powder yeast

well my beer has been in the fermenter bucket for about 70 hours. i have not seen any bubbles in the airlock. i know that doesnt necessarily mean that it isnt fermenting but im still nervous.

this is my third beer and first time using dry yeast which is what im nervous about. when you rehydrate the yeast, which i did, how important is it to get the water temp up? im pretty sure i did it correctly but now im wondering. also, when i pitched the yeast i thought the temp was 70 F in both the yeast and the wort, it was at least within 5 degrees of each other so i should be okay, right?

i dont remember the exact type of yeast but it was a brewers best traditional european bock kit.

at what point should i take the lid off and get a hydrometer reading?

on week get a reading, you will be fine

After 72 hours if you are really paranoid...or if you can trust that after 5,000 years that the yeasts are experts at doing this...in 10-14 days....

RDWHAHB. It sounds like you did everything fine. Give it some time. It will do what it knows how to do.

You should be able to see if a krausen formed, unless you have an unusually thick bucket.

Your lid might not be on tight enough.

Regardless, are you fermenting a bock at 70F? Bocks are lagers and should be fermented at lower temperatures. That doesn't mean that lagers won't ferment at higher temps, it just won't give you the right character.

Tech211 said:

Your lid might not be on tight enough.

Regardless, are you fermenting a bock at 70F? Bocks are lagers and should be fermented at lower temperatures. That doesn't mean that lagers won't ferment at higher temps, it just won't give you the right character.

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That's true, but most beginner kids are NOT lagers and are simply bock-style ales and come with ale yeast. Don't worry- it sounds like it'll be fine!

YooperBrew said:

That's true, but most beginner kids are NOT lagers and are simply bock-style ales and come with ale yeast. Don't worry- it sounds like it'll be fine!

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yes, i was hoping that it came with an ale yeast. the guy at the homebrew shop said they normally do. i just got home from work and now the airlock is bubbling.

my new question is: is there any difference in taste, mouthfeel, etc between beers that ferment within hours vs. those that take days to get started? is one considered superior or does it not matter at all?