How to get a faster start to fermentation?

I've steadily improved my methods with yeast preparation over the last year or two, but none of this has translated into a faster start to fermentation. While the yeast are certainly growing (yeast cake expanding) in the first few hours, it always seems to take about 8-12 hours for a krausen to form. Here's my normal preparations:

1. I get a yeast starter going from a Wyeast Propogator at least 24 hours in advance. I swirl the starter from time to time to get the culture growing faster. There is always a good thin bubble layer at the surface by the time I pitch.

2. Add proper yeast nutrient to wort

3. Aerate wort extensively with an air stone/pump before pitching

4. Pitch yeast at appropriate temps, usually 68-70 degrees

Despite these steps, it just seems nothing gets a krausen to form in under 8 hours. I hear about folks getting starts in 3 hours. Can I do anything to improve my start time? Thanks!

You probably are getting a start to fermentation before you know it. Sometimes your beer is fermenting but hasn't shown signs because the CO2 is just not yet being released from solution.

I usually get airlock activity within 4 hours (but no krausen) by swirling the fermenter after pitching. The airlock activity tells me that fermentation is happening, but the krauesen still takes ~ 12 hrs. to develop.

On your next batch, swirl the fermenter every hour after you pitch until you get airlock activity. This will cause the CO2 to be released from solution as soon as it is being produced. Then you will have an accurate measurement as to when your fermentation starts.

Awhile back, I had a fermenter in my cool garage and it showed no airlock activity after 12 hours. I moved it inside and it instantly started bubbling the airlock. It didn't warm up at all, so I knew that just moving it had shaken the CO2 out of solution.

Powers said:

I hear about folks getting starts in 3 hours. Can I do anything to improve my start time? Thanks!

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Don't believe everything you read.

I bought an aquarium pump and air stones in an effort to areate my wort, to improve yeast growth. The problem I ran into is foam. Within a minute I had foam trying to escape the carboy. I generally reserve that privilege for krausen and then only during an unusually vigorous fermentation.

How do you guys deal with foam produced during areation?

Powers said:

I've steadily improved my methods with yeast preparation over the last year or two, but none of this has translated into a faster start to fermentation. While the yeast are certainly growing (yeast cake expanding) in the first few hours, it always seems to take about 8-12 hours for a krausen to form. Here's my normal preparations:

1. I get a yeast starter going from a Wyeast Propogator at least 24 hours in advance. I swirl the starter from time to time to get the culture growing faster. There is always a good thin bubble layer at the surface by the time I pitch.

2. Add proper yeast nutrient to wort

3. Aerate wort extensively with an air stone/pump before pitching

4. Pitch yeast at appropriate temps, usually 68-70 degrees

Despite these steps, it just seems nothing gets a krausen to form in under 8 hours. I hear about folks getting starts in 3 hours. Can I do anything to improve my start time? Thanks!

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If you're using a propogator pack with a small starter, you're probably still underpitching. Consult mrmalty.com's "yeast pitching calculator" to find out the optimum amount of yeast to pitch.

I'd say you're underpitching. If you want a superfast start pitch on a previous batch's yeast cake. That thing will take off in a few hours and depending on the OG will finish within 3-5 days. Some might not recommend this practice but I can assure you many homebrewers do this. Whether this leads to off flavors is for another discussion.

You might want to try a stir plate for the yeast. I wouldn't worry about 12 hours, thats pretty decent. You might try using oxygen instead of air in your wort, around 45 seconds or so, air would take at least several minutes (5-10?) to get the same amount of oxygen and it tops out somewhere around 1.070 if you dont use oxygen.

I just read in the new Yeast book that the lag phase is typically 0-13 hours.
So I'd say you are doing fine. It's an important part of fermentation and you don't want to unnecessarily rush it. You could try pitching a bit warmer and then cooling it down to your desired temp, or do what others have suggested above.
But it's not a race. Bottom line is do think it will make you're beer taste better?

dzlater said:

Bottom line is do think it will make you're beer taste better?

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This is what its all about. I appreciate all the input. My assumption was that if I could get the yeast working faster, it would overpower the development of other things that might take up residence in my beer and lead to a cleaner, better beer. Only an assumption--untested because I can't get it to start faster :cross:

But, as Yooper noted, I suspect my latest batch was an underpitch. I only had the starter on for 24 hours before pitching, mainly because I started drinking on Saturday afternoon to quell my sadness from Texas beating the Cornhuskers, then got excited to brew and started a day early (finished around 2 am).

Powers said:

But, as Yooper noted, I suspect my latest batch was an underpitch. I only had the starter on for 24 hours before pitching, mainly because I started drinking on Saturday afternoon to quell my sadness from Texas beating the Cornhuskers, then got excited to brew and started a day early (finished around 2 am).

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Maybe if they had one more second 01). Hook 'em.

But you make a good point... Brewing does seam to have the ability to cheer one up after a tough day.

I also wouldn't worry too much over a 12 hour lag time. That seems pretty typical. And if you're consistent, and consistently making good beer, what more can you ask for?

WishYouWereBeer said:

Maybe if they had one more second 01). Hook 'em.

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Powers said:

>>>>>>>>>>> if I could get the yeast working faster, it would overpower the development of other things that might take up residence in my beer >>>>>>>>>>

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If you have other things taking up residence in your beer, it's a sanitation issue not one of fermentation

ha! i've yet to have a sanitation issue, but a quick start seems to be part of the overall defense

On the underpitching theme, that will not be a problem this weekend when I drop a batch of porter on top of an existing yeast cake of Denny's Favorite 50...

EDIT: I'm not actually pitching onto a yeast cake, but I'm harvesting over a cup of yeast slurry so the pitch rate will be quite high.

Powers said:

Despite these steps, it just seems nothing gets a krausen to form in under 8 hours. I hear about folks getting starts in 3 hours. Can I do anything to improve my start time? Thanks!

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I never aerate with O2, I just mix and splash vigorously
after the wort has cooled. What I do is start a small starter
(1/2 quart) about 18 hours before I'm ready to pitch. When I pitch the
yeast, it is actively fermenting, not past peak. Fermentation begins
really fast when you add actively fermenting yeast instead of just
a slurry.

Ray

ray, i do generally pitch actively fermenting yeast from a starter. but this weekend i'm going to use slurry. i've never actually done that before, mainly because i've never went directly back-to-back with brews that could use the same yeast.

when i pitched the yeast in my latest brew, it was at about 30 hours in a 1L starter and has just increased from a thin krausen to about a 1" thick krausen.

Just make sure you do NOT add the new wort straight to the ENTIRE existing yeast cake....just sayin.

less than three hours from pitching on an entire yeast cake:


Next morning. I turned my camera on before opening the freezer/fermentation chamber "just in case"....

My lag time are always under 8 hours and usually a lot quicker.

1. The starter:

I start my starter up to 5 days in advance and almost always pitch at least two liters for beers under 1.060 and a gallon or more for bigger beers. I let them ferment out completely and cold crash a day before. Then I decant the starter wort and let the yeast come to fermentation temp before pitching.

2: the wort/beer

- Pitch at the proper temperature for the strain you are using, and unless you are cold pitching, try to match the temp of the yeast to the temp of the wort when pitching.

- Aerate properly and use an appropriate amount of yeast nutrient


I think generally, as homebrewers we are underpitching a lot of the time when usuing liquid yeast. Make a big a$$ starter and pitch that sucker.

yambor, that's awesome! i will take about a cup of thick slurry (using mr. malty's calc) from my previous yeast cake and use it, not the whole cake

permo, i'd never thought about making a starter 5 days ahead, mainly because i figured it would ferment out by the time I pitched. i'm starting to feel i just need a bigger culture to start out with, esp since i'm using wyeat propogator packs or recycled yeast jars (which aren't that big either).

Powers said:

yambor, that's awesome! i will take about a cup of thick slurry (using mr. malty's calc) from my previous yeast cake and use it, not the whole cake

permo, i'd never thought about making a starter 5 days ahead, mainly because i figured it would ferment out by the time I pitched. i'm starting to feel i just need a bigger culture to start out with, esp since i'm using wyeat propogator packs or recycled yeast jars (which aren't that big either).

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Personally I want it fermented out and flocculated by the time a pitch. Decant the starter wort and pitch the yeast..

and the cold crash is okay the day before pitching, so long as you bring the temp back up prior to the pitch?