10 hours and no bubbling?

Yesterday I started a late brew and got done at 2 in the morning. I brought the wort down to 80° maybe 78 and the yeast was at about 80° as well. I was able to swish the wort back-and-forth a few times between the kettle and the primary fermenting bucket to create some oxygen. I may not have done it as much as I wanted to but there was some foam on the top of the bucket.

I heated a cup of water to boil and cool it down to about 80 degrees. Added the yeast and let it sit for 15 mins before I added it to the wort.

It's now 12 o'clock in the afternoon and it's been about 10 hours and the bubbling is not happening in the airlock. Is there anything wrong or should I give it more time?

In my previous brew it took about 11 hours for the bubbling to start...Maybe I'm just overreacting.

Normal lag time can be up to 15 hrs, but lag of up to 24 hrs or so doesn't neccessarily indicate a problem. On the other hand, 80F is very warm to start nearly any yeast, not from a yeast health standpoint, but from a flavor standpoint.

Rdwhahb

Relax, it really does take 72 hours for fermentation to start sometimes. Don't mess with it, it will be fine.

Rhumbline said:

Relax, it really does take 72 hours for fermentation to start sometimes. Don't mess with it, it will be fine.

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What he said.

All these replies are true, however it shouldn't take that long. Do some research, refine your processes. Garret Oliver of Brooklyn beer said anecdotally that fermentation should have visible signs in 12 hours which has become my personal (amateur) benchmark. Also, don't pitch above 68 degrees F, I've dumped a few funky batches because of temp issues.

Powder yeast always takes longer to get started.

What is the current temp of your FV? Have you seen any signs of fermentation since your last post?

stpetebrewer said:

Powder yeast always takes longer to get started.

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not always. there must be hundreds of "my beer is not fermenting" threads on here involving liquid yeast as well as dry yeast.

NTXBrauer said:

What is the current temp of your FV? Have you seen any signs of fermentation since your last post?

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This is my 9th brew and this is the first time I've encountered this problem with fermentation. I've always pitched at 80+ with the yeast and its never been a problem in the past.

FV? if you mean wort it goes between 68-70. It still has not starting bubbling however (as seen in the picture) the air lock bubble is starting to move like CO2 is trying to escape.

NativeSun said:

This is my 9th brew and this is the first time I've encountered this problem with fermentation. I've always pitched at 80+ with the yeast and its never been a problem in the past.

FV? if you mean wort it goes between 68-70. It still has not starting bubbling however (as seen in the picture) the air lock bubble is starting to move like CO2 is trying to escape.View attachment 173194

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As some fake Oriental on TV once said " Patience, Grasshopper"...

By FV I mean your fermentation vessel.

I know that at times, the lid on a bucket is may not be airtight. If not, CO2 will escape, with no activity in the airlock.

Keep a close eye on it. You should see some activity soon.

The bubbles have finally started at 11!!

eastoak said:

not always. there must be hundreds of "my beer is not fermenting" threads on here involving liquid yeast as well as dry yeast.

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True if done without a proper starter.

Now the bubbling has stopped again! It was weak to begin with when it started. Should I go to the store and buy a liquid yeast and toss it in there?

I would give it a full week and then take a gravity reading. If the SG has changed very little from your OG reading, then consider pitching more yeast.

The yeast should still be working on the available sugars, even though you see no airlock activity.

What temp is the fermenter at? Check the suggested temp range for the yeast you are using, it sounds like things might be too cool.

Get the temp in the right range, then give it 24 hours, if still little or no activity, swirl the fermenter to wake the yeast up.

Give it another 24 hours, then if nothing, you can repitch.

Rhumbline said:

What temp is the fermenter at? Check the suggested temp range for the yeast you are using, it sounds like things might be too cool.

Get the temp in the right range, then give it 24 hours, if still little or no activity, swirl the fermenter to wake the yeast up.

Give it another 24 hours, then if nothing, you can repitch.

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I'm at 70-72. This is the first time the yeast has given me a problem. And I'm definitely within the temp range of 64-75.

When you say swirl do You mean to open up the fermentation bucket and use a spoon?

leave it alone and it will finish out.

NativeSun said:

I'm at 70-72. This is the first time the yeast has given me a problem. And I'm definitely within the temp range of 64-75.

When you say swirl do You mean to open up the fermentation bucket and use a spoon?

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No, you don't want to open it. When necessary, I just gently move the fermenter in a circular motion.

Do you do anything to aerate the wort before pitching? I've found that's important to getting off to a good start. I use a wine wisk in a drill but there are other methods.

What I usually do and never have a problem with is dump the wort back-and-forth between the kettle and the fermentation bucket to create a good oxygen-rich environment. I may not have done it as much as I should have because it was very late and I was tired but I don't think that has affected me in previous brews.

Rhumbline said:

No, you don't want to open it. When necessary, I just gently move the fermenter in a circular motion.

Do you do anything to aerate the wort before pitching? I've found that's important to getting off to a good start. I use a wine wisk in a drill but there are other methods.

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I too your advice and moved around in a circle. I had a bit of a swish of the liquid which I didn't want to do but it has started bubbling again.

My OG with my refractometer was 14 or 1.057 (taking in consideration for temp)

Today I checked it and it was at 8. My app says its at 1.017 and the refractometer says its at 1.032.

Ill be letting it sit for a week anyway so I'm my worries about the numbers just yet.

You are worrying too much. let the beasts do their work. You likely have a leaky seal on your bucket. Air lock activity while a good indicator of active fermentation is not an absolute indicator. Based on your readings the yeast are doing their job. Let it ride and get a new lid for your bucket before the next batch.

There's no harm in swirling it once per day if you see activity drop off. You just want to avoid splashing it which would aerate it, that's a bad thing once fermentation takes hold.

Good luck with it.

Also most people believe on here that you should not use a refractometer to check FG, use a hydrometer, as the alcohol can distort the readings.

Maybe I missed it. What yeast was used? I just did a Bry97 and that stuff takes forever to get going. Makes me nervous, bur it tasted great coming out of the primary. Never saw really vigorous airlock activity either, but it finished at 1.004.

chiteface said:

Maybe I missed it. What yeast was used? I just did a Bry97 and that stuff takes forever to get going. Makes me nervous, bur it tasted great coming out of the primary. Never saw really vigorous airlock activity either, but it finished at 1.004.

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Safale-04. I've used bry97 and it took off quick as did my previous attempts with this yeast.

After giving it a swirl the bubbles started again.

NewWestBrewer said:

Also most people believe on here that you should not use a refractometer to check FG, use a hydrometer, as the alcohol can distort the readings.

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Totally agree with you. I had/still have my hydrometer but my plastic tube I had melted and I've bee to lazy to get a new one..fail

It could also be a leaky bucket lid seal. I have one bucket that the airlock NEVER bubbles, but I always end up with beer. Cheers.

I see you're brewing in a bucket. Those are notorious for having bad seals. You're probably fermenting just fine, but the CO2 is leaking around the edge of the bucket, and not going out the airlock.

Newsman said:

I see you're brewing in a bucket. Those are notorious for having bad seals. You're probably fermenting just fine, but the CO2 is leaking around the edge of the bucket, and not going out the airlock.

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I took the airlock out as I have done in the past and wanted to get a picture of what's going on in there. Still no krausen forming yet.

I have a glass carboy for my secondary fermentation but lack of space stops me from having 2 :-(

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You look like you have a lot of liquid in your bubbler airlock, and something is trying to happen because the liquid out on your fermenter side is lower than on the output side. Try taking some liquid out so the gas doesn't have to work as hard to "bubble." Could be that your fermentation just doesn't have enough "oompf" to push the liquid and bubble...and the pressure builds until it finds other ways out (like leaks).

Or just leave it alone and let the yeast do its thing. Check it in a week or so.

Day 5 of fermentation and its bubbling every so often. The circular motion really helped with the aspect, but I have yet to see a krausen. Is it ok to switch to the secondary without having one form?

There is no need to secondary unless you are going to rack your beer onto something like fruit or other additives. If you aren't going to do anything like that, then just let it sit until the gravity stays the same for three consecutive days and then let it sit another week to clean up.

Newsman said:

There is no need to secondary unless you are going to rack your beer onto something like fruit or other additives. If you aren't going to do anything like that, then just let it sit until the gravity stays the same for three consecutive days and then let it sit another week to clean up.

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Ill be racking the wort on Korintje cinnamon sticks. Not sure how many I'll need since I never did this recipe before. I'm thinking 3-5 sticks in a muslin bag so it doesn't sink to the bottom and get cover by the second yeast cake that forms.

NativeSun said:

Ill be racking the wort on Korintje cinnamon sticks. Not sure how many I'll need since I never did this recipe before. I'm thinking 3-5 sticks in a muslin bag so it doesn't sink to the bottom and get cover by the second yeast cake that forms.

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OK. I'd still wait until it's closer to finished. When I did my vanilla stout I waited a couple weeks before racking onto the vanilla beans. Heck, you *could* dump your cinnamon sticks directly into the primary!

This turned out great. Just barely off the project gravity readings.

SG 1.060 Mine 1.057
FG 1.018 Mine 1.017

5.3 % ABV. The aroma was fantastic as I was bottling and the taste was great. Had the cinnamon sticks suspended instead of on the bottom where the yeast cake may have covered it.





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