[nikegonz]

New member, first time posting,

This is my second time homebrewing. I'm trying an all-grain Wheat Beer recipe from my local Home Brewers Shop and it seems as if my fermentation stopped around the 48 hour mark. There's no visible bubbles coming out of the airlock and it's only been two days. The first batch I brewed in October (Pumpkin Ale) created bubbles well into the fourth or fifth day. So, I'm wondering if this is normal for a wheat beer. Would love some input from some seasoned brewers.

Looking for some wisdom,
nikegonz

[hopfenundmalz]

My best advice is to wait, keep the temperature constant, or increase it a few degrees.

Beers can be different due to composition, OG, Yeast used, pitch rate, and so on and on.

Talked to some Norwegian guys in Bamberger last August. The one had a Kveik strain that he claimed would be completely done in 24 hours.

[Robert]

Bubbles don't mean a lot.  If there's not a tight seal on the fermenter, the gas will find an easier way out than through the airlock.  People frequently have an entire fermentation go by, worrying that they never saw bubbles, but everything went fine and is done.  This is one of the most common questions beginners ask here!

It is also quite common for fermentation to be essentially complete in 48 hours.   On the other hand, it's not abnormal for it to take longer either, like your last one.  Depends on the yeast, the temperature,  and other factors.

The only way to know for sure if fermentation is finished to take gravity readings.  If it's in the range of your expected final gravity, and hasn't changed over several days, it's probably done.

[nikegonz]

Thanks for the advice, both of y'all! I did what I could to ensure there's a tight seal and no air was going in, or out other than through the airlock. So, I'll be patient and check the gravity when I transfer it to the secondary.

Cheers!

[MNWayne]

Skip the secondary. It's not necessary. It's extra work. It makes your beer available to infection. It exposes your beer to oxygen. Lots of negatives, no positives. Watch your gravity and if no change, bottle or keg.

[Robert]

Skip the secondary. It's not necessary. It's extra work. It makes your beer available to infection. It exposes your beer to oxygen. Lots of negatives, no positives. Watch your gravity and if no change, bottle or keg.

+1

[KellerBrauer]

Bubbles don't mean a lot.  If there's not a tight seal on the fermenter, the gas will find an easier way out than through the airlock.  People frequently have an entire fermentation go by, worrying that they never saw bubbles, but everything went fine and is done.  This is one of the most common questions beginners ask here!

It is also quite common for fermentation to be essentially complete in 48 hours.   On the other hand, it's not abnormal for it to take longer either, like your last one.  Depends on the yeast, the temperature,  and other factors.

The only way to know for sure if fermentation is finished to take gravity readings.  If it's in the range of your expected final gravity, and hasn't changed over several days, it's probably done.

+1 on all points

I could not agree more.

[Megary]

Bubbles don't mean a lot.  If there's not a tight seal on the fermenter, the gas will find an easier way out than through the airlock.  People frequently have an entire fermentation go by, worrying that they never saw bubbles, but everything went fine and is done.  This is one of the most common questions beginners ask here!

It is also quite common for fermentation to be essentially complete in 48 hours.   On the other hand, it's not abnormal for it to take longer either, like your last one.  Depends on the yeast, the temperature,  and other factors.

The only way to know for sure if fermentation is finished to take gravity readings.  If it's in the range of your expected final gravity, and hasn't changed over several days, it's probably done.

+1 on all points

I could not agree more.

+2

The only thing I'd add is to ask if you noticed a nice creamy "high krausen" of yeast.  If that krausen never materialized, then you might have a stuck fermentation.  Depending on your initial ferm temp, raising it a few degrees (as hopfen suggested) might help.  If that doesn't help, then come back here and look for other suggestions from the more knowledgeable members of this board.

Of course, if you did notice the krausen, well... RDWHAHB (as the members of this board taught me). 

[joe_meadmaker]

Skip the secondary. It's not necessary. It's extra work. It makes your beer available to infection. It exposes your beer to oxygen. Lots of negatives, no positives. Watch your gravity and if no change, bottle or keg.

I find that a rack to secondary can help with getting sediment to drop out of a beer.  The last beer I brewed was a stout.  I had it in primary for 3 weeks, but wanted to age it on some cacao nibs so racked it to a secondary.  After only a couple days, there was a noticeable amount of sediment at the bottom of the carboy.  I've seen this with other beers too.  I'm not sure what the rack to secondary does, but something about seems to help with getting sediment to fall.  At least for me.

[Robert]

Skip the secondary. It's not necessary. It's extra work. It makes your beer available to infection. It exposes your beer to oxygen. Lots of negatives, no positives. Watch your gravity and if no change, bottle or keg.

I find that a rack to secondary can help with getting sediment to drop out of a beer.  The last beer I brewed was a stout.  I had it in primary for 3 weeks, but wanted to age it on some cacao nibs so racked it to a secondary.  After only a couple days, there was a noticeable amount of sediment at the bottom of the carboy.  I've seen this with other beers too.  I'm not sure what the rack to secondary does, but something about seems to help with getting sediment to fall.  At least for me.

Have you ever tried agitating the beer , or maybe bubbling CO2 up from the bottom, right in the primary without racking?  It would be interesting to know if this had the same effect.  I'm thinking that what's happening MIGHT be that just jostling the yeast cells, getting them to bump into each other, encourages them to flocculate.

[joe_meadmaker]

Have you ever tried agitating the beer , or maybe bubbling CO2 up from the bottom, right in the primary without racking?  It would be interesting to know if this had the same effect.  I'm thinking that what's happening MIGHT be that just jostling the yeast cells, getting them to bump into each other, encourages them to flocculate.

That could be worth a try.  Although I would need to run a double batch to test it.  One as a control, and another to try a gentle primary stir or CO2 hit.  And then they'd both need to get racked to a carboy anyway so I could see what's happening

Maybe the next time I brew my ESB I'll give this a try.  It had an extreme amount of clearing up after the rack to secondary.

[MNWayne]

OK, there is one good advantage to racking to secondary, it does help the yeast drop. But I still think reduced infection risk and reduced oxygen exposure far outweigh clear beer. Beer will drop clear over time and can be sped up using finings.

[Robert]

OK, there is one good advantage to racking to secondary, it does help the yeast drop. But I still think reduced infection risk and reduced oxygen exposure far outweigh clear beer. Beer will drop clear over time and can be sped up using finings.

+1 million

[joe_meadmaker]

OK, there is one good advantage to racking to secondary, it does help the yeast drop. But I still think reduced infection risk and reduced oxygen exposure far outweigh clear beer. Beer will drop clear over time and can be sped up using finings.

I can't disagree with your point that any movement of the beer from one vessel to another can expose it to infection, oxygen, etc.  But as long as you keep things sanitized, give the carboy a hit of CO2 before racking, and make sure the beer doesn't splash as it's being syphoned, I think danger is minimal.

[ynotbrusum]

OK, there is one good advantage to racking to secondary, it does help the yeast drop. But I still think reduced infection risk and reduced oxygen exposure far outweigh clear beer. Beer will drop clear over time and can be sped up using finings.

I can't disagree with your point that any movement of the beer from one vessel to another can expose it to infection, oxygen, etc.  But as long as you keep things sanitized, give the carboy a hit of CO2 before racking, and make sure the beer doesn't splash as it's being syphoned, I think danger is minimal.

Except that in terms of oxidation, the standard to seek is measured in parts per billion and in terms of infection, it could be a single cell or a few cells...so many homebrewers use closed transfers from primary to purged keg to achieve reasonable assurance of being “relatively” free from these problems or at least taking steps available to them to help mitigate them.  You can also check into spunding to limit oxygen concerns when transferring actively fermenting beer nearing the end of fermentation and krausening for fully fermented beer.  Good luck!