First off I would like to say hello and cheers to all.... I just recently decided to start brewing my own beer... I just brewed a batch of stout two days ago... I followed all the different directions from multiple books... I tried my best to keep a sterile invironment... Most everything went smooth... The only thing is the airlock seems to have stopped bubbling after only 24 hours.. This doesn't seem right....

Is there any reason this might have happened??? Is there any suggestions on what to do to fix the problem, if any???? Even though it seems to have stopped bubbling, I have not wanted to mess with it, because of inexperiance.... Any suggestions for the next batch would allso be greatly appreciated...

I used liquid extracts, powder ectracts, hope pellets, hop plugs, and some chocalate grains for ingredients...


Thanx,
PEACE,
and CHEERS

Is it possible the airlock is clogged? If it is, the fluid inside would probably be all cloudy from the junk that tried to get through before it clogged. If that is the case, you will want to change it out right away. If you don't, pressure will build up and blow your lid or stopper off in a volcano like explosion.

Don't worry about taking the airlock off for a second or two. If you have a second airlock, get it ready and switch them. You might want to spray whatever type of sanitizer you use around the hole that the airlock goes into first, just to make sure no nasties are hanging out there. If you don't have a second airlock, just cover the hole with a sanitized cup or piece of plastic wrap or something like that while you clean and sanitize the airlock that you have. From what I understand, bacteria can't crawl into your beer, they can just fall in by random chance. If the hole is covered, you are good. Some people, I have heard, just put a sanitized plastic cup over the hole from the get go.

If it is not clogged, I am not sure. 24 hours is definately too soon to have no bubbles at all. Are you sure there are NO bubbles. If you watch it for a minute or two is there anything at all?

And by the way, are you in a plastic bucket or glass carboy or what? If it is a bucket and the airlock is clogged (and it hasn't already exploded) the lid might start to bulge. If you crack the lid slightly and a lot of pressure comes out, then your airlock is definately clogged. If you are in a glass carboy and the airlock is clogged, you would probably see gunk all over the glass right to the top and the stopper will get forced out. If you don't see any gunk stuck to the glass at all, then fermentation never got going or stopped very early for some reaon I can not immediately imagine.

It is very possible that your brew has finished fermenting. What was the ambient temp in the room with the fermenter and what was the temp of the wort when you pitched? I know that I have had batches finish in a day (especially when I first started) because I pitched a little too high and brew was kept very warm. there is nothing wrong with this, I made some very tasty ales with a very short fermentation. Wait a day or two and if you still see no activity take a gravity reading. If your close to what the FG was anticipated rack or bottle.

I am using a bucket at this point... Now that you mention it Coctyle, there does seem to be some gunk in the airlock... It sucks being at work and so far away from it to check... Hopefully it isn't blown by the time I get home....

I thought it was a good temp when I pitched the yeast, but my thermomoter seemed to act funny the whole time so who knows... Oh well it is definately gonna be a learning experience....


Thanx for the help....

PEACE,
and CHEERS

Every batch is just that - a learning experience. Keep at it and keep asking questions . . .

Butch, a recommendation...get the beer below 70F before pitching the yeast. 65F is even better.

Also, your bucket may not be airtight, which is fine. You won't see much activity in the airlock if this is the case. I use buckets too and when I started I was scratching my head since I saw no activity in the airlock. The brew was fermenting happily. Now I don't use airlocks at all.

If your bucket isn't airtight don't worry. The yeast put out enough gas to keep a positive pressure environment going.

Welcome to the obsession! Ahem... I mean- craft! All questions gladly answered by all...

"Welcome to the obsession! Ahem... I mean- craft! All questions gladly answered by all... " - RADTEK

hahaa.. I have a feeling "obsession" is probably the right term....