Just started a new arrogant bastard ipa clone

first time ever brewing… so how constant should my airlock be bubbling? Saturday will be a week its been in the bucket then ill be switching it to the carboy.  its popping like 5 times every ten seconds as of now.

Bubbling is not a good indicator of when fermentation is done.  Do you have a hydrometer so you can measure the gravity?  If so, your beer is done if the gravity is constant for 3 days.  Remember there is no rush.  It won’t hurt your beer to leave it right where it is for a month or longer.

Also remember that the yeast will need time to clean up unwanted fermentation by-products after primary fermentation is done, but just a day or two should do it.  If in doubt just be patient.

I also got the impression that you are intending to transfer to a carboy for ‘Secondary fermentation.’  While you certainly can do this, it is totally not necessary and will just expose your beer to oxygen which will introduce staling.  I never transfer to a second vessel for this reason.  I go right from the primary fermentation vessel to the keg or bottles.

@yso191 ok so ill keep it in the first bucket. so as far as the hydrometer goes when should I use it. how long should I let it ferment before I test it and when would I add the corn sugar. I really don’t want to mess this up ha. sorry for being such a new guy.

I wouldn’t check it until 2 weeks.

+1 - It should be done before that, but two weeks is an easy milestone to manage.

so just to make it clear wait two weeks to test. and its ok for me to pop the cap un the bucket to test it then seal it back up for another week? and as far as the corn sugar goes when is the best time to add it? sorry if you could refer me to a good timeline or just kinda give me a quick lesson id greatly appreciate it gentleman…

Everything is OK in homebrewing.  But I wouldn’t open it unless necessary.  The concern is about introducing oxygen and wild yeasts and bacteria riding on airborne dust particles.

It is hard to be patient on your first few brews, but patience is very good for the beer.

And no problem being new to this.  Everyone on here was once.  Ask away.  I also encourage you to read widely here and elsewhere.

I fixed it for you. :slight_smile:

Hat tip to the guy who is correct.

Google and read John Palmer How To Brew, you have time as you’re gonna be waiting a couple weeks anyway, right? [emoji6]. And corn sugar will only be needed if you plan to bottle, its to help with carbonation in the bottle. If you plan on kegging you will most likely be carbing from a CO2 bottle and won’t need it. And I just brewed my AB clone this weekend as well! Cheers! [emoji481][emoji106]

so I messed up and didn’t use the hydrometer before I pitched the yeast. so I was told by the beer store I purchased the kit from to just let it ferment in the bucket a week which will be Saturday, to transfer to the carboy then put the airlock on the carboy and let it sit for another week. then when that week is complete to transfer it back to the bottling bucket add the corn sugar and start bottling then let the beer sit in the bottles for two weeks. so since I didn’t get the first reading before I pitched. and from what im hearing here its risky to  test the beer during fermentation how will I know when its safe to bottle. or does this timeline that I got going on sound safe enough to work?  so confused lol…

Since Arrogant Bastard is a pretty hefty beer ABV wise, I would say leave it in your fermentation vessel at least two weeks, maybe more.  You can still test final gravity regardless of the original gravity though.  I assume you bought a kit - what final gravity did it say you should end up with?

As mentioned above, the only transfer I would do is to the bottling bucket which would have the corn sugar in it so that the yeast will have something to eat to provide the carbonation in the bottle.  I would also say that two weeks in the bottle is a minimum, but a good time to open one to see how they are carbing up.

I have never bottled out of a bucket (When I bottle it is out of a keg), so maybe someone else can chime in to describe the best way to do that.

Leave it in the primary fermenter (bucket) for another week or so. Skip the carboy transfer. Opening it up and testing the gravity isn’t as worrisome as people make it sound. As long as your sanitation practices are sound you’ll be fine. I keep a spray bottle of some StarSan solution around. Pop the lid, take your sample, with a sanitized thief preferably, spray the lid, close her back up. Easy peasy. I test, wait two to three days and test again. If the two reading are the same, boom, done deal. Transfer to your bottling bucket, again following good sanitation, mix in the sugar solution and bottle to your hearts desire. Relax, it’s just beer dude [emoji481][emoji6]

Safe schedule is let it be in primary fermenter for 2 weeks, test, wait 2-3 days, test again. If both of those readings are the same, it should be safe to bottle. Is your primary also your bottling bucket, with a spigot? Thats a pain, as most on here like to add sugar to the bottling bucket and then rack beer onto that, this enables you to not need to stir it up and possibly aerate your beer.

yes I only have one bucket with a spigot. and a carboy. how do you suggest I do it?

I guess you will have to gently stir the sugar solution into the bottling bucket and go from there. For you next batch though, I would but another fermenting  bucket with no spigot and run your fermentation in there, then when finished, you can add sugar solution to bottling bucket and rack beer onto the solution. Racking should evenly mix it together

I will deffinately do that. so let it sit for another two weeks before bottling you said?

All good advice above.  I’d let this one sit at least another week in the primary bucket.  As Frank said, after that week, you can still take a reading, let it sit 3 days and take another reading.  If the readings match you’re safe to bottle.  If it were me, I’d use the waiting time to go buy another bottling bucket.  Then the only transfer you’re doing is into the bottling bucket.

That’s what I was going to do actually. so my next batch should I use the carboy for my primary or what? if not im getting no use out of it lol

You will use it eventually, but maybe not often.  My guess is your carboy is 5 gallons and your buckets are larger to accommodate for krausen during primary fermentation.  Not giving enough head space for krausen requires a blow off tube and even then can get messy.