Fermentation trouble?

I think it's too early to worry. It's a little odd that you observed rapid bubbling at first and now nothing, but I wouldn't be concerned at this point. Try to hold it in the mid-60s if you can, at that temperature the yeast will definitely be able to do their job.

 

What were your temps in both the closet and garage? VERY likely your sure fired solution is to . . . relax it will be just fine.

 

Settle down, keep the wort in the mid/upper 60s, stop peeking, and check the gravity in two weeks.

 

Once the yeast start you should see a krausen ring (high-water mark) above the wort/beer. This can be as little as one inch or all the way to the lid. In a plastic bucket you can see this ring by shining a flashlight through the side of the primary in a darkened room. Normally you can pick out top of liquid and top of krausen ring. If the initial airlock activity was a sign of fermentation then some sort of krasuen residue should be visible.

Temp control is important. Measuring temperature as "wasn't warm" and "but not cold" is not the best approach. Shoot for the mid 60s and avoid big swings. Your yeast are prima donnas . . . treat them that way.

 

Is the fluid in the airlock mostly on the high side or low side? The high side is the side closest to the exhaust port.

 

This might be confusing to him if he uses the 3-piece airlock.

OP, do you have an approximate temp for the inside of your closet? I think you could put your fermentor out where the temp is 70-72 degrees to give the yeast a boost (if the closet is chilly). If you pitched at 60 degrees the yeast may have gone on strike. If the warmer room temp produces bubbles then you can put it back in the closet. (That's presuming that your closet is around 65 or so.)

I'm going to take a stab at a reason for the initial bubbling that you experienced. If you pitched the yeast at 60° and then allowed the fermentor to get a little colder in the garage, when you brought it indoors the air in the head space simply expanded with the warmer temp and produced bubbles. So, it was likely a false alarm.

 

He said he was using an S-shaped airlock



This is what I mean by high side.

 

My bad, I missed that info.

 

I never tried this when I used a bucket for fermentation, but there have been postings in this forum that you can shine a flashlight thru the side of the bucket from behind and be able to see the krausen bubble level above the liquid. This is probably best done in a darkened room.

 

QUOTE="burymeintimbergreen, post: 3301378, member: 944962"]before going to sleep last night I made space for the fermenter to keep in a closet in our hallway.[/QUOTE]

What, you didn't snuggle up with your fermenter? : )

FWIW, because I use a bucket, my favorite part of high krausen is the aroma (depending on the yeast used) .[

 

@burymeintimbergreen Right there is another indicator that fermentation is occurring. The aroma and the CO2 has to get outside of the bucket somehow and if it smells like beer, you're on your way.

 

It is possible to miss the bubbling, it can happen quickly and for a short period of time.
Take a gravity reading when all else fails. That will tell you for sure.
You'll know an infection if you get it, you'll be able to smell it when you open the lid. I've only had like one in hundred. What a sad day. I just drank it as quickly as possible and chalked it up to experience .

 

Relax.
Don't worry.

No.
Over-pitching home brew is next to unpossible.

Relax.
Don't worry.
Stop being nervous.