I haven't done this for years and fermenting isn't happening

[stu]

Firstly, patience required please, I'm new here

I've been reading the forum for quite a while and I finally got all my gear together and started brewing a Canadian Blonde the wife bought. It's been sitting around a few months, but we moved house about a month ago so it's been too chaotic to do.

So made it all up as per instructions - used brew enhancer (this is all new to me - I used to make my beer years ago with a kilo of Silver Spoon). All seemed OK. OG matched instructions and so on. It bubbled a bit on top, but it doesn't appear to have moved the water in the airlock at all.

I did it at the weekend so the temperature was mostly a steady 20-21c. Once the exothermic reaction started, the brew was on 22c.

Of course, as the week went on, the heating wasn't on so much and by yesterday it had gone down to 18c although I had an aquarium heater delivered so I've got it back up to 21-22c.

But still no bubbling.

Is it borked? It looks OK and has a slight froth - I cleaned everything thoroughly so shouldn't get nasties.
It's been in now since Saturday so 6 days - should I check the Gravity yet? It appears from reviews you can get it down to 1009-1006.

Also, I have an old fashioned floaty gravity calculator. Do you ladies and fellas use anything more fancy? Is there any other fancy gizmos and gadgets you use?

One of the problems I've always found with home-brew beer is getting it to clear. I've always found the beer cloudy and it always has that "home-brew" taste. I'm toying with buying a proper beer engine pump with a "dogs winky" (can't use the D word) sparkler too for doing ales.

Thanks for reading.

Stu

 

[rpt]

If you are worried whether it is fermenting then take a gravity reading. This is the only way to know what is happening. If it's using a lager yeast then you may not see much activity on top (that's my experience anyway) and unless your FV is well sealed you may not see many bubbles in the airlock. I don't use an airlock any more.

Hydrometers are usually floaty things. Sometimes old technology is the best. I still use pen and paper!

 

[Andyhull]

Hi there,

You'll probably find that the FV hasn't got a great seal to it so the gas is escaping through the lid and not the trap.
If like you say have had it at those temps then it will be fine, im prety sure that if you take a hydrometer reading it will be nearly done but your best off leaving it until day 10 then take a reading.

As for clearing thats done generally by time in either the keg or bottle and being stored in the cold after the initial 2 weeks of secondary fermentation at 18c to 20c

Andy

 

[RobWalker]

did you see any activity that wasn't airlock related? it could have fermented and just be a loose seal (which is fine.) best thing to do is open it up. if it smells like beer, it's fermented or fermenting. if it smells sweet, it hasn't taken off. beer is usually pretty erratic so it'll have gone one way or the other. did you just pitch the yeast in dry or was there anything else you did with it?

i think canadian blonde uses a lager yeast, which would be a bottom fermenter, so activity may be hard to see compared to ale.

floaty gravity calculator is fine, we all use 'em. you shouldn't have a problem with clearing either. you may get chill haze if you put them in the fridge, but it doesn't affect the taste. otherwise it's just patience. hopefully you will find that kits have improved since you last did them! :thumb:

 

[stu]

You're definitely right about the kits improving.

I'm gradually getting up to speed with Light, medium and dark DME, Dextrose and so on. This stuff is definitely all new to me.

I'm working from home tomorrow, so I'll check the gravity and have a smell.

It's a ballihoo FV and the lid does seem to fit very tightly.

 

[winelight]

The kits have improved and so has the kit (equipment). Everything seems easier now and the beer's definitely better. I first brewed about 28 years ago and then I did a spell in the early 90s.

 

[stu]

well there you are. Checked the gravity earlier and it's down to about 1014 (I think, it was a few hours ago).

Put the lid back on and checked it was securely tightened. The missus called me whilst I was out to let me know it was bubbling away frantically.

so something has changed. All seems to be go again. I'll leave it for a few days and come back to it. Temperature is now steady at 23c. Is this OK? Not too warm?

 

[Andyhull]

Put the lid back on and checked it was securely tightened. The missus called me whilst I was out to let me know it was bubbling away frantically.

so something has changed.

Yeh, you've got a good seal on the lid this time! :lol: