Vienna Lager not bubbling after 24 hours?

[hockeygreg44]

I brewed up a Vienna Lager on Sunday using Wyeast Munich Lager yeast. I made up a 2L starter on Friday morning cold crashed it Saturday night and took it out of the fridge after my mash was complete and decanted. It was a 90 minute boil and it took me about 15 minutes to get it down to 70F I then aerated it and pitched my yeast. I then put it in my fermentation chamber and it got to 52F in about 3 hours. After 24 hours, I do not have a bubble. I have a blowoff hooked up. See the picture. Do I have any reason to be concerned or should I pick up some more yeast and re-pitch? It looks like I have some yeast in the Krausen and I can see tiny bubbles in the beer. This is my first time making a lager.


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[aryoung1980]

It looks like it's fermenting to me.


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[masonsjax]

Looks good to me too. Let it ride.

 

[hockeygreg44]

Thanks! I'm just use to ales that have a pretty active fermentation. I almost blew my blowoff tube out of my Brown Ale that I made this weekend.


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[IslandLizard]

What's that wire hanging in the beer? A thermal sensor?

 

[glick]

I actually just put my Vienna Lager into the keg to lager. I made a 1 gallon starter for mine and had activity within 8 hours even though I pitched at 48. As said above, that looks like it is fermenting. Are you sure that the end of the blow off tube is in the sanitizer?

 

[hockeygreg44]

Yes the wire is connected to my temperature controller. I found that if I have it in a bottle or something that the fridge is turning on and off more frequently. This way I get the actual temp of my beer. I put it in then put my bung in and taped it all so that I hope their are no gaps.

Yes the blowoff tube is in about a quart of star-San and water.

So it is ok to put you beer into a carboy, get it to temperature and then pitch even if it takes a few hours/days?


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[QuercusMax]

I've done quite a few lagers and it's not unusual at all for me not to see any airlock activity for the majority of the fermentation process. Keep in mind that CO2 dissolves much better in colder liquids, and colder temperatures result in slower fermentation. If you have a visible krausen, you're totally fine.

 

[beersk]

There may be a gap in where you have the probe going through, which would explain the lack of bubbles. All you need to do is tape or fix it to the carboy for fermentation. You don't need to put it inside the carboy. I was going to suggest that making a 2L starter for a lager only 2 days before brewing maybe not be big enough of a starter and also maybe not have given the starter a chance to finish out. I always make my lager starters like a week and a half in advance and step them up from 1L to 2L or 2L to 2 or 3L. But that's only the first beer in a series. After that I just repitch the yeast.

 

[BigFloyd]

All you need to do is tape or fix it to the carboy for fermentation. You don't need to put it inside the carboy.

This ^^^^^. Tape the sensor to the outside of the fermenter and then tape some bubble wrap over it to insulate. Taking the reading there is within 1*F of the reading you'll get with it hanging in your beer.

Looks like you've got fermentation. The CO2 is getting out somewhere other than the airlock which isn't unusual.