Hey this is my first batch of beer. It's been in the plastic 6 gallon container for 2 weeks now. I made the batch of beer and left town for 2 weeks. My girlfriend sent me a short video of the bubbler and it was bubbling 24 hours after the initial caping. She said it was not bubbling the next day and we just left it sitting while I was gone. I got the kit as a bday present and made it on Jan 29th. It's an Amer beer kit and made 5 gallons. Would it hurt to let it sit for an additional week or should I bottle it now being that its not bubbling? I want good beer and not in a hurry to mess it up and I also dont want to continue with bad beer if something went wrong. Any ideas if what the next move should be?
Did you take a gravity at the start of fermentation? You should thief a sample with a sanitized wine thief and take a gravity to make sure it’s fermented out and also taste it. If fermented out completely (and tasting ok) you can transfer to bottling bucket with priming sugar and bottle.
My gut says the lid was venting rather than the airlock. That’s why the bubbler stopped. It’s probably finished by now. Taste it. If it tastes like beer you’re good. Your first beer is always a learning experience. As is your eleventieth.
Welcome to the BA site and to the Homebrewing forum. It's a great place to hang out if you're serious about this hobby. Did your equipment kit include a hydrometer to be able to take a gravity reading? If so, sanitize it and the wine thief and tester tube and get readings two days apart to see if there is any difference in the two readings, and that your readings are close to what your recipe predicts it should be. Taste your sample too to make certain that there is nothing horribly wrong with the beer. It will be a little rough tasting, but it should be close to a beer taste. If you don't have a hydrometer, you have to rely on visual signals and the calendar to determine if is time to bottle your beer. Given that the airlock was bubbling so quickly after the beer was put into the fermenter, and that two weeks have passed, I think the beer is done fermenting and you can bottle it. (The hydrometer is an important tool in this hobby, so if you don't have one, and if you want to continue in this hobby, get one before you brew your next batch.) Also, read John Palmer's book at HowToBrew.com which is free to read on line, or purchase the newer edition book so that you have something that you can highlight, write notes, etc. It's an easy read and highly informative (as well as being better than instructions that come with brewing kits).
www.howtobrew.com Give it a look. If you enjoyed your brewing experience I recommend shadowing an experienced homebrewer on their brew day. My neighbor let me shadow, and we split the batch. It made the concepts easier to grasp, and gave me an idea of what's important, and what can left to chance so to speak.
The bubbles can be a good indication, but sometimes the lid leaks a little, so the bubbles are not totally reliable. The next test is the gravity reading, which has been mentioned above. if you don't have a hydrometer at present (I encourage you to get one), then check the surface of the beer. If it is still covered with a lot of foam (krausen), chances are that it is not finished fermenting. If there are only a few "islands" here and there of foam, it is likely close to final gravity. For an ale, and using a heathy amount of yeast, two weeks after fermentation has started is usually a general indication that it is either finished fermenting, or close to it. If unsure, leaving it for three weeks will not hurt at all.
Unless you had big temp deviation Jan. 30 - Feb 2, you should be ready to bottle...but a gravity reading would be good insurance, good luck!
No unfortunately my kit did not come with a gravity tester. I will upgrade and buy one soon. I tasted it and it does taste like beer so the bottling is going to happen in the next day or so. That k you.
I will be buying a hydrometer soon. I did taste the beer and it tasted like beer so I am going to bottle it in the next day or two. I looked in the bucket and it did not have any foam or anything showing that it was still fermenting. Yes I have lots to learn and looking forward to brewing lots of beer from now on. Thanks for the advice
