Yeah, I mostly use liquid yeast to pitch with no started for my 5-gal batches. I've noticed anywhere from 24-72 hours before the airlock start rolling along, and all of my batches have turned out alright. As long as everything is sealed/sanitized, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
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Primary: The Devil's Brew, "BBW" Cider
Secondary: AHS Dutch Castle Magic
Bottled: Pumpkin Pie Spice Ale, Imperial "Das Boot" Oktoberfest, Belgian Honey Wheat, Stella Artois clone, Belgian Summer Saison, Honey Kolsch, Belgian Tripel IPA
Planned: The Hop Atom Bomb
I guess I didn't think I needed a starter, since I was using the Wyeast smack-packs... I checked their FAQ and they said it wasn't necessary. I kinda assumed I was effectively doing a mini-starter by letting the pack inflate all day...
I think I'm going to look into opening a primary daycare where concerned brewers can drop their buckets/carboys off for the day to make sure the airlocks get the attention they need. Airlocks are very sensitive and if you're away at work all day and can't see the great bubbles it's producing then they can get very discouraged. We don't know the long term effects that working families have on early carboy development, but why take the chance?
Maybe you can do a live feed for us so that we can check it on our computers at work!
Maybe you can do a live feed for us so that we can check it on our computers at work!
Dude, I thought of the exact same thing... "hmm, I could just aim a webcam at the carboy and stream it to the web..."
And RE: smack pack vs. starter: That kinda sucks... what the F, Wyeast. I guess next time I'll use a starter, that's knowledge/experience I want to get under my belt anyways.
yeast_infection: I think my sanitation practices were tight, I should be good there.
Wyeast packages say that they are good for 5 gal of wort up to 1.060. Since your kit is 1.064, you're over that and you underpitched. But like many have said, it will probably be ok, but you might want to help it out on the temp a little bit. Keep it at 60-65 for the first 3-4 days and then try to get up to 70 later when the yeast wants to start slowing down.
Congrats on the new equip setup, I am considering a new kettle and have been oggling the Blichmann line lately...
-- Why did I pick the heaviest kit that I had purchased (Grateful Dead Guy from NB)
I brewed this kit 4 weeks ago, and thought it was pretty easy. I had very active fermentation with re-hrydated munton's dry yeast within 8 hours, and vigorous fermentation after 24 hours, but my temperature was closer to 70F. It is a maibock and 60F is recommended, but it probably takes longer to ferment at that temp.
By the time I got home yesterday, it had a nice cap of foam on it and steady airlock bubbling. I've noticed this morning that it's actually bubbling through the airlock a little. I've had a towel over it to keep it dark and it's got a bit of foam and crap on that, but not much...
My question is - should I put a blowoff tube on the fermenter or just leave it? It's not really making a mess... just getting the airlock dirty with wort, really.
I don't think it matters either way, at this point it's more about containing the mess. Once it slows down a bit I would clean/sanitize the airlock and put it back on.
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