How To: Step 6 - Fermenting

Within the first 24 hours, signs of fermentation will start to occur. The most obvious sign of fermentation is the bubbling or gas escaping out of the airlock. Typically the first 2-5 days will be the most active.

The fermentation process should be completed within 7-10 days. It is especially important to pay attention to the activity of the beer such as frequency of bubbles exiting the airlock. If the beer is bubbling about one time per minute then fementation is very close to complete.

When bubbles occur about once every minute or all activity has stopped, the beer is ready for bottling.

a. Take 2nd hydrometer reading: A second hydromter reading will need to be taken to determine if the fermentation process is complete and the beer is ready to bottle. The second hydrometer reading will be compared to the initial one. The difference between the two numbers will indicate the alcohol percentage. (For example if the initial hydrometer reading was seven and the second reading measured 2, than the alcohol percentage would be 5 percent).