I began brewing my first all grain beer last Sunday and have run into an issue. After the first day there was a small layer of krausen on top of my fermenting bucket, but I noticed that my brew was a gallon short of what I intended. So after checking online, I added 3/4 of a gallon of water to the fermenting bucket and resealed the lid. It has been two days and it doesn't seem to be fermenting and there are only spots of krausen (maybe not) on the surface. Can anyone help?
What are you using to determine that it is no longer fermenting? Krausen typically subsides to different degrees after leak fermentation. Let it go at least two weeks before you disturb it. Take a hydrometer reading in two weeks and again two days later and see if it changed.
I would not have added the water during fermentation. Was it boiled and cooled? One thing I have noticed with a few of the "newer" brewers is they are opening the fermentor to look at it, DON'T. you risk infecting your beer each time, I don't take a hydrometer reading until it has been in the fermentor for 12-14 days or so. I pitch my yeast, seal the fermentor and come back in two weeks, unless I secondary.
