No bubbling after 24 hours?

PhiliousPhogg

Well I am immensely pis5ed off to find that not a single bubble is coming through the airlock after 20 hours (stared at it for 1 min+). I can smell the brew on coming into the room all right so the logical thing is that the bin isn't sealed properly...right? It's a lager brew and temp is showing at 26 degrees, (I know it should be ideally lower).

The lid is tighly fastened and airlock fitted in the rubber bung, and water added to the airlock, see picture. When I was sterilising the bin & swishing the water around in it, I noticed that some water was spilling out through the rim of the lid. However there is a rubber band around the rim of the lid which I thought would be sufficient to seal it airtight & I tightened the lid as best I could. This is the first time I've used the equipment and got it from a brewing shop.

Or am I completely missing something here? Could it start bubbling yet?

And if indeed the bin is not sealed should I keep on brewing and bottle anyway in the hope that it turns out ok?

mayto

Is there a foamy looking layer on top of the beer (krausen) which is a sign of fermentation. Never brewed a proper lager yet but some are meant to be fermented at fairly low temps alright. What type of yeast or beer kit are you brewing? The c02 could be escaping through lid which is fine, also the c02 will keep nasties out and provide a protective layer over the beer. It can take more than 24 hours to start fermenting so I would not start worrying yet

Sonovagun

To me it looks like you have too much water in your airlock. I had the same problem. I had a swell in the lid but no bubbles. So I got a tube and used it to suck a faction of the water. Within an hour I had bubbles.

PhiliousPhogg

Thanks for the reassuring words. I can see a vague outline of the liquid through the side of the bin and there appears to be about an inch of foam at the top. I will see how it goes. To be honest there is no reason why the f*cking thing should not be sealed properly.

The brew is called German Lager, no further detail, & it just came with the equipment I bought so I said I'd start with that. The instructions said 18-30 degrees which I doesn't impress me too much. I'm in New Zealand where is is winter so I have a heating pad which is now making it a little too warm, I have removed a sleeping bag which I had wrapped around it. Anyway I'll see what I can do as I go along.

Sonovagun, if I got a little rubber tube from I don't know where, and sucked a little bit of the water out with my mouth without disturbing the "lock" would that be OK? I wouldn't risk infecting the beer would I? Not sure how else I could get the water out. In fact, and I'm still getting my head around the process, but would I be a complete idiot if I just took the lock off altogether and put it back on with less water in it, given that the beer should be protected from infection at this stage by the foam on top?

Now the other thing is I don't have a hydrometer and was planning to just judge by the bubbling frequency from the airlock. I still reckon I'll just time my bottling using my best judgement. Anyone think that's unwise with these issues I'm having?

Muchos gracias for the advice, this forum is invaluable.

mayto

Is the lid bulging from the pressure? krausen is a good sign alright.It is probably a lager kit with an ale yeast, ideal fermentation is about 18C, try to keep as close to that as possible. As fermentation progresses it should push c02 through the airlock. I would recommend you get a hydrometer if possible as its the best way to make sure fermentation is complete before bottling.

Saruman

26c? Is there any way to get that down?

It sounds like it is going along fine. At the end of the day you do not need an airlock but they are nice to have for extra safety and keeping an eye on the progress.

oblivious

PhiliousPhogg wrote: »

I can smell the brew on coming into the room all right so the logical thing is that the bin isn't sealed properly...right?

Don't really on an airlock, look at it and since you can smell it it a seal issue, no biggy as it dose not have to be seal air tight. Just check the is some Karusen going on, a yeast head has formed

PhiliousPhogg wrote: »

It's a lager brew and temp is showing at 26 degrees, (I know it should be ideally lower).

Way lower, there are only a hand full of Belgian yeast that ferment up their and that for ales

PhiliousPhogg

Had another look, still no bubbling in the airlock, we'll see how she goes. BTW there are little Max markings on the airlock and I have filled the water to that level, just below.

There isn't an inch of foam at the top as I said earlier, that was the light reflecting on the bin. But I gently tilted it and when I moved it back I could see the shadow of some big blobs of foam on the inside all right.

The lid isn't bulging but it's strong rigid plastic. I would imagine the CO2 would force through the airlock before that bulged. I can force the plastic on the side inwards with my thumb but it's tight with the pressure.

Temp has come down to 24 degrees on the heating pad without the sleeping bag around it & it's nightime now. Right I am going to act, will turn off the heating pad (it's just on/off, no temp regulation) and tie the sleeping bag around it again. Any advice as to lowest allowable temperature for lager as I reckon room temperature is 10 or less at night?

oblivious

PhiliousPhogg wrote: »

Temp has come down to 24 degrees on the heating pad without the sleeping bag around it & it's nightime now. Right I am going to act, will turn off the heating pad (it's just on/off, no temp regulation) and tie the sleeping bag around it again. Any advice as to lowest allowable temperature for lager as I reckon room temperature is 10 or less at night?

No need for that heating pad this time of year and especially with a lager that ferment at 7-11c!

With out temp control like a fridge it really had to do a lager as the beer need to ferment at 7-11c not in a room at 10c. The will be additional heat given off by the fermentation that will keep the bee above this

A room at around 17-20C f is more what you want with out additional external heat source.

Open the lid and take a proper look, just wash you hand before and don't sneeze over it;) If its only 24hours old it could be just taking off

Saruman

At that high a temp, it is even possible that all the vigorous activity happened during the night. If a good starter was used alongside a yeast like Nottingham.
This scenario is very unlikely though.

Sonovagun

PhiliousPhogg i'm new to it too. And was concerned about the lack of bubbles, have a look at my coopers ginger beer topic below. I had filled my airlock to the recommended half way but i could see the water pressure was greater then the co2 pressure in the fermentor! So i got a rubber tube and sucked a tiny bit of water out. I was very careful not to blow any of the water back into the brew. The water i sucked out was fizzy and tasted of ginger! I have had a steady flow of bubbles since!

PhiliousPhogg

Update: Was away at the weekend. I sucked a good bit of water out of the airlock with a straw a few days ago. However I then knocked the airlock out of the bung when I was messing with the sleeping bag but I didn't worry about it & put it back in. I have seen no bubbles at all so I can only assume the lid isn't sealed. I'll bottle in a few days & I'll order a hydrometer online now & hope delivery is quick.

I put the beer out in the garage to get temperature down & it was 18 last night, 14 just now & I have a sleeping bag around it. I'll go with that & see how she turns out.

rubadub

I used to put my ear to the top to listen for bubbles, I rarely used an airlock at all. Brewing beer will generate its own heat so keep an eye on the temps with the sleeping bag, I read of lads in NZ doing large brews who had to dump frozen 2L sealed bottles of water into brews to keep the temps down!