No hydrometer for testing primary fermentation

[jwright010]

About 5 days ago I brewed an IPA and set it aside for primary fermentation. It started bubbling no problem but I noticed that I accidentally overfilled the sanitizer solution in the airlock which made it more difficult for the bubbles to get out, so now on Day 5 it is bubbling every 30-60 seconds, whereas in past brews I've done it had a more regular & steady bubbling for the first week or more. Every post or solution I've seen says to test it for 3 consecutive days using a hydrometer... only problem is that in the past I've just relied on the hydrometer strips on the side of my carboy, but those are no longer working (I think I got them wet) and now the replacement hydrometer I ordered won't be here for another week.

Typically I leave it in primary fermentation for 2 weeks before bottling, but with the slowed down bubble rate I'm not sure if I should bottle sooner. Any thoughts on how to test or what else I should do? In case you can't tell, I'm somewhat of a newbie...

 

[VikeMan]

Every post or solution I've seen says to test it for 3 consecutive days using a hydrometer...

There's no reason to test for 3 consecutive days. You can test twice, 2-3 days apart. That middle reading doesn't give you any more information about whether or not attenuation is finished, and just causes an unnecessary opening of the fermenter.

only problem is that in the past I've just relied on the hydrometer strips on the side of my carboy, but those are no longer working (I think I got them wet)

What's a hydrometer strip?

Typically I leave it in primary fermentation for 2 weeks before bottling, but with the slowed down bubble rate I'm not sure if I should bottle sooner.

If I couldn't measure gravity, I would be leaving the beer in the fermenter longer than usual, if anything.

 

[jwright010]

There's no reason to test for 3 consecutive days. You can test twice, 2-3 days apart. That middle reading doesn't give you any more information about whether or not attenuation is finished, and just causes an unnecessary opening of the fermenter.



What's a hydrometer strip?



If I couldn't measure gravity, I would be leaving the beer in the fermenter longer than usual, if anything.

Good to know, thanks! I think fermometer is the right term, which upon further inspection looks like it is for temperature not gravity - I guess I misremembered what I've used in the past since its been a few years lol