So i started my 5th batch of homebrew last weekend i usually use car boys but this time i used a 5 gallon bucket. I pitched yeast on saturday and noticed airlock activity has halted on wednesday and know air lock activity isnt a good read on whats happening. My main concern is that the yeast is still making co2 and is pressurizing the bucket but not escaping. When i barely put a little pressure on lid the air lock bubbles so its not clogged. Do i push the co2 out or is this a normal thing?
The lid has a little bit of flexible 'give' to it and you're just forcing out a little bit of the CO2 when you push on it. Fermentation is likely done enough so that you can take a gravity reading to verify that the expected final gravity has been reached.
Alright awesome so that co2 is the normal amount the yeast makes. So pop the lid and take a fg and if fg is where i want it then go to bottle conditioning? Its only been fermentation for 5 days now should i take fg then let yeast clean up for another week before bottling?
After taking FG give it another 2 - 3 days or so, then FG again. This tells you that it's really finished. I tend to give the whole business 4-5 days to clean up, but a week will not hurt a thing. If you have the ability to raise temp a degree or two that would also help in keeping the yeasties in the ball game.
Great thanks for yalls help i think im going to stick with car boys after this one. Too many questions and worries were raised using a bucket
CO2 will escape through a non-clogged airlock when there’s enough positive pressure inside the fermentor, as evidenced by the airlock bubbles created when you pushed on the lid (assuming that’s what you did), After you stop pushing on the lid and it returns to its ‘normal’ shape, CO2 that was forced out will be replaced by air. Has the beer temperature been consistent over the past couple days, or has the temp dropped? It's comforting to have a couple gravity readings that are the same over a 2 - 3 day period. I usually wait about a week after pitching the yeast before taking the first reading. Others might do it sooner or later, but that's what has worked for me. Where you 'want it' (probably the FG listed in the recipe?) is a projection and not a hard and fast time frame for knowing with certainty that the yeast are done. If you bottle when the gravity reading is 'where you want it' and the beer isn't finished fermenting, it could build excess pressure in the bottles; no bueno. Edited to add: For clarity, since the OP is on day 4 or 5 of fermentation now, I'm thinking the 4 or 5 days for clean up referred to by @PortLargo is after FG has been reached.
The temperature has been consistent at 68° F i was just wondering if the co2 not having enough pressure to come out was going to hurt the yeast since its not escaping and if i should release the co2 or keep it in. And i dont normally use a recipe, i experiment with different grains to make different styles get an OG and FG and see where it landed on ABV scale OG on this batch was at 1.050 and hoping to land a FG of 1.010
Keep it in. If you don't already use one, recipe-building software can help with projections when changing up ingredients. I use BrewCipher, the author (@VikeMan) is a member here at BA. Brewers Friend is popular as are some others.
I usually use brewers friend or brewfather im going to check out the brewcipher software especially if hes a BA
Not all lids on plastic fermenting buckets are absolutely airtight, which is likely why you were not seeing bubbles coming through the airlock. While it is actively fermenting, the pressure is so great that, even if some is escaping through the lid, you still see bubbles coming through the airlock. I would just leave it for a week after fermentation and then check for the specific gravity. If it is close to Final Gravity, check it again in a couple of days. If it is the same, it is likely finished.
