Not seeing any bubbles in the airlock :-(

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IPA wort was transferred to fermentor Sunday afternoon, pitched one packet of Safale US-05 yeast on top of wort once it was in the fermentor then closed the lid (tight seal). Should I pitch in another packet of yeast and stir with a sanitized spoon to get it working in there?
 
Have you taken any gravity readings? Your lid may not be holding the CO2 in as well as you think.
 
Cracked the lid, used starsan to sterilize my hydrometer, and it went in deep, like to 990...but temp reading on bucket's thermometer tape is 70-72 degrees. Needs to be 60 degrees for accurate reading right? The appearance is looking very foamy at the top. Maybe an inch of foamy hoppy fluff above the liquid. Smells like an IPA too at least...could adding yeast help? It's in a room that is around 68 degrees, maybe 70 would help the yeast be more productive? Or add another yeast packet? Thanks!
 
Everything seems fine. Your reading at 70-72 won't be drastically different than the reading at 60... how did you measure it with the foam? I'd just let this one keep going as it appears fermentation is active. Get a sampling cylinder (10-12" tube, sells for $2-5 at LHBS) so you can take more accurate readings.

Don't worry about messing around with the temps, it's actually a little on the high side as is. The foam is krausen and is a normal sign of fermentation. No bubbles means your lid just isn't air tight.
 
Nope, it's fermenting already, hence the foamy white stuff aka kruasen.

I don't think your .990 is an accurate reading though. And not because of the temp. Did you take the reading from the foamy top, or from the actual surface of the liquid?

Helpful hints:
Usually it's better to pull off a sample of your beer and test with the hydrometer in a separate container (then drink said container so you teach your pallet to pick up different flavors)

The temperature of an SG reading can be corrected for, I forget the actual amount, but google probably remembers.

Fermentation will start faster if you rehydrate your dry yeast first, directions on the back of the pack I think.

RDWHAHB
 
Yes seeing the krausen was very reassuring. And after some very steady and gentle rotations of the fermentor pail, bubbles did appear in the airlock ;-) just to be on the safe side I duct taped around the seal of the lid and made it certainly 100% airtight now. As for hydrometer readings I was scared to let go of the bob as it seemed like it would slide down to the bottom of the fermentor and getting it out would certainly be a high contamination risk I thought. Would it float if I let go of it? The sheet that came with the hydrometer said to add the value of "2" if the beer temp was 70 degrees, which is what the thermometer attached to the side of the bucket is reading. Gonna let it ferment for 10 more days before doing the dry hop. Or does fermenting for longer start to hurt the beer? My recipe called for "5-10 days fermenting, then dry hopping, then 5-10 more days before bottling, then 2-3 weeks in bottle before drinking".
 
You'd need to be measuring distilled spirits before the hydrometer would have any chance of going much below the actual surface of the liquid.

Letting beer go longer in the primary is primarily dependent on style. You won't hurt anything until you're 8 weeks in at a minimum, but with things like IPAs and wheat beers the flavor lessens over time. Your directions are pretty decent taking the high end values, 3 weeks is about perfect for an IPA.
 
I never worry ab out bubbles. Two weeks ago I did two 2 gallon brews. An IPA and an Imperial IPA. The Imperial began bubbling the next day in the chest freezer. The IPA I never saw any bubbles. Not worried. Each got 1/2 a pack of dry yeast. I tossed the IPA into my chiller to cold crash yesterday. Temp is about 34* and I'll leave it there to Sat. Then I'll check FG and most likely bottle.
 
Yes seeing the krausen was very reassuring. And after some very steady and gentle rotations of the fermentor pail, bubbles did appear in the airlock ;-) just to be on the safe side I duct taped around the seal of the lid and made it certainly 100% airtight now. As for hydrometer readings I was scared to let go of the bob as it seemed like it would slide down to the bottom of the fermentor and getting it out would certainly be a high contamination risk I thought. Would it float if I let go of it? The sheet that came with the hydrometer said to add the value of "2" if the beer temp was 70 degrees, which is what the thermometer attached to the side of the bucket is reading. Gonna let it ferment for 10 more days before doing the dry hop. Or does fermenting for longer start to hurt the beer? My recipe called for "5-10 days fermenting, then dry hopping, then 5-10 more days before bottling, then 2-3 weeks in bottle before drinking".

The duct tape might have been a bit much haha. I never worry about airlock bubbles. Sometimes I get them and other times I do not.

Good example is a IIPA I made last weekend, pitched two vials of white labs, aerated and havent had 1 bubble since. Checked the gravity last night, it has almost attentuated out to my FG.

So, point of my story....airlock bubbles don't matter.
 
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