no sign of fermenting

[ChrisRedWills]

Hello thbf just joined ur web site
I have a bit of a problem that u seasoned brewers might be able to help me with , I'm currently fermenting an export lager for 8 days at 18 - 20° now and I've had no sign of bubbling in the air lock does this mean its gone wrong any help would be welcome

 

[jonnymorris]

Welcome.

It may be that your lid doesn't fit very well so the air is escaping somewhere other than through the airlock. Did you take an original gravity reading? If so, take another now and this will tell you if your brew has fermented (which, if you did it right, probably has). You should aim for a steady reading over three days to confirm fermentation has finished.

 

[charlie_mead_face]

how long has it been on? did you do a yeast starter?

 

[Hollow Legs]

Hi, Welcome to the forum,

As Johnny says you may not have an airtight lid on the fermenting vessel, have you had a foamy head on the brew which left a brown mark around the top of the vessel?

If you have then no worries, if you had no foamy head (the Kreusen) do as Johnny says with your hydrometer, that's if you took an OG test before you pitched the yeast that is.
if all else fails give the brew a gentle stir not too much as to add a lot of oxygen to your mix.

Good luck :

 

[H0N3YoM0N5T3R]

hey another lager drinker.

Welcome mate :drink: :drunk:

 

[ChrisRedWills]

Cheers honey monster
Really excited about my first brew ,is it natural to keep looking in on it ,
I find myself checking the temp in the middle of the night etc
I think I've caught the brew bug :

 

[jonnymorris]

is it natural to keep looking in on it...

Yes but try and resist. It's best left alone to do its thing for a couple of weeks.

 

[ChrisRedWills]

Sorry I was down stairs checking the brew lol

 

[evanvine]

If you are using a bucket with a lid, you have virtually no chance of the CO2 escaping through the air lock.
As has been said previously, if you have a hydrometer, use it.
Else leave it undisturbed for 10 days and then taste!
You should be pleasantly surprised.
Welcome to the Forum :thumb:

 

[nightsod]

Hi and welcome.

I'm pretty much a noob* too, however, my most recent fv batch is a kit Dark Munich lager, with a lager yeast.
It stayed pretty much inactive for 6 days; by seven days the airlock was giving maybe one *plip* an hour and by eight it was fermenting away like an ale
yeast. There was a 5mm layer of pure white froth visible on the surface through the fv. It is now day eleven and we're down to a *plip* every five minutes or so, with the froth dying back a little.

I'm aching to look inside as it's my 1st lager, but I think it's best to wait!

So, it can take ages for any activity to show itself.




*sic.

 

[ChrisRedWills]

Thanks night sod ( fellow noob ) good luck with ur brew :