I brewed a batch of beer and it only bubbled for about 36 hours. I've read that this process can take several days and up to a week. Is this reason to worry? Do I not have it at the right temp? (It's at about 80 right now) Do I need to put in more yeast? I'm a little worried about this. If someone could alleviate some of my fears I would be forever greatful.
Thanks,
Jonny

80°F is a bit too high. Not knowing the yeast strain, I can't offer anything except that if its an ale, you should bring the temp down to around 68-72°F.
The initial ferment can be very vigorous and somewhat quick but it is still fermenting. If you plan to bottle/keg right from primary, allow it to sit at least 10-14 days. If you're planning to rack to secondary, letting it sit 7-10 days before racking should suffice. Mind you these are averages and not strict guidelines. Check your gravity. If it hasn't changed over a 3 day period, its time to rack.

Good luck,
Wild

The answer that applies 90% of the time is "nothing is wrong."

Short fermentations happen for a number of reasons, and one of them is "the yeast is done." For medium to low gravity beers with healthy yeast pitches, fermentation can go very quickly.

I have a wheat beer regimine that involves repitching. Often it is ready to keg in 4 days because it starts at 1.040 and has lots of healthy yeast in it. The same is true of some milds I make (OG 1.032).

The temperature you cite is also a factor. Warmer fermentations go faster, though that is not always desirable. By slowing yeast down, you make it work more cleanly. This means fewer fusel alcohols, lower fruitiness (with ales) less diacetyl, and overall smoother and better defined flavors.

Kev.

You are most likely OK. Gravity is what you want to watch to really know whats going on inside your fermenter though. I would guess you made an average batch at around 1.050 and it is probably finished at about 1.008-1.012. But if you were to make a realy strong beer like a barley wine then you could have problems like a stuck ferment or something like this. If that were the case you would want to do an oxidative transfer and then repitch some strong yeast.

good luck, and enjoy your homebrew

Thanks all,
The gravity is at about 1.017 and it's gone down a little bit in the last couple of days. I cooled the room down somewhat and I'm going to wait for a couple of days before I rack to the secondary fermenter.
Jonny