Hi again! Thank you all for the wonderful tips and ideas. Last week, when i was in K Mart, i bought a Wander brew kit for 45.95.(it came with the wander bitter concentrate) I thought it was a good deal so i didn't bother waiting till Father's day. One thing missing from the kit is bottles and a plastic spoon. So i decided to go to the local brew shop for a spoon( and found out that the person who owns the shop works where i work).. he also has a brewing club which i will join... the brew shop guy gave me some bottles which i am very pleased off...( enough for my first brew!)...
one problem i have now is that my airlock is not bubbling.. the temp is right.. maintaining it at 24 degrees( thanks to the heatpad the brew shop guy lent me) and i checked the sg and it is now 1020 compared to 1040 when i took it initially. there is some frost when i drew out some beer for the sg reading.... i am just afraid that my fermenter is not air tight and might get infected...
what should i do? and it is bothering me that my airlock isn't bubbling... is there anything i can do to save this?
any help will be appreicated. i really don't want my first brew to fail..!
first brew- airlock not bubbling
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Oliver
- Administrator
- Posts: 3424
- Joined: Thursday Jul 22, 2004 1:22 am
- Location: West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi Stekings,
Even though there's no activity in the airlock, it sounds like your beer is coming along nicely. The fact that the SG has fallen indicates the beer is fermenting. Obviously the CO2 being produced is escaping elsewhere.
Other signs that the beer is fermenting include a layer of yeast forming on the bottom of the fermenter (you should be able to see this through the plastic), possibly a "head" forming on the brew, and condensation forming on the inside of the fermenter.
To fix the leak, try tightening the lid (although beware of over-tightening. It should just be firm). Failing that, take off the lid and pour some cooled boiled water around the rubber seal then refit the lid. I find this bit of water is often enough to seal any leaks.
It doesn't really matter if there's an air leak though. The likelihood of an infection occurring due to the air leak is so low as to be not worth worrying about.
As long as you sterilise well at the beginning, your beer will be fine, whether the fermenter is leaking air or not.
Before you bottle, take two SG readings two days apart and make sure they're the same. This indicates the beer has finished fermenting.
Cheers,
Oliver
Even though there's no activity in the airlock, it sounds like your beer is coming along nicely. The fact that the SG has fallen indicates the beer is fermenting. Obviously the CO2 being produced is escaping elsewhere.
Other signs that the beer is fermenting include a layer of yeast forming on the bottom of the fermenter (you should be able to see this through the plastic), possibly a "head" forming on the brew, and condensation forming on the inside of the fermenter.
To fix the leak, try tightening the lid (although beware of over-tightening. It should just be firm). Failing that, take off the lid and pour some cooled boiled water around the rubber seal then refit the lid. I find this bit of water is often enough to seal any leaks.
It doesn't really matter if there's an air leak though. The likelihood of an infection occurring due to the air leak is so low as to be not worth worrying about.
As long as you sterilise well at the beginning, your beer will be fine, whether the fermenter is leaking air or not.
Before you bottle, take two SG readings two days apart and make sure they're the same. This indicates the beer has finished fermenting.
Cheers,
Oliver
another problem
Hi oliver
thanks for the advice.. i checked yesterday.. the temp is staying at around 22 to 24 degree.. checked the sg reading again.. still at 1020.... dunno if that is a good sign.. there is definitely a head forming on the beer.. cause when i drew it out from the fermenter i can see a fair bit of froth.....
i unscrew the lid( did not take it off) then i straighten the rubber seal more cause i figured it was a bit uneven where the lid was sitting on top.. so i straighten that..
one last thing.. the airlock thing....( the water that i filled half way in between ( the steralising water i meant) has sorta of reduced in the amount i put in.. i think it feels liek there is less water in there that i previously put when i made the brew.. does that sound alright too?
thanks for the advice.. i checked yesterday.. the temp is staying at around 22 to 24 degree.. checked the sg reading again.. still at 1020.... dunno if that is a good sign.. there is definitely a head forming on the beer.. cause when i drew it out from the fermenter i can see a fair bit of froth.....
i unscrew the lid( did not take it off) then i straighten the rubber seal more cause i figured it was a bit uneven where the lid was sitting on top.. so i straighten that..
one last thing.. the airlock thing....( the water that i filled half way in between ( the steralising water i meant) has sorta of reduced in the amount i put in.. i think it feels liek there is less water in there that i previously put when i made the brew.. does that sound alright too?
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Oliver
- Administrator
- Posts: 3424
- Joined: Thursday Jul 22, 2004 1:22 am
- Location: West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi again Stekings,
Did you give the hydrometer a spin when you took the SG, to remove the bubbles from the outside? If not, you might have got a false high reading, as the bubbles help the hydrometer float.
Once a beer starts fermenting, not much will stop it, unless the temperature drops too low (which it isn't in your case) or there's no more sugar for the yeast to ferment.
No sure about the water level in the airlock. It sounds strange that the level would have dropped.
Cheers,
Oliver
Did you give the hydrometer a spin when you took the SG, to remove the bubbles from the outside? If not, you might have got a false high reading, as the bubbles help the hydrometer float.
Once a beer starts fermenting, not much will stop it, unless the temperature drops too low (which it isn't in your case) or there's no more sugar for the yeast to ferment.
No sure about the water level in the airlock. It sounds strange that the level would have dropped.
Cheers,
Oliver