I'm about 9 days into fermenting my first batch of beer. I used the Brooklyn Brew Shop kit with the "Everyday IPA" FWIW. Everything went well on brew day from what I could tell; sanitized everything thoroughly, kept temperature in the specified ranges as best as possible, etc. The day after I pitched the yeast, there was a lot of activity and a lot of bubbles coming from my airlock. After about two days of that it subsided and since then there has been almost no activity. I'm curious as to what is going on. Should I try and add more yeast, or ferment for longer? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys! EDIT: After reading the other posts it looks like a lot of other people are having the exact same problem. Seems to be the kit perhaps. I'll be patient and move it to a darker place and maybe wait a week or two longer.
All is well with your homebrew. Best advice is follow the kit's directions...relax...and try real hard not to worry. After while...you'll get to not only relax and not worry without trying real hard but also have a home brew.
It's not the kit; your fermentation is probably done. Relax for another week or so then take a hydrometer reading each of two days to see if the number is steady and has reached its expected final gravity. If it's more than a point or three from the final gravity then your fermentation could be stuck, and steps can be taken to restart it. But that scenario does not happen often, thus it is unlikely. Let us know how it turns out.
Possibly it's done fermenting. The only way of knowing for sure if its done is to check specific gravity. I suspect it is done.
It's true that a lot of first-timers report this "problem." Sometimes it's because they didn't have any way to control fermentation temperature and the beer got warmer than it ought to (the ideal temp for most ales is usually 66-68F or so) and thus the fermentation finished more quickly than usual. Sometimes there isn't any explanation: the yeast just went faster than usual, because that's what it felt like doing. In any case, you need to just leave it alone for at least a week, and then take hydrometer reading to see if you're close to what the finishing gravity is supposed to be.
It sounds like you pitched enough healthy yeast that you got a good fermentation. 2 days of vigorous fermentation followed by it tailing off seems good to me, for an ale yeast of fairly normal gravity. http://seanterrill.com/2010/05/09/yeast-pitching-rate-results/
You will want to find a cool/dark place to ferment. A room that has big temp swings during the day due to sun light is not good. Keeping a steady temp throughout fermentation is one of the keys to brewing great beer. If you can keep it under 70 degrees that would be best for most ale yeasts. But make sure to check the suggested temp range depending on what yeast you are using. Also remember that during peak fermentation the beer gets warmer due to the activity. It could easily rise 5 degrees over the ambient temp of the room during this time. A swamp cooler is an inexpensive way to help contol your fermentation temps. The majority of new brewers go through the same thing. I would bet that everything is good. I have experienced no bubbles, bubbles for two weeks and everything in between. The one common thing is I left all of them in primary for at least three weeks and all of them ended up ok. Good Luck
Thanks for the support and confidence guys. I moved it to my room which is warmer and darker than where it has been and I woke up with what looks like some activity on the surface. I'll let this sit around for a few more weeks before bottling.
It's not a problem. It's actually pretty normal. Airlock activity is a p*ss poor indicator of fermentation activity. Relax. give it another week or two. Check the gravity over a preiod of two or three days to be sure it's done, then keg/bottle and enjoy!
What was the OG? The only way you can truly tell if it's done fermenting is to take gravity readings. "Everyday IPA" sounds like it has a very modest Starting Gravity so it is probably already done fermenting. Simple rule of thumb that I use for most Ale's, 1 week in primary then rack to secondary. After another week I keg when I am good and ready. Relax and have a homebrew.
