Fermentation can take 24 to 72 hrs to show visible signs.

[slym2none]

Once I pitch 05 on top, it takes me 24-36 hours to get good action. Once it gets going, it still works like a horse even with lower temps but will lie almost dormant until the wort comes up to at least 62 degrees.

I have only used 05 twice - the first time, it took off like a champ; the second time, it took about 30 hours to start chewing away. Both times, wort temp was ~70° F at pitching, and both times I just sprinkled the dry yeast on top of the wort.

*shrug*

As I said, every party is different, and I just let it move at it's own pace. But this one was really pushing towards the "worry" before it finally got going!

 

[unionrdr]

That's mostly to do with initial ferment temp & the fact that dry-pitching can cause up to 50% yeast cell attrition. That's why I re-hydrate my dry yeasts now, then pitch at within 10 degrees of current wort temp. More healthy yeasties that way.

 

[Brew_G]

Just adding my own experience to this thread:

I brewed a 1.049 Blonde/Pale this past Friday, pitching rehydrated Notty into 60F wort at 10:30 am. 24 hours later, nothing...but three hours after that I started to see some bubbling. Since this is the first time I'm not fermenting in a glass carboy, plus the first time using dry yeast, it was a little disconcerting not to be able to see any signs of fermentation for so long.

Fast forward another 18 hours and this thing is getting at it!

 

[ncbrewer]

I'd like to add that there are differences between the recommended rehydration methods from the various manufacturers. And within one basic method, there are still subtle differences. To make matters even more confusing, Fermentis has one set of general instructions, and a different set of instructions for the specific strains. I've never made a study of these methods, but I wouldn't be surprised if they produced different results in terms of lag time, etc.

 

[unionrdr]

Seeing a shorter lag time isn't usually bad, but a longer lag time is. Initial ferment temps are important to get in the particular yeast's sweet spot, since they now say initial fermentation is where most off-flavors occur. I've had my ESB take off visually in about 3 hours, & it was done & clearing in 10 days flat. Definitely my best ever.

 

[ncbrewer]

Initial ferment temps are important to get in the particular yeast's sweet spot, since they now say initial fermentation is where most off-flavors occur.

"Initial ferment temps" - To some brewers, this means beginning with the lag phase, but some don't feel that temps during the lag phase are important. From what I've read, there seems to be a difference in opinion, so I control the temp starting when I pitch the yeast. It's a little difficult because I find it heats up more during the lag phase than during active fermentation. It seems not all brewers get this effect for some reason. Has anybody else noticed this?

 

[pshankstar]

I'm not sure if this is common or not and if I should be concerned. I finished brewing a batch early yesterday morning. I pitched the yeast around 3:30am yesterday morning. Late last night the air lock had a lot of bubbles and was active. Today it seems like there is no activity. The basement temperature is 66-68 (fahrenheit) where the fermentor is located, but today is a very cold and rainy day outside. I'm not sure if an external factor like this would cause any issues or not, but thought I would mention it.

The yeast I used was a dry English Ale Yeast (Safale S-04). Any thoughts as to what might be the issue if there is one? Or should I just take a deep breath and calm down since I'm a newbie home brewer? Thanks in advance!

 

[ncbrewer]

So on this cold day, what is the temp of your beer? or your basement? Have you made sure you still have water/Star San in the airlock? Any chance the seal on the fermenter lid came un-sealed?

 

[pshankstar]

NCbrewer, the temperature in the basement is 67. I do not have a thermometer for the thermowell but placing a digital one in there for a minute to see where it stabilizes is right around 71. I know this is not very accurate by any means. There is still plenty of water in the airlock and the top is nice and tight. Earlier when my father was over visiting I showed him my new setup. He mentioned he saw a bubble rise up in the air lock. I didn't see it myself. I'm kind of worried... :-( Thanks for the quick response!!

 

[ncbrewer]

Reading between the lines, I think you're using a bucket fermenter and you opened the lid to check temperature. I'd recommend not opening it again for temp checks - you got confirmation that the beer temp is a little above ambient. And I think it's best to open the lid as little as possible in general. (Try a fermometer on the side of the fermenter if you don't have one - it's well worth it.) Since the temp in the basement is 67, the cold snap isn't responsible for the lack of bubbles.

When you opened the lid, did you see kraeusen? If so, I'd say it's ok. And for checking later without opening the lid, you can darken the room and set a flashlight on the lid aiming down. You can get an idea of kraeusen looking at the side of the bucket. If there is no kraeusen, it could be a problem, but I'd still wait three days total before taking action.

 

[pshankstar]

NCbrewer no I'm not using a bucket but rather a FastFerment conical fermenter. There is a thermowell but I do not have the thermostat for it yet. There is kraeusen that I can see shining a light from the back of it. There was also some on the lid where the air lock is too which I can tell by the light method. It looks like it has already started to settle. I pulled the airlock quickly just to make sure the kraeusen didn't plug it and replaced it ASAP.

I just drained the ball tonight and there was already a lot of yeast and/or trub. Not really sure how to tell the difference. I'm about to replace it with a new ball sanitized with San Star and filled with distilled water that was boiled and cooled.
Maybe this will kick start the fermentation again. Time will tell. Thanks again for your help!!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436624881.500564.jpg

 

[uatuba]

Congratulations...fermentation is finished. Of course there's no real way of knowing that other than to take a gravity reading, but I suspect that fermentation has already completed. S-04 doesn't play around, and since the temperature likely rose much higher than 71, the S-04 went through it like a meth head goes through Wal-Mart.

It probably will have some major fusel alcohols and it may not be very good, but it's still beer. Of course, like I said, the only way to confirm is to check the gravity.

 

[pshankstar]

Congratulations...fermentation is finished. Of course there's no real way of knowing that other than to take a gravity reading, but I suspect that fermentation has already completed. S-04 doesn't play around, and since the temperature likely rose much higher than 71, the S-04 went through it like a meth head goes through Wal-Mart.

It probably will have some major fusel alcohols and it may not be very good, but it's still beer. Of course, like I said, the only way to confirm is to check the gravity.

Wow I had no idea fermentation would finish in less than a week!! Is there any issue letting it sit for another 10-14 days? I leave for vacation tomorrow. I figured if I brewed earlier this week it would give it 2-3 weeks to do its thing and be ready to keg when I return!!

I almost spit out my beer about your "meth addict at Walmart"!! Too funny!!!

 

[uatuba]

Wow I had no idea fermentation would finish in less than a week!! Is there any issue letting it sit for another 10-14 days? I leave for vacation tomorrow. I figured if I brewed earlier this week it would give it 2-3 weeks to do its thing and be ready to keg when I return!!

I almost spit out my beer about your "meth addict at Walmart"!! Too funny!!!

It won't hurt it to leave it. S-04 really does have a violent fermentation, and the higher the temp, the faster it goes. Lots of people have hit FG in under a week even using proper temperature control, but it's not as likely.

 

[pshankstar]

It won't hurt it to leave it. S-04 really does have a violent fermentation, and the higher the temp, the faster it goes. Lots of people have hit FG in under a week even using proper temperature control, but it's not as likely.

Uatuba, do you think I should empty the ball one more time tonight to get rid of the remaining yeast before I leave tomorrow morning? From what I read it seems that Fusel Alcohol can be attributed to sitting on the yeast for too long. So with that being said it looks like most of it has dropped to the ball since making the swap last night. I'm thinking it can't hurt and then when I return there should be very little yeast & trub in the ball for a final dump before kegging it.

Thanks for your help & suggestions as well!!!

 

[ncbrewer]

The reason the older books recommend getting the beer off the yeast quickly is autolysis. On a home brewing scale, this turns out to not be a problem unless it is on the yeast for months. I normally give my beer 3 weeks in the primary with no secondary - lots of brewers do this.

 

[pshankstar]

The reason the older books recommend getting the beer off the yeast quickly is autolysis. On a home brewing scale, this turns out to not be a problem unless it is on the yeast for months. I normally give my beer 3 weeks in the primary with no secondary - lots of brewers do this.

Awesome thanks NCbrewer!!! [emoji106]

 

[Birchrun_brewery]

I brewed a partial mash dunkelweisen yesterday about 4:00 p.m. This was my first full boil as I just got my wort chiller ( worked greast ) I checked it this morning about 3:30 a.m. noticed my room temp was about 62 degrees and no activity turned up my space heater and went to work. When I got home at 3:00p.m. still no activity room was 68 degrees. Noticed a slight foam on top of the wort . ( when I siphoned the wort into my firmenter pail I kept filling a sanitised milk jug half full and shoock the hell out of it) also mixed well when pitching yeast(white labs hefenweizen) so I think my areation was o.k. I think I'm learning the importance of making a starter now! I will check it again this evening and take a gravity reading. If I need to repitch I will have to get more yeast tomorrow. How do I go about repitching ? Do I need to areate it again and what is the best methodeto areate 5 gallons in a pail ?

I don't think you need to really shake hell out of a wort (especially not a hot one) to get a good aeration... I just chill mine down and then lightly swirl it around for about 30-60 seconds and then pitch ...my ferments always start between 6-10 hours but I do make big starters on a stir plate...

 

[TheMerkle]

Rdwhahb

 

[DaveCane]

Just want to check in to thank you for this thread. I brewed Hooter's Simple Hefeweizen recipe on Sunday. It was my first time brewing with ingredients from my LHBS and using my DIY wort chiller. I had no visible signs of fermentation Sunday night or Monday. I was getting freaked out by Monday because I had read that the Danstar Munich was pretty quick to get working (and I'm a noob and that's what we do). I found this thread, read several pages, and committed to doing nothing for at least a few more days. Tuesday morning, I saw a few small bubbles on the surface of the wort. Tuesday night, there was a nice foamy head on top. By Wednesday morning, there was evidence that the foam had filled the head space in the carboy and then settled.back down to a two-inch thick foam. It appears that I had pitched the yeast at a much lower temperature than I should have and just put it to sleep for a while. It woke up after a few days and is now doing its job. [emoji106]🏼

Thanks again for the great info in this thread and elsewhere on this forum! [emoji482]

 

[pshankstar]

Just want to check in to thank you for this thread. I brewed Hooter's Simple Hefeweizen recipe on Sunday. It was my first time brewing with ingredients from my LHBS and using my DIY wort chiller. I had no visible signs of fermentation Sunday night or Monday. I was getting freaked out by Monday because I had read that the Danstar Munich was pretty quick to get working (and I'm a noob and that's what we do). I found this thread, read several pages, and committed to doing nothing for at least a few more days. Tuesday morning, I saw a few small bubbles on the surface of the wort. Tuesday night, there was a nice foamy head on top. By Wednesday morning, there was evidence that the foam had filled the head space in the carboy and then settled.back down to a two-inch thick foam. It appears that I had pitched the yeast at a much lower temperature than I should have and just put it to sleep for a while. It woke up after a few days and is now doing its job. [emoji106]🏼

Thanks again for the great info in this thread and elsewhere on this forum! [emoji482]

Welcome DaveCane and I'm glad to see you too (like me) are gaining a lot from this forum, especially being new to homebrewing! Congrats on your current brew!

 

[Jiffster]

Just want to check in to thank you for this thread. I brewed Hooter's Simple Hefeweizen recipe on Sunday. It was my first time brewing with ingredients from my LHBS and using my DIY wort chiller. ....:emoji482]

Dave,
I'm thinking about making that same wort chiller. How well did it work?

 

[DaveCane]

Dave,
I'm thinking about making that same wort chiller. How well did it work?

It worked really well. Based on my vast experience of one use [emoji13] I'll say that all you really need is the copper tubing, the vinyl tubing, two clamps, a submersible pump, and a big tub of ice water. I'm not a real handy guy, but I was able to get this working without a hitch. It's nice to make something, rather than just buying every piece of equipment!

 

[sergiontx]

Question, probably already been asked, so I Apologize in Advance... My first beer was bubbling for first 24hrs and then stopped... At what point should I worry and if its stops, whats the fix?

 

[cbmikey]

Question, probably already been asked, so I Apologize in Advance... My first beer was bubbling for first 24hrs and then stopped... At what point should I worry and if its stops, whats the fix?

You should start worrying approximately NEVER. Relax and let the yeast do it's thing! You're making beer!

 

[slym2none]

So, my latest batch of Nottingham took app. 68 hours to kick in.

68 HOURS!

The whole time, I was cool/calm/collected. I hadn't hit 72 hours yet, so no worries, right? That being said, this is the last batch of "washed' yeast I have, and I think I'm kind of glad. 3rd gen and the longest lag-time yet.

But it worked, and is currently churning away!

 

[MattyIce]

I am going on a three full days since pitching my doppelbock. No krausen, dead still wort. Then realized I still had my temp controller still set at just about freezing. Whoops!

 

[biertschi]

Hello,

I am sure that similar questions have been asked for a lot of time. I am sorry in advance.

I brewed a Cooper's Real Ale kit on Friday evening. Everything went well, I didn't have any problem. But there was no sign on the airlock until Sunday morning. I saw bubbles on Sunday morning and it lasted until evening. And then it stopped again. Now, it's been more than 24 hours since it stopped and no sign at all. Should I worry about it?

(By the way, I used ale yeast in the kit and the temperature is 22C/70F)

 

[ncbrewer]

It's possible that the lid doesn't seal perfectly, and you only get bubbling when it's fermenting really hard.

 

[biertschi]

It's possible that the lid doesn't seal perfectly, and you only get bubbling when it's fermenting really hard.

Thanks for the reply. Well, I double checked it and the lid looks sealed but still I binded it with tape just in case. We will see if it helps.

So, if it's the problem, am I already too late?