Fermenting help

Thebiggestal · Oct 14, 2021

I started the Youngs American IPA extract kit two days ago put into the beer fridge at 21c and checked yesterday it was starting to froth through the fermenter hole and rapidly bubbling. Checked in the evening and the water had bubbled away so topped up with sanitised water. Checked today and no signs of life.

The bucket seems very full. I am using a 25 Litre fermenter and the batch size was 23 Litres. Is the bucket too small? Should I just leave it in the fridge and see what happens?

Rodcx500z · Oct 14, 2021

Hi, just because the airlock is not bubbling doesn't mean it's not active first thing to do is make sure the lid is on properly as the co2 may leaking out, gently push down on the lid if it bubbles i would say it is active

crowcrow · Oct 14, 2021

Hiya, yes just leave it be. Give it a good 2 weeks to ferment out - if you have a hydrometer can take a reading and check that the final gravity is stable.

It is very common to get a lot of activity and then for things to die down but the yeast will still be busy for some time to come. The airlock is a poor measure of activity as it is common for brew buckets to have a gas leak somewhere so you can't be sure that the airlock will show life as things settle down.

Good luck and enjoy!

Thebiggestal · Oct 16, 2021

Thank you

crowcrow said:
Hiya, yes just leave it be. Give it a good 2 weeks to ferment out - if you have a hydrometer can take a reading and check that the final gravity is stable.

It is very common to get a lot of activity and then for things to die down but the yeast will still be busy for some time to come. The airlock is a poor measure of activity as it is common for brew buckets to have a gas leak somewhere so you can't be sure that the airlock will show life as things settle down.

Good luck and enjoy!

thank you.