Am I just being a paranoid n00b?

[lemmiwinks]

So, I finished my first batch last night.
Brewers Best DIPA kit.
Followed all the instructions but didn't aerate the wort (beginners mistake).
The only aeration was the splashing from the siphon tube to the primary (bucket).
OG was 1.082
I pitched my yeast (Safale US-5, no yeast starter) and the temp was 66F.
Checked the primary this morning, temp was down 61F (gets cold in my laundry room), no airlock activity and no foam krausen.
I know it's only been about 10 hours but is it possible I did damage by not aerating, not doing a yeast starter and letting the temp get too low?

 

[Revvy]

Yes you're being a paranoid noob,

It is too soon to even begin to worry....after 72 hours is when you take a gravity reading and see what's going on. It's quite common for yeast to take 2-3 days to get going, it's called lag time.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/, and by visible signs we don't necessarily mean a bubbling airlock. it means gravity reading

It IS a sticky at the top of the beginners forum for a reason, afterall.

"Activity is irrevelent." Just gravity points on a hydrometer.
Airlock bubbling (or lack) and fermentation are not the same thing. You have to separate that from your mindset. Airlock bubbling can be a sign of fermentation, but not a good one, because the airlock will often blip or not blip for various other reasons...so it is a tenuous connection at best.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years.

The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

So wait til you hit the 72 hour mark THEN take a gravity reading. I predict that like 99.5% of ALL the threads like this, you will have a drop in gravity indicating fermentation is happening.

 

[luke2080]

So, I finished my first batch last night.
The only aeration was the splashing from the siphon tube to the primary (bucket).

That is enough aeration in my book. Especially for your first batch.

And just saw Revvy posted a response as I started to post..so...what he said.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Thanks guys.
Had a feeling I was behaving on the impatient side.
Ive just got this "kid with a shiny new toy" feeling and just hoping for a halfway decent tasting brew.

But no issues with the temp?
Is 61 too low for fermentation on this and future brews and should I look for a warmer storage spot?

 

[Fennis]

I live in Maine, in a 180 year old farmhouse that is somewhat drafty. In the winter, the temps in the closet I keep my beer fermenting in is usually between 58 and 64, and I've never had a problem. Once the yeast get going, they will generate their own heat and the liquid will be the warmest thing in the room.

I wouldn't say with a blanket statement that you will be okay on all your future brews. Look at the temperature rating for the yeast you are using, and be sure to be somewhere within that range. That being said, I have brewed from pale ales to stouts with an ambient room temperature in the low 60s and its never been a problem for me.

 

[badbrew]

On my last brew day, I pitched 05 at 12:20 AM on Christmas day and there was nothing at 2:00 PM when I left my house. At 8:00 PM when I returned it was a geyser. That's about 20 hours after.

 

[daksin]

I'd get a stick on fermometer (NB calls it the fermometer- not sure if that's a brand or just a NB thing) so you can see the temperature in your beer. I'd love to have a space that was a consistent 61F in my house. That sounds about perfect for most ales. Towards the end you may want to warm it up a few degrees if you find it's finishing slow or has any off flavors you don't care for.

That said- the best way to get your mind off of it and let it do its thing for as long as possible (DIPA is going to want some time on the yeast) is to go buy another cheap bucket and brew another beer. Cheers!

 

[lemmiwinks]

I'd get a stick on fermometer (NB calls it the fermometer- not sure if that's a brand or just a NB thing) so you can see the temperature in your beer. I'd love to have a space that was a consistent 61F in my house. That sounds about perfect for most ales. Towards the end you may want to warm it up a few degrees if you find it's finishing slow or has any off flavors you don't care for.

That said- the best way to get your mind off of it and let it do its thing for as long as possible (DIPA is going to want some time on the yeast) is to go buy another cheap bucket and brew another beer. Cheers!

61 was the temp on the side of the primary.
I guess I got a little concerned cause a lot of stuff I read said that it shouldnt go below 64.
I brought the temp up to 64 by moving it to a different room but if the temp of the wort/beer being 61 won't hurt the fermentation process I'll put it back where I had it.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Yes I was being a paranoid noob.
Woke up this morning to some bubbles in the airlock.
Nothing major so I peeked inside and there is a very nice krausen in there. Since the temp will rise on the brew from fermentation I went ahead and moved the primary back to the laundry room where the ambient temp is in the mid to low 60's

 

[squirrelly]

While the method you used will work it is not really recommended for high gravity beers; high gravity being anything 1.070 or above. When you start hitting that range you really begin stressing the yeast out and less budding of daughter cells, less flocculation, and lower attenuation will occur.

When pitching into high gravity wort a yeast starter is a must. (zanichef Yeast.)

Brewers tend to neglect yeast health through the brewing process (White 2010.)

Yeast are a living organism which consume simple sugars and produce alcohol and C02 as a by-product. In order for this to take place the microbes need a positive environment to survive. This means optimal temperature based on strain, an optimal PH of wort yielding such nutrients as calcium, zinc, and vitamin B. along with this enough oxygen must be dissolved into solution to keep those yeast in suspension long enough to attenuate down to the desired final gravity as well as consume any undesirable by-products created during the fermentation process such as sulfates, DMS, DMSO, and diacytal. The brewer must also ensure that adequate pitching rates have been achieved to obtain an optimal fermentation cycle. (check Mr. Malty for more info on this.) If an extended lag time occurs between when the yeast was pitched and when active fermentation begins the risk of wild yeast contaminating the wort is quite great. The brewer should see signs of active fermentation within 6-10 hours of pitching viable yeast or such problems as stuck fermentations, low attenuation, low flocculation, and undesirable flavors and aromas in the beer can result.

For a more in depth understanding of this I recommend reading the book "Yeast" by Zanichef and White.

 

[lemmiwinks]

I had planned on doing a starter but got so wound up at I was finally doing my first batch I completely forgot about it. Definitely will do them from now on as it seems to be a pretty sure fire method.

 

[beerman0001]

I need to start a poll on how many people here are south park fans.

 

[Pie_Man]

Congrats on the first brew.

I think you're good on the temperature. If the ambient temp. in the room is 61, your beer is probably 5-10 warmer.

Next time, with a beer of that OG, I'd do a starter (use MrMalty.com yeast calculator), but for your first beer, don't sweat it.

 

[lemmiwinks]

I need to start a poll on how many people here are south park fans.

One of the funniest all time episodes :rockin:

 

[lemmiwinks]

Airlock is happily bubbling away.
It's a DIPA single hopped with Columbus.
I have 4 different hops and I want to dry hop it in the secondary but not sure which flavor profiles will go together nicely with those since this is my first brew.
On hand I have:
1 oz Columbus
1 oz Sorachi Ace
1 oz Citra
2 oz Galaxy

I'm leaning towards an oz of Columbus and an oz of the Galaxy.
That seem like a good combo or anybody have any suggestions?