airlock activity within 30!

[tom_gamer]

So I recently started brewing with a friend. At the same time I started using an air pump with a stone to get air back into the Wort post boil. I the pitch my yeast, have never made a starter and I also don't even mix it in. Yesterday I did this with dry yeast and again within 30 mins I am getting airlock activity.

The main reason I bring this up is because I hear about people complaining about it can take up to 24+ hours to get started. Am I just lucky?

 

[Brewmech]

There are a lot of factors that play into how fast you will see actual CO2 production. Don't get caught up in the OMG it was bubbling in 15 minutes hype. Properly aerate or oxygenate your wort and pitch the correct amount of yeast for your specific beer at the right temperatures and the beer will ferment at it's own pace. What matters is the final product, not how fast it ferments. So RDWHAHB.

 

[unionrdr]

30 minutes is still pretty darn good. I've had'em start in as little as 3.5 hours.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Are you chilling in a swamp cooler?

I mistook my bucket for starting fermentation super fast, then i realized the S shaped air lock was bubbling the wrong way, it was sucking air in due to the lowering temperature reversing the pressure.

 

[Rev2010]

Ever since I begun making yeast starters almost all my beers start airlock activity with 30 minutes.


Rev.

 

[Golddiggie]

I usually don't check on my brews until the following morning (typically pitching the yeast late in the day on brew day). Yesterday I pitched around 10pm, had activity (when I checked on it for the first time) around 1:30am. Checked on it this morning, and after not even 12 hours there was Star San foam coming through the airlock cap. :rockin: This is with using pure O2 to oxygenate, nutrient in the boil, and pitching a healthy starter slurry.

The longest I can remember a beer taking to show activity is about 24 hours. My normal point is activity in 12 hours or less.

BTW, besides airlock movements/sign (which is no guarantee of actual fermentation) you can (or should) use wort temperature as an indicator. I have thermowells in my fermenters, and send a sensor into them to get the reading. Plugging the top of the thermowell keeps the temperature in it closer to what the fermentation temperature is. I use this to see what it's current temp is, as well as the high and low temperatures. It's easy to see if it's peaked already, and is dropping back, or if it has yet to hit peak. Once it reaches ambient, for a few days, I know it's done fermenting.

 

[Phunhog]

I have actually read that it can be a negative for active fermentation to start that fast. I can't quite remember the reason though....I want to say it has to do with glycogen reserves but
I don't remember.

 

[tom_gamer]

I never heard of it being a negative, then again I am no expert.

I also know that it is going the correct way, I use a plate chiller, the Wort was a a good temp.

Can anyone comment on the possible negative effect of a too quick start? I always hear about how a quick start is the goal so that your yeast beats out anything else that could be in your Wort.

 

[Rev2010]

I don't buy there's any negative to a quick start, that just sounds outright silly. I use a healthy yeast starter, the yeast have been active eating the starter sugars and have reproduced, therefore they will get to work and keep the pace in the fermenter.



Rev.

 

[Phunhog]

I don't buy there's any negative to a quick start, that just sounds outright silly. I use a healthy yeast starter, the yeast have been active eating the starter sugars and have reproduced, therefore they will get to work and keep the pace in the fermenter.



Rev.

I believe it was on one of the Brew Strong podcasts with Jamil Z. and John Palmer. Like I said I can't remember the reason but I am pretty sure they were saying that there is such a thing as starting fermentation too fast and for some reason 6-8 hours as being ideal has stuck in my head.

 

[Phunhog]

I don't buy there's any negative to a quick start, that just sounds outright silly. I use a healthy yeast starter, the yeast have been active eating the starter sugars and have reproduced, therefore they will get to work and keep the pace in the fermenter.



Rev.

Found it!! In Jamil Z. and Chris White's "YEAST" book he talks about how important the lag phase (0-15 hours) is. "Although a brewer may find it reassuring to see fermentation activity within one hour, it is not the optimal condition for the yeast" pg.68 This phase is an important stage for healthy cell growth and if it happens to soon it can affect the yeast in later stages of fermentation.

 

[Golddiggie]

Found it!! In Jamil Z. and Chris White's "YEAST" book he talks about how important the lag phase (0-15 hours) is. "Although a brewer may find it reassuring to see fermentation activity within one hour, it is not the optimal condition for the yeast" pg.68 This phase is an important stage for healthy cell growth and if it happens to soon it can affect the yeast in later stages of fermentation.

The lag phase can be seriously reduced by doing a few 'simple' things. One is to make a starter of the correct size. Another is to use pure O2 to oxygenate the wort to the level best for the yeast. A third is to add nutrients for the yeast to consume during the lag phase. These things can seriously shorten a lag phase, without negative effects.

BTW, last night I didn't time the airlock burps. This morning, seeing the Star San foam was a wonderful sight. Tonight, the foam is gone, but the airlock is burping along like a frakin machine gun. :rockin: Temperature of the fermenting beer is up to 66F (yeast range is 60-70F, according to Wyeast).

BTW, I pitched about 300 billion yeast cells (maybe a little more) into this batch. Total cell count at the finish of fermentation is going to be over 1200 billion (a 3x growth factor). So there will be yeast replication/reproduction going on (or, rather, already was).

I'm sure the commercial breweries do what they can to shorten lag phase in their batches. While we don't all have that level of hardware, there are some things we can do to help the yeast (mentioned above). On top of the things mentioned above, fermenting at good temperatures will help the batch along, and mitigate potential unwanted effects.

 

[SpeedYellow]

People need to quit thinking that a short or nonexistent lag time is a good thing. I'm with Jamil and Chris on this one.

 

[Phunhog]

You are right. All of those things you mention are very good for yeast health. A lot of newer brewers though think that faster fermentation starts are a good thing....and they are.....up to a point. I don't think a 30 minute lag time is something to strive for.

 

[Golddiggie]

You are right. All of those things you mention are very good for yeast health. A lot of newer brewers though think that faster fermentation starts are a good thing....and they are.....up to a point. I don't think a 30 minute lag time is something to strive for.

I agree there... IMO, some activity in 3-6 hours, provided you did what it takes to make it a good thing, is good. LOTS of activity starting after 12-18 hours can also be a good thing. Just be sure that you're doing what it takes to make it a good thing. Otherwise, you'll be posting asking why your brew tastes like decomposing ass.

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds like Jamil & crew are thinking that the shorter the reproductive phase,the weaker the cell walls will be. Thus shortening the yeast cell's life span in later stages of fermentation. I think it is true...to a point. The quickest I've gotten through the reproductive phase to visible fermentation was about 3.5 hours. Usually about 11 or 12,from pitching about 7pm & seeing activity at 6 or 7 am. But I also think that maintaining temps as well as possible helps this along too.

 

[bighorn_brew]

Airlock activity could very well be due to off-gassing of the wort,,,,esp if you used an oxygen stone to oxygenate.....and or wort temp heating up the airspace above the wort thereby making the air expand and ta-dah "airlock activity..."

 

[CaptnCully]

^ this... Even a slight change in temp will cause air lock activity.. Temp up increase... Temp down decrease

 

[tom_gamer]

Just to explain what happened in more details. When I mean airlock activity I mean I saw a bubble. My friends started calling me a liar because we stared airlock for what seemed like forever and nothing happened. The second they looked away it bubbled again. So the activity was a big bubble every min or two.

I don't think that I would be due to temperature change, because I am going to assume that the air temp wad if anything less than not greater than that of the Wort (although I can't confirm this).

I didn't see major airlock activity until the next morning.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are aerating properly, pitching the proper amount of yeast in wort at the right temperature the yeast are going to do what yeast do. There is then nothing you can do about it.

I don't buy it, even from Jamil, that a short lag time automatically = something negative.
If everything is right and the lag time is short I doubt anything negative will occur.

Happy yeast = good and possibly quick start to fermentation.

 

[Rev2010]

Just to explain what happened in more details. When I mean airlock activity I mean I saw a bubble

That's what I meant as well. Ever since I started using healthy yeast starters I see the pressure change and get a bubble every few minutes. It's not bubbling away like mad until a few hours later, but I do see some form of airlock activity within an hour or so.

I don't go looking for it, I've been brewing for 2 years now so it's not something I have any concern over. I've only noticed it when going back to check on the temperature of the fermenter once it's had time to settle. I heard the bubble and thought, "My that's quicker than it ever used to be".

Either way, who cares LOL.


Rev.

 

[tom_gamer]

That's what I meant as well. Ever since I started using healthy yeast starters I see the pressure change and get a bubble every few minutes. It's not bubbling away like mad until a few hours later, but I do see some form of airlock activity within an hour or so.

I don't go looking for it, I've been brewing for 2 years now so it's not something I have any concern over. I've only noticed it when going back to check on the temperature of the fermenter once it's had time to settle. I heard the bubble and thought, "My that's quicker than it ever used to be".

Either way, who cares LOL.

Rev.

I still get excited when I see airlock activity. I was looking at it through the window, while I was outside drinking with my friends.

I'm still curious about the possible side effects.

 

[Rev2010]

I still get excited when I see airlock activity.

I don't get excited, but when I'm sitting on the couch I can hear the bubbling, as I ferment in the hallway where it's cool, and I do have to admit it's a rather comforting sound.


Rev.

 

[Golddiggie]

Airlock movements at one every minute or two is probably air venting from your aeration/oxygenation of the wort. I don't consider it actually active until its going at least once every 20-30 seconds, at a steady rate. Very active is several burps within a few seconds with little, or no, pause between bunches.