Hello and a question

It is not uncommon for primary fermentation to proceed rapidly and visible airlock activity to fall off abruptly after 72 hours when you pitch a large quantity of viable yeast and / or if you ferment at an elevated temperature.

In short? It's not unusual. It also may not be 'optimal' - but instructions that come with kits are just general guidelines, not hard & fast rules. There are too many variables at work for them to say "Primary fermentation will take 96 hours, exactly, and if not? You screwed up!"

Your beer will likely turn out just fine. Welcome to homebrewing.

 

Even if airlock activity stops, the conditioning process is still happening, which will improve your beer:
https://www.morebeer.com/articles/conditioning

If you don't plan on adding any additional ingredients in secondary fermentation (dry hopping, fruit, or in your beer's case - cocoa nibs or coffee beans, etc), most homebrewers don't bother with racking to secondary for a simple beer. Just leave it in your primary fermentation vessel for a little longer to allow for the yeast to finish doing their thing before you bottle/keg.

 

Welcome aboard. I did not see if you had taken a hydrometer reading or not. Hydrometer reading tell the tale on where the beer starts and where it should finish on the ferment.

Read how to brew by Palmer and your learning curve will shorten, some. Best hobbie ever!!!

 

The activity that started again was likely CO2 escaping from solution due to agitating the wort, especially if it started up again pretty much immediately. Attenuation may have already been finished. Measuring gravity (using that hydrometer @GormBrewhouse mentioned or a refractometer) is the only way to find out for sure.

 

No problem. If you haven't already, picking up a hard copy of How to Brew is a great investment for referncing from your first batch through advanced techniques. Or you can read an older version free online: http://www.howtobrew.com/

 

The higher the temperature(within reason) the faster your beer will ferment. Some yeasts do better at higher temperatures than others, some do better at lower temps, so if possible make sure your yeast and your temperatures are in sync. Welcome to your new addiction, may it serve you well!

 

Is that the air temp or the beer temp?

 

Sounds like my last batch before the one I am doing now. It moved quick for me and I never saw any bubbles.... It showed signs of fermenting, so I gave it a few days, gave into everyone here and took a SG reading, and things were bottled a few days later. Regardless of how many times you do things, some times you get a curve ball, but everything is still good.

 

Welcome to the hobby. Get ready for a fun ride. This isn't hard and fast rules, but I usually let a beer sit a week before even bothering with a hydrometer reading. Usually two weeks in the fermenter is the norm for my ales. Well, lower gravity ales anyways.

 

wasting beer,,,,,,,very bad, tasting beer as it goes thru life,,,,,,,,, very good. trouble is too much tasting and very little left to bottle. Then the brewer must upgrade, LOL.

Tasting will show you some of the changes the beer goes thru, especially when you make a brew that will be aged for some time. Very cool stuff and I never get tired of it. Keep notes!!!!!

 

Welcome! I was asking the exact same question a year ago when I started. This page is fantastic, especially for new brewers. I've now have about 15 batches under my belt and have employed lots of more advanced methods as I progressed. Keep brewing and enjoy!

 

I would suggest not doing this.

 

I agree with this. Agitating (more like gently rocking) the wort after the brew day is really a last resort for when you're sure a fermentation is stuck, which in reality is pretty uncommon.

 

Sorry for an add on question but why would it be bad to agitate? Is it oxidization your concerned with?

 

Yes.