Airlock stopped bubbling after about 12 hours

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

Hi all, I did my first batch of extract brewing Friday night using the Irish Red Ale kit from Midwest Supplies. The whole process went well until Saturday night. I had good action in the airlock for about 12 hours, but noticed my fermenter temp climbed to a fairly high temp for this particular yeast and ale. The temp reading on the fermenter was sitting at 77F. I decided too e the fermenter to an area where the ambient room temp is about 66F. Once Ioved it, all bubbling immediately stopped and has not restarted.

I know that fermentation can still be going even without the bubbling, and me just have new brewers paranoia, but how possible is that I have ruined my first batch with the fermenter temp climbing that high? Is there anything I should do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I wouldn't worry. Cooling it likely slowed the yeast a bit and that's why the airlock isn't going.

 

[unionrdr]

Leave it sit in the cooler area till one week,then see how it's doing with a hydrometer. If it's still dropping & cloudy,it should finish up. A gentle swirl to get some yeast back in suspension wouldn't hurt either. Just don't cause any splashing. Aeration is bad at this point.

 

[asegal]

Same thing just happened to me on my second homebrew this weekend.
I prepared a cooper's select wheat beer yesterday afternoon and within three hours had greater than one bubble per second on the airlock.
This morning at 7am things were moving along at similar pace, but an hour later all airlock activity ceased. I observed for three continuous minutes, and saw no bubbles.
External temperature of the fermented has been around 82F, which is about 12 degrees above ambient room temperature. That tells me there had been a lot of biochemical activity inside. Now, the temp is starting to fall.
I don't own a hydrometer. Everybody at my homebrew store seems to feel it is not necessary.
I plan to just let this sit. That seems to be the answer to everything.

It's National Beer Day today.
I'm going to go drink a homebrew.

 

[unionrdr]

Depending on the gravity of the beer,just letting it sit isn't going to tell when it's done. Average gravity beers might be done in three weeks. But why risk bottle bombs because of bad information from lazy people? A little extra effort now will mean less work later.

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

Is it ok to remove the lid on the bucket to get a thief in there to check with a hydrometer and also check the clarity? I was planning to move it to a secondary carboy after about a week anyways. Right now with it being in an ale pale, I can't really see the krausen or any of the suspension in the brew.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I will relax and let it do its thing!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,but give it time to make sure it's going.

 

[ratbastrd05]

Sounds like both of you need some kind of temperature control. Fermenting at those temps is risking off-flavors from the yeast producing esters. My first batch (IPA) climbed up to about 75 on the stick on thermometer. It definitely had some strong banana flavors, which have mellowed a bit with time. The beer is drinkable but not fantastic. I bought one of these https://www.cool-brewing.com/ , which I've used on two batches and has given me much better temperature conditions in my small apartment.

But for the current batches, wait it out and let the yeast work before poking around too much.

 

[asegal]

Following unionrdr's suggestion, I have the fermenter bucket a gentle swirl and then replaced the airlock.
This seems to have given new life to the airlock... at least for now.

I realize there's a lot of science behind this. But it's very hard to know when to meddle and when to let nature do her thing.

I guess that's the art.

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

Do I need to remove the airlock before giving the bucket a swirl?

 

[asegal]

Probably not. But I wanted a peek inside to see how much foam and to listen for bubbling, also to see how much I was actually agitating the contents of the bucket...

Mostly, though, I didn't want to risk sloshing airlock fluid into my fermenter.

 

[unionrdr]

You don't need to swirl it that hard. Just swirl it enough to stir up some yeast,but not disturb the filled airlock too much. If the fluid in the airlock is climbing up inside the center peice,pull up on the center peice to let the fluid out. Top off if needed,& put the cap back on.

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

So still no action in the airlock after giving it a gentle swirl this morning. I will assume that the more vigorous portion of the fermentation is finished after the 12 hours and it will just sit quietly for the remainder of the week.

Does anyone have any suggestions on when i should start taking hydrometer readings to ensure that primary fermentation is complete? From what i understand, i need to do it for three days in a row.

 

[s4l]

Give it at least 2 weeks in primary for the yeast to finish fermenting, and to give them time to clean up after themselves.

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

Thanks for the help everyone! much appreciated!

 

[asegal]

Just some follow up... Admitting an embarrassing newbie mistake.
I didn't quite have enough vodka in my airlock.
Added one more centimeter and the bubbling resumed.

Will add this to my checklist for next time.

 

[doby]

The midwest kits I have brewed had mutons yeast and started very quickly then finished airlock activity after 24 to 36 hours especially if fermination was above 70
I checked gravity after 7 days then racked to secondary for 2 weeks.
They turned out great

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

I am not sure that I am going to rack to secondary. I may just leave it in the primary for a few weeks and then straight to the bottling bucket. I am not putting in any second additions to this brew, so i don't really see much of a need to do anything other than let it finish undisturbed in the primary.

 

[doby]

There isn't much of a need for a secondary its just the way I did it, mostly to free up my primary, either way you'll have great beer.

I really need to get another primary

 

[mostpeoplecallmejim]

I am also in need of a another primary, or two or three maybe. trying to make up my mind if i want to get a carboy, or just stick with the buckets. buckets are easier to clean, but the carboy has a better seal on it, works better with my home made aerator, and i just like to be able to see what's going on inside my fermenter. seems to be six of one and half dozen of the other on which one to get.

 

[unionrdr]

I leave mine in primary if I'm not oaking or the like. Let it hit FG,then give it another 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then prime & bottle. The beer is clearer & cleaner tasting this way,& less trub in the bottles.

 

[asegal]

Do you primer directly into your primary?
I bottle primed my first, but it was so tedious.
This time racked to a carboy once the fermentation quieted down. Now trub is gone. Although the the 5 gallon carboy has a lot more head space than I would have expected...

I'll rack back to my primary /bottling bucket to prime, and bottle from there.