Crafty Fox primary fermentation

dc.grace

I started a crafty fox Nevada Pale Ale 11 days ago. I am still getting a bubble in the airlock about every 6 minutes. Should I just leave it until there is no bubble at all?

HBO_Staff

Fermentation times can vary often due to temperature etc, whilst it is bubbling still just leave it, you need the fermentation to be fully complete before moving on to the next stage. If in doubt just take a hydrometer reading and the reading needs to be low and constant to be sure it has stopped

WierdFish

I would never trust an airlock alone. If you haven't got a perfectly airtight container, air might be leaking and not going through the lock, giving the impression that fermentation had stopped when it may not have. Always best to do check with a hydrometer, 2 readings 24 hours apart, low and constant as HBO says.

BUDFORCE

Just eyeball it

dc.grace

If after a few days fermentation there were no bubbles in the airlock then I would say only a gravity reading decides. But I am now up to 14 days and still there is a bubble every 12 minutes. Doesn't the bubble tell me that fermentation is still active as suggested by HBO staff?

HBO_Staff

Yes it does, the bubbles in the airlock are made by the CO2 being created in the vessel which is then passing through the airlock, once this stops you can then check for constant hydro readings. If the brew is on the cool side then this can make the fermentation take longer, warming it up can help, most brews are generally speaking happy around 20 degrees C, although a slow and steady fermentation is no bad thing

dc.grace

Thanks for reassuring, HBO. Its been around 21% for most of the time, but the first couple of days were actually too high.