My brew day was 4 days back and since last 36 hours i dont see any airlock activity.
Im trying to brew a classic belgian wit. The recipe said to wait at least 14 days.
Does no airlock activity indicate the fermentation is done?
And is it okay that it’s done so fast?
Also what happens if i leave it for a couple of days after it’s probably done fermenting?
P.S. it’s my first go at brewing at home.
Airlock bubbles aremonkyba rough guage of fermentation and the presence or lack of them doesn’t necessarily indicate anything. Its certainly possible that your beer is done, especially if the temperature was high. But the only way to really know is to take a gravity reading. No proble, letting it sit a bit longer if it’s done.
+1 on Denny’s response.
I still use glass carboys and I generally wait for the beer to show signs of starting to clear before I pay much attention to it. No need to rush the process, patience is your best friend during fermentation.
Paul
Please be very careful with glass. Glass carboys are like wooden smoke houses: there are two kinds — the ones that burnt down and the ones that are going to burn down. Carboys = the ones that broke into shards of death and the ones that are going to break into shards of death.
Cheers! [emoji482]
I appreciate your concerns and I can’t disagree with your warnings. For some reason I just like using glass.
I have buckets and do use them when I need more than two fermentors at a time. Just creature of habit I guess.
I’m very careful, never set them on hard surfaces without a folded towel under them, never lift by the necks. I can’t say I won’t ever have trouble but have used them for 310+ beers. :
Thanks!
I broke 3 of them while being very careful and taking similar precautions. Yes, I’m slow enough that I had to break 3 before I quit using them.
I use glass carboys but I have a webbed harness with handles the only way I’ll handle them.
Consider using a PET carboy. They are clear so you can see everything you can see with glass, they are shatterproof, light enough to lift with one hand when empty, and have an opening wide enough to stick an arm into for cleaning. You can get ones with spigots on the bottom so you don’t have to use a racking cane with siphon. I still use the webbing straps to lift full ones.
I now use a Big Mouth Bubbler after reading on this forum about a guy who got cut bad from a broken glass carboy.
Back on subject - Denny is right. Gravity is how you know fermentation is complete. When your gravity reading is the same for 3 days, fermentation is complete.
Plastic milk crates worked for me in the 90’s. All stainless now and I DO miss watching the yeast party.