the hydrometer readings get down to around 1.012 or so (I know it's highly dependent on many factors, but for us beginners, that's good enough).

Either that, or just let the beer sit in the primary for at least two weeks and bottle away.
 
Back
Top