First time brewer

[Griffter99]

Hi

Ive just started my first ever homebrew IPA. I put it to ferment on Thursday evening and the first day or two the airlock showed that the water was being pushed from one side to the other (s shaped airlock)

It is now 3 days in and the water has levelled out so it looks like there is very little activity.

Is there a problem

 

[lyonshead]

Nope! Fermentation is just slowing. Fermentation can often be done within a few days. Don't pull it off yet though as the yeast will now reabsorb many of the off flavors they themselves produced during the fermentation. Plan on at the very least 10 days, probably longer. Also, in the future, a hydrometer is the only real way to account for fermentation activity!
Cheers, welcome to an awesome hobby!

 

[Griffter99]

Thanks very much!! Ido have a hydrometer but have been reluctant to open everything up in case it gets spoilt.

The instructions with the kit say leave it in the first fermentation bucket for 4-6 days - would you recommend longer then based on your experience?!

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks very much!! Ido have a hydrometer but have been reluctant to open everything up in case it gets spoilt.

The instructions with the kit say leave it in the first fermentation bucket for 4-6 days - would you recommend longer then based on your experience?!

the kit instructions were probably written in the 1970's and not updated to take new information into account. They probably want you to move the beer to secondary at that time to avoid yeast autolysis but that has pretty much been proven to not happen on the home brew level. I've had very good luck with leaving my beer in the primary for 3 weeks and then bottling. Here's a short article written by Chris White of White Labs that tell you more about what the yeast are doing and why it takes so long. He does say it happens more quickly than you are likely to see but he works in perfect conditions and your beer probably isn't in those conditions.

http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

 

[Griffter99]

Thank you again.


Just an update, I checked the gravity last night and got a reading of approx 1015. The first reading before fermentation was approx 1040.

This appears to be correct based on what I have read plus the instructions with the kit do day it should drop to approx 1014 during primary.

Feeling better but hope I haven't infected the beer - I did sterilise the hydrometer.

Does all of this sound correct to you guys?

 

[hercher]

Yep. If you brewed on Thursday, you aren't even a week in. With a starting gravity of 1.040, you should get lower than 1.014. As RM-MN above says, you don't need to pull the beer off the yeast right away. Even after fermentation is complete, I like to let the beer set for a few days. It allows more of the yeast to fall out of suspension and helps the yeast clean up any off-flavors it may have created, such as diacetyl.

Be patient, and let your beer be for two weeks from brew-day. Then you can gently transfer the beer to your bottling bucket, add your priming sugar, and bottle your beer!

On another point -- are you fermenting in a plastic bucket in a spigot? If so, you know you can just draw some beer off into the tube your hydrometer came in. This way, you don't have to bother sanitizing your hydrometer.

 

[Griffter99]

Hi I amusing a basic fermenting bucket that doesn't have a spigot. My pressure barrel does but I haven't transferred it over yet - I have literally added the pre mixed cans to water, added hop enhancer and yeast and left in the bucket with the airlock.

Got to admit I'm battling my own impatience as I really want to transfer over tonight and add the brewing glucose as per the instructions on the kit but I think I will stick your very useful advice (all three of you) and await a better beer at the end!!

Thank you!!