Can method of aeration effect lag time?

I brewed a pale ale yesterday. Everything went well - mid 80's in efficiency. I pitched my S-05 yeast in at around 78 degrees (I know, a bit high). I aerate by pouring my wort from bucket to bucket several times - leaving a nice frothy head on the wort. I pitched the yeast right on top of the foam. Will this aeration method cause lag time for fermentation to begin? My basement has been in the low 80's recently so I put the fermenter in a water bath with ice, a towel, and a fan blowing on it and it has been hovering around 68 degrees. I know it's too early to be worrying about it not fermenting yet, but my aeration method got me thinking.

Just wondering.

i don't think that it will really make a difference. rehydration might help a little with lag time on dry yeasts, but aeration method shouldn't be too large a factor in it. with us-05, it should be crankin out in no time.

Only reason I don't normally dry pitch is that some of the yeast, especially on top of foam could wind up clinging to the sides of the fermenter and never get into the wort. And it's nice to know that the yeast is viable and has the proper head start. Fermentis also recommends aeration after pitching dry yeast if you don't rehydrate.

To answer your question, aeration method and just about everything else can affect fermentation lag time. It's also near impossible for most homebrewers to truly know when fermentation has begun as the visible signs (foaming, bubbles, etc.) don't signal that fermentation just started. I'd tell you that as long as your yeast is alive when pitched then it begins to work right away, but it just doesn't tell you.

I'm having the same concern, I brewed the EdWorts Haus Ale this weekend using Safale-05. His directions were to pitch directly. I normally use liquid yeast and pitched after aeration with a hepa filter/pump (i.e. pretty foamy). I have little to no bubbling with it sitting at 70*F. I brewed a 10gal batch and pitched 2 packets. I guess time will tell?

Proper aeration helps get fermentation started quicker.

Lag is the time the yeast take to reproduce. How well they reproduce is a product of how much oxygen is in the wort when you pitch. How much oxygen is in the wort is a product of how you aerate it. So, aeration can affect lag time.

Does pitching on top of the foam cause a problem though? I would assume it will eventually settle down and get into the wort.

Kind of having a similar issue. Made my first 10 gallon batch on Friday and today was the first day I really saw the airlock kicking. I first assumed my airlock wasn't holding a seal cause I drilled the lid and installed the grommet myself. I opened the fermenter up to find krausen and assumed I'd be having to add some silicone to make sure I get it airtight, (after I emptied the fermenter for the next batch). Today after work I checked it and its bubbling away, so that would be a pretty lengthy lag time. I pitched 2 packets and aerated with a electric drill stirrer. I am used to waking up the next morning to bubbling so I think I will have to work on the lag time.

Yeast require an ample supply of Oxygen to reproduce and condition themselves before they start fermenting your beer.
As a result, wort aeration is very important and has an impact on lag time, however a longer lag time is not necessarily a bad thing - just because you have the shortest lag time does not mean you'll end up with the best beer.

In addition dry yeast are essentially 'force fed' nutrients and oxygen before they are dried, so aeration is less important when you are using dried yeast, which kindof makes the question/tread a bit pointless.

Interesting topic, and timely...I brewed 2 batches this weekend and pitched each on their own yeastcake. One was a Denny's Favorite 50 and one a London ESB (both Wyeast). Aeration method was the same for both batches (splashing in from a funnel, then drill/whisk combo, then from perforated droptube onto the yeastcake). The Denny's 50/IPA combo took off in about 3 hours and with a vengeance. The London ESB/Porter combo took nearly 2 days to show signs of anything. The latter is doing great now, and the former is slowing down. Both are fermenting in the 64-66F range. Perhaps a combination of aeration and type of yeast has something to do with it? Not sure how these would compare to S-05, though.

I would say it has more to with the level of dissolved O2, not how that level was attained.

The more oxygen, the longer the lag time. This is good, a long lag time means the yeast is reproducing at a high rate. They don't begin making ethanol until they run out of oxygen.

I dropped my carboy while shaking up my last batch of wort. It didn't break, but it shook the freaking crap out of it. It took 60 hours to begin producing CO2. Then, boom blang bam: my most rigorous lager fermentation yet!