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No bubbles

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WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
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Ok, I pitched the yeast Wednseday, It's currently Sunday, and I have no bubbles coming out the blowoff tube. I can still see small bubble rising in one of the jugs, but not the other. And neither one is bubbling in the blowoff bowl. I know it can't be finished yet. The big problem is I have no SG, so taking a reading now wouldn't really tell me anything. Any ideas?
 

JamesP

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Dec 3, 2003
654
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Brisbane Australia
Taking a reading will tell you if the yeast have eaten nearly all the sugars (SG around 1.000) or if there is still a long way to go.

Check the seals. The blow-off won't bubble if the gas is escaping elsewhere.
 

WikdWaze

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Aug 2, 2004
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I gave both jugs a swirl, they'd go like gangbusters for a few seconds, then stop again. I'm not sure I could read my hydrometer if I drop it in one of the jugs, there's a lot of krausen. I have no way of removing a sample for testing. I also have no OG to compare to, and no idea what this recipe will finish at. I think I've made every mistake it's possible to make ;D


With 4# of fermentables, there's no way this thing is going to get anywhere near 1.000 SG. It was doing fine till today.
 

JoeM

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Jan 9, 2004
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Dont worry so much :) your mead is going to be OK. as long as you see bubbles rising in the jug and krausen you know fermentation is proceeding. after a few days fermentation natrually begins to slow, and with your batches being only one gallon they arent producing an enormous amount of gas to begin with. watch your blowoff for about 5 minutes straight, if you still dont see at least one bubble, watch for another 5 minutes, if you still see nothing then maybe can start wondering. also swirling degasses all of the liquid and may make the interval between blow off bubbles even longer.
 

WikdWaze

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Aug 2, 2004
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Dont worry so much :) your mead is going to be OK. as long as you see bubbles rising in the juge and krausen you know fermentation is proceeding. after a few days fermentation natrually begins to slow, and with your batches being only one gallon they arent producing an enormous amount of gas to begin with. watch your blowoff for about 5 minutes straight, if you still dont see at least one bubble, watch for another 5 minutes, if you still see nothing then maybe can start wondering. also swirling degasses all of the liquid and may make the interval between blow off bubbles even longer.
Hah! So the frantic bubbling a saw after swirling was a BAD thing?! Well, maybe not bad, but not good. At least not indicative of anything. I am getting bubbles out of one, every couple seconds. I'll keep a closer eye on them for a while. I just know I made some mistakes while mazing this batch, so everything that goes "wrong" makes me panic a bit. ;D I'll take my meds and I'll be fine ::)
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
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The OC
No big deal Wikd, the swirling won't hurt your mead, I've done it myself just to see if some batches were still actively fermenting/producing CO2. They bubbled good after I swirled them and then they started back to bubbling about 3 times a minute for the next several days.

In a one gallon batch you probably consumed a lot of the fermentable sugars in the first few days so I would guess that things are progressing as they should be at this point. It would also be a good idea to get a gravity reading when it would be convinient for you to do so.

Take a deep breath and relax, things will be fine.

Oskaar
 

WikdWaze

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Aug 2, 2004
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........
Take a deep breath and relax, things will be fine.

Oskaar
Heh, people have been trying for years to get me to relax. I'm to the point now where I can't sleep more than four hours in a row. ;D I've even had women try to massage me to get me to relax, doesn't work. Naturally high-strung. Though, alcohol does seem to do the trick, except liquor. Me and the hard stuff do not make a good combination. Hey, there's an idea, another Franziskaner! ;D
 

Jmattioli

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Take a deep breath and relax, things will be fine.
Yeah, And for 1 gallon batches get rid of that blow-off tube and install a .90 airlock. It makes a better seal for beginners and takes less pressure to show the bubbles. Keep the blowoff for large violent batches and you can use it to take samples now if you don't have an extra tube. You'll need it for racking anyway.
Joe
 

WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
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Actually, given the amount of residue in the blowoff tube, I was lucky to have it. This thing must have been quite active when it first kicked off (I was asleep) because it pushed a lot of krausen out of the jug. An airlock would probably be fine now, but I don't have one.
 

WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
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Unless I'm mistaken you are making a braggot right? If so remember that braggots usually ferment fast because the malt extract and grains provide allot of yeast nutrients.
I was wondering about this. I had heard braggots are faster than straight meads, and it makes sense that they would be, but 5 days still seems a little too fast. They are both currently bubbling away, just very slowly, one bubble every few seconds. Friday I'll be picking up some more apple juice to get the jugs for the secondary. I doubt I'll rack it that soon, but it probably won't be much longer.
Posted by: Jmattioli Posted on: Oct 18th, 2004, 4:11pm
When you use a 1 gal jug for the primary, it is best to leave 4 " airspace and then top off in a couple days and it won't blow into airlock.
Joe
Yup, I left airspace when I poured the must, but when it wouldn't mix I poured water in to try and dissolve it more. Another case of getting in a hurry and outrunning my brain. :-[
 

WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
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Well, I just managed to take a hydrometer reading and a small taste of this elixir. First, it's right at 1.060, maybe just a bit over. Really, it shouldn't be far from done. I don't think it will drop much below 1.030, almost certainly not below 1.020. This would definitely explain the slowing bubbles, the alcohol is getting up there.

Speaking of alcohol, about the taste. Wow! There's no mistaking this for an NA brew. It doesn't taste bad. It's thinner than I had expected, not sure why. It's also a bit harsh, but that's to be expected at this stage. It warms you up on the way down, no question about it. It's definitely more wine-like than beer-like.
 

kace069

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 21, 2004
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No worries Wikd, A braggot will ferment out at light speed compared to a straight mead. 5 days is prolly just about right even more so with 1 gallon. What yeast did you use?
Myself i primary everything for 2 weeks ale, braggot, mead. I only check my airlock for the first 36-48 hours to make sure everything is going well and forget about it.
I know the feeling my first few batches of mead kept me up at night too, and invaded all my waking thoughts. But i learned not to worry.
As for a blow off system. I haven't tried it yet but plan on doing it soon. But i would never go through that much trouble for 1 gallon. Every time i make a gallon of something i always say never again. Its just as much trouble for 1 gallon as it is for 5 if not more,knowing I am doing all this work for 1 gallon, actually end result is less then 1 gallon. But i must admit, i still make 1 gallons to help formulate recipies. But back to the point.
5 days and krausen should be tapering off, your still in primary phase but high krausen only last for a few days and now your yeast has to deal with a lower amount of fermentables and nutrients and a high amount of alcohol and will naturally slow. Sounds to me everything is going fine. The only problem you are going to have, is wishing you had made more braggot. :)
If i remeber right from your earlier posts you are making an unhopped braggot correct? All mine have been hopped which really makes no difference.(fermentation wise) But i have been thinking of trying an unhopped braggot.
To sum up this posting. Don't worry everything is going A OK!
 

WikdWaze

NewBee
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Aug 2, 2004
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I'm learning not to worry, but it's difficult knowing how bad I screwed up when I put it all together ;D

I did the blowoff tube simply because I had all the parts to make it already. I could go with an airlock now, but I don't have one, and the tube is working just fine.

I didn't expect it to finish this fast. It has to be slowing because of the increased alcohol. With 4# of honey/malt there's no way D-47 is going to run out of sugar. And nearly half a gallon of oat/rye wort should have plenty of nutrients too. The general consensus does seem to be that it will finish in two weeks. I guess I'll take another reading around Friday, then again Wednseday.
 

JoeM

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 9, 2004
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why dont you put in a closet somewhere and forget about it for 6 weeks instead! ;D
 

Jmattioli

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
It isn't finished til the bubbles stop and it clears so now is the time for patience. Fermentation will be done in 3 weeks and then if you rack it will clear in another week or so. With all the nutrients you had, it will stop when the alcohol reaches tolerance level and not before.
Joe
 

WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
600
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It isn't finished til the bubbles stop and it clears so now is the time for patience. Fermentation will be done in 3 weeks and then if you rack it will clear in another week or so. With all the nutrients you had, it will stop when the alcohol reaches tolerance level and not before.
Joe
Would you believe one of the jugs is
finished? No bubbles, noticeably darker in color, and a thick layer of stuff at the bottom. This all happened after I left for work last night. Interestingly enough, this is the jug with the 2/2 honey/malt ratio. The 3/1 jug is still bubbling and the yeast is still suspended. That seems rather logical, given that the 2/2 jug is closer to beer which is a faster finisher than mead.
 
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