I used a 1-gallon beer making kit to attempt my first ever batch of beer. The kit was given to me by a friend who said it had sat around his house for a while unused. I brewed according to the instructions and everything seemed to go well right up to pitching the yeast. After pitching, the wort never bubbled very much at all (it's been 5 days since I pitched the yeast). I'm guessing I have dead yeast since the kit sat around for a while. I plan on pitching again with fresh yeast. I only hesitate because there is a 1.5 inch yeast cake at the bottom of the 1-gallon fermenter. If I have a yeast cake that large does it mean the yeast did work? Is it possible that the vigorous bubbling part of fermentation happened overnight so I never saw a lot of bubbles? The kit did not contain a Hydrometer and I don't have one. I figured I didn't want to spend the money on it unless I decide to brew on a regular basis. (Maybe this was a mistake.) Thanks in advance for any advice.
Probably. Assuming what you're seeing is yeast and not some other form of trub (hop debris, coagulated proteins, etc.) Can you post a pic? It's possible, particularly if you didn't do anything to control fermentation temperature. What was the room temperature where you had the fermenter? It's also possible the fermenter's stopper (or whatever closure it has) was not completely sealed, allowing CO2 to escape through the cracks and bypassing the airlock.
A hydrometer is a good purchase, not just for regular basis brewing, but also if you ever plan to brew again having one on hand is a good idea. I'm guessing that what you're seeing at the bottom is trub and not a yeast cake. 1 gallon kits tend to have huge primary layers of trub because of the small volume of a 1 gallon fermentor. Also if there was some overnight fermentation there would still be a residue from where the krausen sat. I would do some research on your style of beer find a test strain and go get some and pitch it. Congrats on your first brew and welcome to a marvelous hobby!
Vikeman said it best. I know what you mean, but they are actually not very expensive. For instance, here is a little set from Northern Brewer, but you can probably just go to your local shop and pick up what you need. Helpful tool, as bubbling or the lack of it is not really a good indication of if fermentation has stopped.
I used a blow off tube, not an airlock. The kit came with an airlock as well, but it said to switch from the tube to the airlock after fermentation had calmed down. Since I wasn't sure fermentation had even got started, I never switched. The cap is on the fermenter tightly I did not attempt to control fermentation temperature. The fermenter has been been in my basement the entire time. My basement is a consistent 65 degrees. According to the kit instructions, I pitched when the wort was 70 degrees. Picture attached.
Yeah, next time I'll have a hydrometer. A little more research up front would have helped me too... Since I knew the kit was old, I should have tested the yeast before using it. *bonks self on head*
Awesome! Thanks for the help guys. It's hard when you've never done it before. I have no idea what any stage of the process is supposed to look like.
If you haven't read it already... www.howtobrew.com There's also an up to date print version available from amazon or your local homebrew store.
