Hi all! I’m new to home brewing and I need some help. On Sunday night I started a 1 gallon batch of Smashing Pumpkin Ale from Northern Brewer. Everything went well and I put the carboy in a dark closet with a blow off tube (had another gallon batch explode so I was being cautious). Yesterday I checked on the progress and noticed that there were no air bubbles coming from the tube. I checked again today and still no air bubbles. I replaced the blow off tube with an airlock (thinking the seal wasn’t tight enough with the tube & cap). Still, there are no air bubbles coming through the airlock at all. So, it’s now been 2 full days and I'm seeing no air bubbles. There is a layer of krausen on top and when I look into the carboy I see lots of active little bubbles on the surface. All my other gallon batches had LOTS more activity started by now. What’s going on? Is something wrong? Do I need to get some more yeast or something? Any advice is appreciated!!!
You are fine. You have visible evidence of fermentation from the krausen layer. Airlock/blow-off tube activity is not a wholly reliable gauge of fermentation because if the system leaks, as seems to be the case here, no airlock activity is present. Even when you have a well sealed airlock, the information it provides is easily misinterpreted. It only is evidence of degassing, which is not the same thing as real-time fermentation. It could just mean there is a pressure imbalance between the fermenter and the ambient environment.
I'll add to what @pweis909 said. Fermentation sometimes occurs so quickly that you don't get to see the air bubbles. After the fermentation occurred you changed to an air lock and released any gas pressure in the head space, and it just hasn't built up again to make bubbles in the air lock except maybe one every 5 minutes. A fast fermentation could be an indication that fermentation occurred in conditions that were (too) warm. Any idea what the temp was in your closet?
I agree with the previous posts. Krausen is indeed an indicator that you have fermentation. I've had plenty of beers in which there was little to no activity in my fermentation lock with a well sealed fermenter. The best way to verify fermentation is with a hydrometer. I sure you'll be ok. And another thing. When the fermentation is done, don't be discouraged by a bad smell. I've had krausen that smelled like diarrhea and the beer came out excellent. Good luck!
Krausen is definitely an indicator that fermentation is happening or has happened. But if little/no activity happened in the airlock, that indicates the fermenter is not as well sealed as it could be, i.e. there's a significant leak somewhere, and the CO2 pressure is taking the path of least resistance. Fermentation makes a lot of CO2. Yes, a hydrometer (or refractometer) is the best way to gauge the progress of the fermentation (attenuation). A poopy smell would indicate a bacterial infection. Are you perhaps thinking of a sulfur-y aroma? Some yeast strains tend to throw a lot of sulfur, which usually cleans itself up with adequate time.
Thanks for the replies! There are still no bubbles coming through the airlock but the water now is filled with tons of little tiny bubbles (but no big bubbles coming through.) I'm in Southern California & it's been very hot although I have my air usually around 70 so I'm not sure if it was too warm or not. Looking into the carboy there are tons of very active bubbles popping on the surface. The only smell I've noticed is a slight yeasty smell. Fingers crossed!!
Warmer temperatures actually increase the speed of fermentation, but they also increase the risk of certain off flavors. Ideal fermentation temperatures depend on the beer style, the yeast strain, and your goals, but a good default temperature for ales might be something like 68F. Note that the fermentation (wort) temperature will typically be a few degrees higher than the ambient (room) temperature during active fermentation, because it's an exothermic process. With a one gallon batch (like you're doing), and all other things being equal, the temperature difference will be less than with larger batch sizes.
It was just sulfurous compounds. I'm very careful with sanitization. Smelled great after I transferred to secondary.
"I'm in Southern California & it's been very hot although I have my air usually around 70 so I'm not sure if it was too warm or not. Looking into the carboy there are tons of very active bubbles popping on the surface. The only smell I've noticed is a slight yeasty smell. Fingers crossed!! Go to your local Wally or pet store and head to the aquarium aisle. Pick up a stick on thermometer strip, (Cost a couple bucks.) clean the outside of your fermenter with rubbing alcohol, wipe dry and stick it on. this will help you keep track of your wort temperature.
