Trying to see where I messed up - Fermentation

I'm fairly new to homebrewing, but if you did a 1 gallon batch in a 2 gallon carboy then that probably explains it. Instead of the air expanding out of the carboy and into the airlock, it just sits in the carboy since there is so much head space. Just my thoughts. Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in

 

Take a gravity reading.

 

Are you removing the lid and seeing these clumps? You are fermenting a 1-gallon batch in a 2-gallon bucket, so the CO2 off-gassing will take a while to fill that head space and make bubbles in the airlock, especially if you remove the lid. But if fermentation was occurring, normally you'll see a little more than some clumps.

But since you've seen clumps, are they off-white clumps of bubbles or chunks of trub that may have gotten into the fermentor?
What is the approximate ambient temp where is the bucket is placed?
Any idea of the age of the yeast? Was it dry or liquid?

I wouldn't rpitch yet, but you can get a spare packet just in case you need to repitch.

How did you transfer from the kettle to the fermentor? A well-splashed pour should be okay, but if you siphoned you may have minimal O2 dissolved in the wort which can cause a slow start to your fermentation.

 

You will hear experienced homebrewers saying "no airlock activity does not mean no fermentation". The only way to confirm fermentation is with a hydrometer.

The stopper could be loose, the lid could be loose.
Cheers.

ps, try to minimize headspace in the fermenter. You want oxygen in the wort pre-fermentation, then you want to eliminate all oxygen exposure once the yeast get going, especially when bottling and transferring.

 

yes, well remember, it's not a vacuum in that air space waiting to be filled. yeast produce a lot of CO2 gas when they are doing their work.

 

How much money and time are you into that batch? For me waiting 3 days is 2 1/2 days to long, especially for a gallon. Just make sure next time to re hydrate the yeast pack properly and be sanitary with your process. You did check the date on the yeast which is crucial, especially if you decide to start using liquid yeast. Using glass or p.e.t. fermenters is a good way to keep a visual check as well. Make sure you have a good seal/ fitting on the lid/air lock stopper. Give it another day and re pitch if you wanna save it. That’s what I would do.

 

Looks like fermentation.

 

Wouldn’t be a homebrewer if ya didn’t second guess yourself!

 

OG can't be lower than FG. Did you use a hydrometer or a refractometer to get your 8 Brix reading?

The thick krausen has come and gone. See that ring around the bucket? That how high the krausen got.

 

Best part about northernbrew is you can pull up their recipes on their site. This beer kit calls for an English dry yeast I never heard of of, but S-04 would probably work.

But based on your picture, I would say the magic happened.

Edit: I don't believe you can use a refractometer to measure SG once alcohol is present.

 

Wow. That estimator/calculator is effed up.

Looking at the kit, the expected OG isn't specified, but they specify 1.062 for the 5 gallon version. So using that...

If you measured 8 Brix with a refractometer, and using a reasonable wort correction factor, I'd say you went from about 1.062 OG to about 1.014 FG. It's probably fully attenuated or close to it. About 6.3% ABV.

 

Old wives' tale. As long as you correct for the alcohol with a good calculator, a refractometer is fine for most work.