Not Sure My Brew Is Fermenting

[MagicRat]

Brewed my second batch, all-grain APA based on Yooper's recipe. Got an OG of 1.045 which is about right for the grain bill at 70% efficiency. Pitched WPL001 - and nothing happens for about a day and a half. I opened it up to have a quick look and there's krausen on top and it smells like it's fermenting but I'm not seeing any activity at all in the airlock. So I pitched another tube about 72 hours after the first (24 hours ago as I type this) and still haven't seen a single bubble. But it looks and smells like it's fermenting.
How worried should I be?

 

[Psylocide]

Not worried... many things can cause an airlock to not bubble, one being the lid not sealing well enough.

Don't sweat it, just leave the bucket closed... if there is krausen, it is fermenting.

 

[hunter_le five]

Ignore the airlock. If you see krausen, it's fermenting.

The airlock is just there to make sure the lid doesn't blow off during fermentation. It is not meant to be used as an indicator of fermentation.

 

[kev211]

Just a thought, not that there is anything that you can do now, but I probably wouldnt have pitched that second vial. Unless your first vial of yeast was way old/expired it should have definitely been doing its job (like Psylocide said your bucket probably just had an air leak). WLP001 is a strong and efficient yeast and Ive never had any issues with it. And for a beer at 1.045 OG two vials seems a bit much. Just a thought, everything will still turn out fine.

 

[hunter_le five]

Just a thought, not that there is anything that you can do now, but I probably wouldnt have pitched that second vial. Unless your first vial of yeast was way old/expired it should have definitely been doing its job (like Psylocide said your bucket probably just had an air leak). WLP001 is a strong and efficient yeast and Ive never had any issues with it. And for a beer at 1.045 OG two vials seems a bit much. Just a thought, everything will still turn out fine.

It'll probably be fine. 1 vial sans starter (I'm assuming the OP direct-pitched the vials) is technically underpitching a bit even at that gravity, so I don't think a second vial will really hurt anything. Just makes for a more expensive beer.

 

[kev211]

It'll probably be fine. 1 vial sans starter (I'm assuming the OP direct-pitched the vials) is technically underpitching a bit even at that gravity, so I don't think a second vial will really hurt anything. Just makes for a more expensive beer.

Ya I know. Thats why I said it would probably be fine .

I just know that over pitching can cause off flavors (which Im assuming you would have to waaaaay over pitch). I wasnt sure if he made a starter or not, but I do agree that one vial at 1.045 is under pitched. Like you said, Im mainly thinking about the fact that he used ~18$ in yeast on an ale that definitely did not need both (especially if a starter was made).

 

[hunter_le five]

Ya I know. Thats why I said it would probably be fine .

I just know that over pitching can cause off flavors (which Im assuming you would have to waaaaay over pitch). I wasnt sure if he made a starter or not, but I do agree that one vial at 1.045 is under pitched. Like you said, Im mainly thinking about the fact that he used ~18$ in yeast on an ale that definitely did not need both (especially if a starter was made).

What, you expect me to actually read what you wrote?

TL;DR 4 Lyfe

 

[MagicRat]

Thanks for the responses. I'm just going to leave it be and even forego the 1 oz. dry hop.
I know a lot of people swear by starters but WL does have an explanation on their website why a starter isn't necessary so I decided to try it their way. My first batch with Wyeast did very well without a starter.
I did refer to Palmer's book for troubleshooting and he does suggest pitching more.
The lid is definitely on tight.
I feel a little better now.
I will update in about 10 days.

 

[kev211]

What, you expect me to actually read what you wrote?

TL;DR 4 Lyfe

I expect everyone to pay attention to me at all times

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for the responses. I'm just going to leave it be and even forego the 1 oz. dry hop.
I know a lot of people swear by starters but WL does have an explanation on their website why a starter isn't necessary so I decided to try it their way. My first batch with Wyeast did very well without a starter.
I did refer to Palmer's book for troubleshooting and he does suggest pitching more.
The lid is definitely on tight.
I feel a little better now.
I will update in about 10 days.

1) Don't trust the airlock to tell you if it's fermenting or not. Your second vial pitched 72 hours later was wasted $$.

2) Is a starter necessary to get a fermentation? No. Is it better to make one for a 5g batch above 1.040 in order to get the pitch rate you should have? Yep. In your case, one fresh vial and no starter probably wasn't that far off as to make a significant difference.

 

[PrinceOfThePoint]

I did refer to Palmer's book for troubleshooting and he does suggest pitching more.
The lid is definitely on tight.

It's probably not actually sealing, hence why you have actively fermenting wort but no bubbles in your airlock. Palmer's suggestion for pitching more yeast only refers to a fermentation that has failed to start. This is not the case with your beer. The extra yeast was definitely unnecessary but it isn't going to hurt the beer.

Not sure what you mean about foregoing the dry hops. Don't forego the dry hops. When fermentation is complete, add them.

 

[MagicRat]

Yeah, I see that I probably wasted $7.50 and I will go with starters from now on.
At this point, I'll just be happy if I get something drinkable out of this.
Thanks, guys!

 

[Nerosync]

I recently learned that the tops on some of those buckets are not air tight even when then are fully on and "sealed." I had a very active fermentation that came out the air lock and seaped out from under the lid around the sides prior to eventually blowing one side of the lid off.

So this is good info. I had also assumed that because there was little or no activity in the airlock that fermentation had all but completed or slowed completely. I have read this in many kit instructions as a determining factor on when to rack your beer to a secondary if you chose to do so.

After much further research and knowledge learned here I am leaving my brew in the primary for a much longer period and then racking to a secondary only if required. Can't wait to see the differences in batches.

 

[kh54s10]

Yeah, I see that I probably wasted $7.50 and I will go with starters from now on.
At this point, I'll just be happy if I get something drinkable out of this.
Thanks, guys!

There is no reason to think the beer will be anything but good from what has been described.

If your recipe calls for dry hopping, I would not skip it. At least there is no reason to skip the dry hops and if the recipe was designed for the hops leaving them out will change it pretty significantly.

 

[MagicRat]

I will go ahead and add the hops since it's not going to hurt anything.
I will say that I believe the lid was definitely tight. I removed it twice and there was definitely a pressure difference.

 

[Nerosync]

I will go ahead and add the hops since it's not going to hurt anything.
I will say that I believe the lid was definitely tight. I removed it twice and there was definitely a pressure difference.

Agreed, I have witnessed lids on my fermenters literally expand in the center with air locks prior to using blow off tubes, so I know they were sealed well.

Maybe just a difference in manufacturers?

 

[exileonmainst]

I will go ahead and add the hops since it's not going to hurt anything.
I will say that I believe the lid was definitely tight. I removed it twice and there was definitely a pressure difference.

I'm sure it was on tight, but that doesn't mean it won't still let gas escape. There's a difference between it being attached securely (which you had) and it having a perfect air-tight seal (which you didn't have). Often times it's hard/impossible to achieve an air-tight seal, especially with older buckets. When that happens, the CO2 the yeast is producing may escape out the seal and not the air-lock. Then your air-lock will not bubble, even though it's fermenting just fine. It's nothing to worry about and it's not detrimental to your beer at all. Even though the seal isn't perfect and gas can escape out, it's very unlikely that anything bad would be able to get in. Unfortunately there isn't a great fix to get the bucket to seal tightly. Try cleaning it as good as you can next time. But if it still doesn't seal, RDWHAHB. It really doesn't matter. Your beer will be just fine.

 

[Psylocide]

Yeah put me down for "don't skip the dry hop" even though you seem to have figured that out.

 

[kev211]

In case no one has mentioned it... I wouldnt skip the dry hopping part

 

[hunter_le five]

In case no one has mentioned it... I wouldnt skip the dry hopping part

I disagree. I would NOT skip the dry hopping part.

 

[kev211]

I disagree. I would NOT skip the dry hopping part.

Ha! I read this and went... Wait, what did I put haha

 

[MagicRat]

[emoji41][emoji482]

 

[MagicRat]

Bottled this tonight - everything is fine!