The Airlock Isn't Bubbling!!! ZOMG

[TheBreweryUnderground]

Ok so maybe it has only be 8 hours at 63 degrees after being well aerated, but I'm really impatient! It's been 8 months since the last brew so I want to see a krausen ASAP!

 

[zachattack]

Chill out and wait 3 more days before getting worried. And remember airlock activity is a pretty unpredictable measure of fermentation activity.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

I would chill out but it's 8 in the morning and something tells me now is not a good time for a beer.

 

[zachattack]

I would chill out but it's 8 in the morning and something tells me now is not a good time for a beer.

Haha that's why I didn't say RDWHAHB. Have a cup of coffee maybe?

 

[Special Hops]

Enter Revy's copy paste here.

 

[JimTheHick]

Hook up the aquarium pump to your airlock. Problem solved.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

I am accepting home brews so that I may RDWHAHB since I've got nothing now. Your donations will be greatly appreciated.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

Hook up the aquarium pump to your airlock. Problem solved.

So that's what I've been doing wrong...

There should be a thread for n00bs to provide this hilariously awesome disinformation.

 

[daksin]

12 hours is sort of the "ideal" lag time. You want the yeast to take their time packing away oxygen and getting ready for the long anaerobic ferment. A little longer or shorter is no big deal, but you don't want activity immediately, nor do you want to wait 72 hours- those both indicate unhappy/unhealthy yeast.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

I tried the tiniest little drop of olive oil for the yeast to munch on and that may have contributed to a longer than usual lag time, but it got a krausen a few hours after the original post so that's a good sign that they were hard at work but just building up their numbers. We'll see how the head retention is but I added such a minuscule amount I can't imagine it would do much harm.

In other news I'm holding a homebrew competition, just send in 5 bottles and the $25 entry fee. All entries will be judged by me, hehehe...

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

This thing reached FG in at least 5 days, I didn't look at it after I saw the krausen. It's dry hopping now and I'll cold crash it in a week. Seriously the quickest ferment I've had and I didn't see the airlock bubble once, which I know is not a sure sign of fermentation but still it blows my mind as every beer I've done except for the two last week have had crazy blow offs and bubbling air locks. I have had better controlled temperatures with the last two and I wonder if that is what is affecting it. I was hoping my fermentation room would be smelling like citra but it's still only stale garage.

 

[nulfis]

Had the same issue on a Pale Ale I just brewed. A bit long of a lag time for a White Labs vial, but then again it had sat in my fridge awhile. Tried the Australian Ale strain, after about 12-16 hours got a nice foamy krausen, but I don't think the airlock has moved once.

Could be the yeast strain, could be my swamp cooler setup, could be that I used organic 6 row barley my dad grew and hand malted, or could be that this strain doesn't like Burton Salted water like my house strain does. Who knows, to many variables to really know why, but hey, I'm happy with krausen!