No Bubbles and No Foam after 3 Days

Question

First time brewer here. I'm concerned my batch is not progressing as it should. Here's a quick run down of what I've done...

I put my batch (which had a SG of 1.044) in the primary fermenter on Saturday and stored it in a dark room at about 68 degrees. On Sunday the ailock was producing consistent, rapid bubbles. On Monday the bubbles stopped. On Tuesday there was still no activity so I popped the lid to take another gravity reading. There was no foam on top and it looked like there was a ring of trub on the sides of the bucket, just above the liquid. (I'm assuming it got there from foaming at some point right?) I took the gravity reading and it came out 1.006. Based on my directions the ABV% should be 4.98.

I have two primary concerns: 1. Why did the bubbling stop so soon? 2. Why wasn't there any foam?

Its now Wednesday (end of day 4 in fermentation), and I plan on doing a secondary fermentation. Should I get the batch in the secondary now?

Any solutions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Answer 1

Is your hydrometer calibrated (use distilled water at 70 degrees, should read 1.00)? Based on your readings, your yeast worked to 86% apparent attenuation ((44-6)/44). That is a pretty solid fermentation, so give yourself a pat on the back for giving them a good environment to work in. Sounds like you aerated well and pitched at the right temp. Do you recall which yeast strain came with your kit? It was likely Safale US-05, which is a great attenuator.

Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough: Yeast activity is not always visible. Said more thoroughly, airlock activity (or lack thereof), does not mean that the yeast are not working. Your hydrometer reading shows you that the yeast are (and have been) working.

Depending on the style you are making, I would recommend leaving the beer EXACTLY where it is, and not messing with it until two weeks (minimum) from your brew/pitch day. Even when the krausen ring has subsided (sounds like it has), the yeast are still at work cleaning up some other compounds that they made during the ACTIVE GROWTH PHASE of fermentation. They will metabolize the diacetyl (buttery flavor) and continue to work and make you the beer you want.

As Papazian says, "Relax, don't worry and have a homebrew!" (well, the last part is impossible since you just made your first batch, so just have a regular beer).

If you're antsy in the meantime, run to your LHBS and grab another kit and get another brew in the can!

Answer 2

Perfectly normal for bubbling to stop and foam to drop at this point. I'd leave it in primary at least a week and then rack it secondary. Cheers!