Slow bubbling in airlock?

Ingredients
1

Hi!

I am very new to brewing and I just started my first batch of cider, I thought I got all information I needed but I am not so sure.

Anyway, I had a vial of champagne yeast (no info on the package except for it should be good for 30L) and I made a starter of it, in lack of a stirring plate I just shook the starter irregulary for 48h, and I added nutrient. Now I have a 18L(4.75 gallons) of cider fermenting in room temperature but I have read that the airlock should bubble like crazy in the beginning. But it started to bubble after 24h in an interval of 20 - 40 seconds and have continued to do so for the last 48h.

I think it might be underpitched, should I be worried?
I am not sure what to do at this point.

2

What apple juice did you use? Did it have any preservatives? You also may have killed off a lot of the yeast if you made a small starter with dry yeast, which doesn’t typically need a starter.

3

I used a concentrate without any preservatives, and it was a liquid yeast.
Is there something I can do at this point or should I just wait it out?

4

Just throwing this out there because I did this before. Is there enough  liquid in the airlock?

5

It’s filled up to the maximum line only on one side though if it makes any difference

6

Are you in a carboy or a bucket? Bucket lids tend to leak around the seal and you may not always get lots of bubbles in the airlock. Regardless I’d wait it out.

7

Wouldn’t be worried. You’ll likely see the bubbling increase over the next 24-48 hours.

8

I am using a bucket and people have supposedly got more “bubble action” with the same model as I have. Can yeast be this slow? It’s been around 96h since I pitched the yeast.

Another question while I got this going, In the beginning there were a very sweet smell coming from the bucket but after 48h it started to smell a little sour, still sweet but an undertone of sour. As I don’t know how it should smell, are there a chance the batch have gotten infected? I sanitized everything with StarSan as much as I could.

I appreciate all answers, it’s confusing being a newbie  ;D

9

Airlock bubbles are poor indication of fermentation activity, especially in a bucket where (as mentioned) the lid doesn’t always seal airtight.

10

Cider fermentations can smell pretty bad. Lots of sulfur

11

Alrigh, thank you you’ve put my mind somewhat at ease.

12

No kidding, I did a batch last month using a lager yeast at 52f that smelled awful. I never got sulfur using this yeast in beer. (S-189)

13

Just remember that all those stinky compounds are going OUT of your beer, never to return.  :smiley: