How do you know if your brew is working?!
How do you know if your brew is working?
I am brewing beer for the first time and I decided to use a malt extract for the first round and I have it all set up in my primary fermenter which is an airtight 6 gallon bucket, but I do not know how to check if it is working. I do not want to open it to check for bubbles and what not because i do not want bacteria to get in. Is there a better way?
Answers:
Is the airlock not on the outside? If that's not bubbling, you should wait a week since you put it in the fermenter and check the specific gravity. If it has fermented then the hydrometer will drop really low. If it hasn't fermented you should mix it up some more and wait another week. It's probably all good though... everybody is paranoid on their first brew.