American Wheat slow to start fermenting?

[Calistar]

I brewed my third brew last night. It was the last of the kits I bought with my initial equipment from Northern Brewer (before the merger). The first two were the Irish Red and the Caribou Slobber. The first two brews started fermenting very quickly, within 12 hours there was significant activity in the airlock. This time, same time frame there was almost no activity (I saw one bubble).
This kit included Safale-05 and the first two used Nottingham. All three times the yeast was rehydrated? Is this normal? I'm not worried yet, just wondering if this is normal?

One a positive note though, the Red was great for my first brew and several were enjoyed while brewing this one.

Rob

-Ready to drink: Irish Red
-secondary: Caribou Slobber
-primary: American Wheat

 

[BigMack]

It's important to note that airlocks are not a good way to judge whether or not fermentation is happening. If you have a "leak" anywhere in the seal of the bucket lid or carboy stopper then CO2 could escape from there rather than through the airlock. If you have a carboy you can easily look inside and see if there is a krausen forming and if fermentation is happening.

There are a ton of reasons why you might be seeing a slight lag in fermentation as well. Pitch rate, pitch temp, gravity of the wort, etc. can all affect how long it will take to kick into gear. If you provide more recipe and process info that might give a possible clue as to why fermentation is possibly slower on this batch.

Also, I would give it more than twelve or so hours before pitching more yeast. If there are no signs of fermentation after a full 24 or so hours (not just is the airlock bubbling) then I might consider tossing in another pack of 05.

 

[meridianomrebel]

Nothing to worry about - give it a bit more time. You'll probably notice some activity in the airlock tonight. RDWHAHB

 

[RM-MN]

12 hours to start activity is the abnormal. Mine usually take 30 to 36 hours. No worries until no activity for 3 days.

 

[Calistar]

Came home and there is activity! Looks like it was just slow to get going!