Started this extract for an IPA and it came with safale 05. Things felt like they went more smoothly than my first try with the stout kit. Mixed things well and first sample hit 1.055. Gave it a shake, let the foam settle and pitched the yeast. This am, nothing. No activity and I didn't like the way yeast looked. It formed small round clusters in some areas. Thinking of giving it a good shake but have bought 2 more safale 05 packets that'll be here tues. I know some of these ale yeasts seem to have a lag period. Don't know about this one. Anyone think the yeast is bad? Oh and I used Irish moss in the boil as instructions say. Does that cause anything with the yeast?? Doubt it would seeing how you can use it for clarity. Really want this beer to work out. Smell and taste right off indicate this is my kind of beer. This could really be good. Good color too
IPA and safale 05
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Aristotelian
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Couldn't hurt to shake it at this point but I highly doubt that the yeast is bad. US-05 is known to be a slow starter but it performs consistently.
I just brewed a batch of Caramel Amber That took a full 48 Hours to show any signs of Fermentation at all. I kept the temp low around 63 deg F and though it would be a slow start and slow ferment, but when it went off it was an absolute beast. The bulk of fermentation took about 48 hours and it leveled off at my FG about 48 hours after that.
I use US-05 a lot and I have to say it can take a bit to kick off as I ferment it at 62-65F. One packet should be plenty for a 1.055 beer. Just a question: what temp did you pitch at? If it was too warm, it could have cut down the viable yeast which would give you a longer lag phase.
boydster
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I doubt the yeast is bad, unless you were way past the expiration date. I like to pitch 05 at 65, and ferment between 65-68. Not sure what temps you are using, but those temps keep the yeast profile pretty neutral (helps avoid the peachy or stone fruit flavors you may have heard about).
Give it a couple days before you worry. Even if you didn't rehydrate the yeast, after a little bit of a lag it should get going and do its job. I'd be shocked if Tuesday rolls around and nothing is happening when you take delivery of the new yeast packs.
Give it a couple days before you worry. Even if you didn't rehydrate the yeast, after a little bit of a lag it should get going and do its job. I'd be shocked if Tuesday rolls around and nothing is happening when you take delivery of the new yeast packs.
It's showing some foaming now. Slow bubble movement in airlock. Pitching temp? Know what I dinto think of that. It was 85 in the kettle right before I transferred to carboy and I had a gallon of water in there waiting then topped off to 5gal mark which was abt 1 and 1/4 gallon more. Had to have cooled below 85. Not sure how much bc I never thought it would need to be in the 60's.
Ok so the foam has burbed into airlock. Never had that happen before. What do you all do...anything? It's not clogged it just has come up neck of carboy and some foam is in airlock. Geez thought the thing was slow now look
boydster
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LOL see?! 05 is a beast! 
Take out the airlock and run some tubing from the bung into a jar of starsan - it's called a blow off tube. You can leave it like that until it dies down, just keep the jar lower than the top of your carboy to prevent the starsan from being siphoned back into your beer.
Take out the airlock and run some tubing from the bung into a jar of starsan - it's called a blow off tube. You can leave it like that until it dies down, just keep the jar lower than the top of your carboy to prevent the starsan from being siphoned back into your beer.Use a blow off tube. Always use a blow off tube, at least until fermentation dies down, unless you got a ton of head space.
Mexibilly
Mexibilly
You pitched around 80', right?
If you pitched too hot you might have killed your yeast.
Usually 05 takes off for me within 12 hours.
If you don't see anything after 48 you probably ought to pitch another pack
If you pitched too hot you might have killed your yeast.
Usually 05 takes off for me within 12 hours.
If you don't see anything after 48 you probably ought to pitch another pack
You should be good. Tomorrow, it'll be fermenting like a mad man. I know how you feel. Lag time always gets me tweaky. 05 is great. It should slow in about 4 days but, I like to let it clean up all the undesirables for 10 more days before throwing it in the secondary for dry hopping.
Spartan300man
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Just wondering, why do you transfer to a secondary? Why not dry hop in the primary? And do you wait until the 14th day because you haven't quite hit your FG?
Next time try to use other fermentis yeast: http://alcofermbrew.com/en/Beer/Beer-Yeast-c59c87.html
S-05 is a fine yeast for IPA's. Just needs to be pitched cooler than 80.
jrgtr42
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80' isn't hot enough to kill the yeast - has to be about 100 - 105 for that.
80 is a bit on the warm side - the OP will probably have some esters in there he probably didn't want (it may work out though...)
boydster
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Actually, it's even a little more temperature tolerant than that! Rehydrating in 105F water is pretty ideal, at least according to some yeast experts - Chris White, for example. It's at about 120F that you start killing it from what I've read, and about 140 to be sure you killed 'em all. I can I certainly attest to the fact that 105F doesn't kill 05 as I've rehydrated it at that temp many times (although now I typically just aim to be somewhere between 80-90).
But your point is well received - the yeast should have been able to survive this pitch, and it seems they did based on the OP's need for a blow off tube.
Visible fermentation stops for me around 4-6 days; on occasion, a little longer. Fermenting at lower temps can increase the production of diacetyl by the yeast (it isn't only in lagers). Acetaldehyde (green apple taste) is also produced and is especially evident in "young beer." Allowing the yeast to clean up behind themselves greatly increased the quality of my beer. It seems 14 days, on average for my brew house, does the trick for ales.
I transfer to a corny keg for secondary for a few reasons. Being light-proof helps decrease chances of light struck. I purge the tank with CO2 before I transfer from the carboy which minimizes O2 exposure. When I dry-hop, I put the hops in a mesh bag and drop it in. During the dry-hop schedule I will pop the air lock off, make sure I purge all O2 out, pressurize the keg a tad and shake it or roll it to increase the exposure of the beer to the hops without oxidation. Once the dry-hop schedule is done, it's so easy to cold crash (for about a week) then, transfer to the serving keg under CO2 once I take off a pint or two to clear it.
I use that method if my conicals are already full. I know there are so many different ways to brew the same beer. This way just seems to work for me.
Spartan300man
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PetVet, thanks for the reply. Given your setup, I can see why. I'm still on the bucket brigade, no kegs, and have stopped transferring to a secondary. I just keep it in the 5 gal bucket and try to cold-crash if possible before bottling. The less movement the better.
For dry hopping, I may/may not use a mesh bag with marbles. I certainly do use one with leaf hops, but pellets seem to settle out. I'm trying to nail down that timing of enough dry hopping, not too much, before bottling. And I want to make sure the yeast will be completely done before dry-hopping, yet i don't want to open the lid and do multiple FG checks if possible. I'll be using S-02 yeast for this next Ale, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Never used this yeast before. Used nottingham, US-04 on the stout, wine yeast, bakers, distillers. But none of then did this. I have never had to use a blow off tube. Frankly didn't even know what it was until yesterday.
ncsuwerewolf
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You think its bad now. Try reusing a cake. I never ferment 05 without going straight to a blow off tube. As otherwise it will foul the airlock and blow it or the lid off.
Nothing wrong with buckets. They are great fermenters. Easy to close, move around, put things in and clean. I agree, I don't like taking multiple gravity readings as I don't like the exposure to oxygen. Still, it's good to know where I'm at in the fermentation. Thing is, I've been using 05 so much, i kind of have it dialed in. Hops will oxidize if given the chance as well. I have recently shortened my hop schedule and found a fresher, bolder taste. I was getting a little vegetal hint after 14 days of dry hopping. Since then, I'll go for 4-7 days total. I pile on the hops in the secondary and seem to have good results with it. Leaf hops are so nice. I like to use leaf Styrian with my saisons but, I found I lose too much beer with the amount of leaf hops I use in an IPA or DIPA.
You should be in great shape with S-02, too. 👍
Spartan300man
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Ooops, I meant S-05, that was a typo!
I saw Omaha on your location, I was there on business and we went to Upstream and the Farnam (?) brewery/pub. Both had good offerings!
My bad, too. Figured you meant s-23, and maybe doing a steam beer. I live by Upstream west and know the head brewer well. Nice guy and very in to making good beer. Farnam House is owned by two previous homebrewers and do a good job, too. If you're ever back, or anyone else for that matter, drop me a PM. I might know a few other breweries to hit.
Mexibilly
Mexibilly
I'm sorry, you're totally right.
I confused rehydration temp with pitching temp. Probably had a few when I wrote that...
I confused rehydration temp with pitching temp. Probably had a few when I wrote that...
Depending on the grain bill, OG, pitch rate, fermentation rate, etc ANY yeast is capable of a violent fermentation with lots of blowoff. US-05 is actually not particularly known for having huge krausen like WY1318, WLP530/WY3787, and hefe yeasts are notorious for
Northbank
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Kinda jumping in here because I'm working through an IPA with US-05 myself, my starting gravity was 1.061 and after a week at between 63-67f (actual fermentation temps) my fermentation seems to have slowed a bit but is still pretty active -- I mean the wort is still swirling around and there is still a lot of airlock activity. I check the gravity today fro the first time and I was down to 1.035 or so (I'm using a refractometer) ... BeerSmith gave me a Estimated final OG of 1.016 so I still have a way to go...
First time with this yeast, how long can I expect this to take? (How long is a piece of string right?)
I still have a solid inch thick krausen but its fallen a bit.
First time with this yeast, how long can I expect this to take? (How long is a piece of string right?)
I still have a solid inch thick krausen but its fallen a bit.
You probably know this, but refractometers aren't accurate once fermentation begins. You need some kind of correction to account for the alcohol present. seanterrill.com has a good one, but I think the site is down.
ncsuwerewolf
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After you pitch a refractometer is no good, the Alcohol gets in the way and only a hydrometer will do. After the krausen falls back in bump the temp a few degrees to encourage the yeast to clean up amd check a few days after that.
Northbank
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Ooh -- this is why you guys are invaluable.... I can't use my hydrometer right now because I don't have anything tall and slim enough to get a measurement without taking out PINTs of beer and I'm also using a carboy
If anybody has a recommendation for a good vessel for a (probably 12") hydrometer I'm all ears. I didn't bother taking readings on my first brew so when I unpackaged it on brew day I was really surprised by its size.
If anybody has a recommendation for a good vessel for a (probably 12") hydrometer I'm all ears. I didn't bother taking readings on my first brew so when I unpackaged it on brew day I was really surprised by its size.
Ooh -- this is why you guys are invaluable.... I can't use my hydrometer right now because I don't have anything tall and slim enough to get a measurement without taking out PINTs of beer and I'm also using a carboy
If anybody has a recommendation for a good vessel for a (probably 12") hydrometer I'm all ears. I didn't bother taking readings on my first brew so when I unpackaged it on brew day I was really surprised by its size.
Let the yeast work! Don't check anything for at least 2 weeks, 3 is even better. I still can't figure out why some insist on opening up their brews and risking infection way before it's time.
