lag time concerns - inadvertent under-pitching?

[rowdycactus]

Yesterday I brewed an IPA with an expected OG of 1.060 or so (I usually come in around 72-75% efficiency). It ended up coming in at 1.074, which was quite shocking. I used Wyeast 1272 and prepared a 1.5L starter. As of now, it's been about 18 hours since I pitched and still no bubbling in the blow-off. I'm concerned - my lag times are usually less than 12 hours.

I wonder if it could be due to the higher than anticipated gravity, or maybe I just didn't aerate enough. I'm worried that the higher-than-expected gravity means that I've inadvertently under-pitched the yeast.

Either way, if I don't see any activity by 24 hours, should I throw in some more yeast? Also, would it be detrimental to aerate a bit more if fermentation hasn't really kicked into gear yet? Do I risk oxidation if I do that? I typically use a carb stone hooked up to an aquarium pump to pump in ambient air, run through a HEPA filter.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stpug]

If I were you, I would sit back and not worry. It will make beer and it will likely be as good as if you had hit 1.060. It'll be fine.

 

[BigFloyd]

How did you aerate? The yeast need the O2 during the lag period to reproduce. If you didn't aerate well, that could combine with a slight under pitch to extend the lag time.

I second leaving it alone. 18-24 hours lag isn't that big of a deal. If it's doing nothing after 72 hours (confirmed by hydro) then you have a reason to worry.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Slightly underpitching isn't going to impact lag time. In my experience, a long lag time means I did something to piss off the yeast, and they're on strike. Re-pitched too many times, over-chilled, temp swings, etc. Basically ALL of the yeast are unhappy and unhealthy. You can drastically underpitch healthy yeast and still have a short lag time.


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[rowdycactus]

So I arrived home yesterday evening to find that there was still no bubbling in the blow-off. I usually ferment in a glass carboy, but this time I'm fermenting in a bucket (it's been years since I've done this) because my previous batch was taking a bit longer than expected to move through primary fermentation. Long story short, I started messing around with the blow off tube and all of the sudden it starts bubbling pretty steadily. Apparently I had too much of the blow-off tubing submerged in the water - which I didn't realize was possible, but you live and learn I suppose. Anyway, I suspect that it had been fermenting long before that and the CO2 found other ways to escape since the bucket probably isn't 100% air-tight. The only problem now is that I don't know exactly when fermentation kicked off, but that's a non-issue compared to a failed fermentation. And I'm thankful I didn't wake up to a popped bucket top and beer on the ceiling (this has happened once before).

I'll still be interested to see just how well it ferments down given that I started much higher than anticipated. If I finish in the low 1.020's, is there anything I can do to drop a few more points? I don't want a sweet IPA.

Thanks to all who've responded so far.