airlock not bubbling
- Thread starter lagerlad
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wheazy_joe
Landlord.
In that case would be inclined to leave it be for a few days then check again, if it's dropped from 1050 then you know it is fermenting
rodabod
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I'd avoid taking the lid off again. I don't think it would harm it to give the fermenting vessel a good slosh about to raise the yeast, and to oxygenate the wort a little (in case you didn't do this in the beginning).
My Youngs fermenting vessels both leak around the edges. You can never rely on airlock activity.
My Youngs fermenting vessels both leak around the edges. You can never rely on airlock activity.
Tony1951
Bungling Amateur
Did you put in the fresh yeast yet Largerlad?
If you don't get an active yeast growth in there soon, something else is going to move in and take it over.
When it gets going into fermentation, it should look something like this ->
Not had anything that looks like that really it had a small head what I thought was fermentation but probably not added a sachet of gerwin gv12 at 6 o clock tonight will keep everyone infomed of what's going on cheers lagerlad(not largerlad but i may be after 40 pints if it comes to fruition)
Tony1951
Bungling Amateur
:) - Sorry about the daft name change.... Mis-read the name.
I know what you mean about the 'head' as you call it. Beer and wort naturally forms a sort of head if it is stirred up. So when I pour water onto the malty wort if making a kit brew, it gets a frothy head on it. Maybe that is what you took to be the fermentation starting. When it gets going though it is much more frothy than what you get when stirring up wort - pretty much like that picture or perhaps a little less, but not much less. Hope the Gerwin 12 get a hold soon. I suppose it is bound to be warm enough at the current time. I usually go for 20C, though when fermentation gets started the temperature will rise all on its own as the yeast gives out heat itself when it is busy.
What temperature was the wort when you first pitched the yeast? It mustn't be too hot or too cold.
it was sitting about 22 when i put the new yeast in last night got up this morning desperate to see bubbles.....none yet!hopefully when i get home tonight,think i am gonna order a couple of kits today was thinking evil dog ipa and brewferm grand cru as i am desperate to get a successful brew going.....can you be addicted to brewing without being addicted to drinking it seems to be all i think about just now!!!!!!lagerlad:
Tony1951
Bungling Amateur
it was sitting about 22 when i put the new yeast in last night got up this morning desperate to see bubbles.....none yet!hopefully when i get home tonight,think i am gonna order a couple of kits today was thinking evil dog ipa and brewferm grand cru as i am desperate to get a successful brew going.....can you be addicted to brewing without being addicted to drinking it seems to be all i think about just now!!!!!!lagerlad:
I've never had that experience. If I pitch straight out of the yeast packet, there is maybe a twelve hour lag, but then it really gets going. I would generally be pitching about four in the afternoon. By bed time it generally isn't doing much, but by morning, it is always going like the clappers with the airlock burping about every two seconds if the temperature is around 20 - 22C.
If it doesn't go pretty soon, I would suspect either bad, out of date yeast, or that there is contamination from steriliser chemical not being washed out of the FV.
What did you sanitise with, and if it isn't a no-rinse steriliser, did you rinse out well?
What does it smell like?
wheazy_joe
Landlord.
I go back to the previous point, if you have pressure on the lid and bubbles when you press on it, then there is definitely fermentation happening.
timcunnell
Regular.
Hey Lagerlad just reading through these comments, and just wondering if the kit instructions specify what the FG should be? Usually they do?
As others have said, airlocks aren't really a reliable way of telling if fermentation has started - or indeed when it has finished. The best way is to take hydrometer readings. Obviously it also helps if you do get a starting gravity, as this will help you calculate the ABV, and you can see if you're getting near the target. But what really matters is that you can take readings for maybe three straight days where it hasn't changed - and the gravity is somewhere close to what the kit suggests.
If your fermentation isn't really taking off I also wonder if it is a prob with the temp being too high. Seeing how the weather is at the moment, its likely that it might be too warm. I am fermenting an IPA at the moment, and instructions were to ferment at around 18 degrees. Its more like 23-24 in the room where I have my fermenter, and after a day there was very little activity (usually after 24 hours it'd be going nuts). So I sat my fermenter inside a large container (another FV) which I then filed with cold water to make a kind of cooling water jacket. With 5-6 hours of doing this, the fermentation really kicked off with large froth and much bubbling. So it might just be worth checking the temp maybe?
As others have said, airlocks aren't really a reliable way of telling if fermentation has started - or indeed when it has finished. The best way is to take hydrometer readings. Obviously it also helps if you do get a starting gravity, as this will help you calculate the ABV, and you can see if you're getting near the target. But what really matters is that you can take readings for maybe three straight days where it hasn't changed - and the gravity is somewhere close to what the kit suggests.
If your fermentation isn't really taking off I also wonder if it is a prob with the temp being too high. Seeing how the weather is at the moment, its likely that it might be too warm. I am fermenting an IPA at the moment, and instructions were to ferment at around 18 degrees. Its more like 23-24 in the room where I have my fermenter, and after a day there was very little activity (usually after 24 hours it'd be going nuts). So I sat my fermenter inside a large container (another FV) which I then filed with cold water to make a kind of cooling water jacket. With 5-6 hours of doing this, the fermentation really kicked off with large froth and much bubbling. So it might just be worth checking the temp maybe?
