First bothersome fermentation

[MisterOJ]

So I have batch No. 5 in the bucket right now. I brewed it on Saturday and I haven't seen a single bubble in the airlock. The OG was fairly high at 1.090 and I was even contemplating a blowout tube.

I know it's been doing something, because my fermenting closet smells like it's working. And I can push gently on the top of the lid and get bubbles to come up through the airlock. I also peeked a couple times and there was definitely krausen there - but not as much as I would have thought.

Oh... and I pitched a packet of dry US05.

Now, I know activity (or even lack thereof) in the airlock doesn't mean anything in regards to fermentation. But, this is the first time I've not seen anything. It's also the first time I didn't brew from a kit, which adds a little anxiety.

My main question is - when would be a good time for me to take my first sample to check out what's going on? I've always just checked after 2-3 weeks to see where things are. But, I've never had something like this happen that caused me to worry.

Would checking after a week be too soon?

 

[badbrew]

I wonder if 1 was enough.

 

[MisterOJ]

That's one thing I have wondered as well...

I have a second packet I could toss in if need be. But, I'm not sure if I should just give the yeast that's in there now time to do their thing.

 

[Brewnoob1]

1.090 is pretty big for 1 packet...even though 05 is a beast. I put in 1.090 in a yeast calculator and it recommended 3.5 packets of 5g size, or 1.5 packets of the bigger 11g size. What size packet did you use? Also, did you rehydrate before pitching?

 

[badbrew]

Another thought is leaks in the bucket?

 

[helibrewer]

Run it through Mr. Malty and pitch the additional amount if required.

 

[MisterOJ]

It was an 11.5 gram packet. I consulted the folks at the LHBS and they seemed to think one packet of 05 would be sufficient.

As for the bucket, it's a brand new one, so there could be an issue there. I suppose it might be less than airtight. I can, after all, smell the beer fermenting. But, it seems to be airtight because when I push down even slightly on the top of the lid, loads of bubbles get pushed through the airlock.

 

[badbrew]

It was an 11.5 gram packet. I consulted the folks at the LHBS and they seemed to think one packet of 05 would be sufficient.

As for the bucket, it's a brand new one, so there could be an issue there. I suppose it might be less than airtight. I can, after all, smell the beer fermenting. But, it seems to be airtight because when I push down even slightly on the top of the lid, loads of bubbles get pushed through the airlock.

yeah after looking at mr. malty it suggests at least 1.5 packs.

Mrmalty.com

 

[MisterOJ]

Yeah... that's what I got when I checked Mr. Malty too.

So should I just go ahead and chuck half a packet in there? Or maybe the whole thing just to be safe?

And if I did underpitch, is that going to mess anything up longterm or will it all work out okay as long as I add the extra yeast?

 

[Brewnoob1]

Underpitching could lead to some off flavors from the yeast being strained.

Though, you are having some fermentation right now, so you could just let it ride.

 

[MisterOJ]

I peeked again this morning. Looks like the krausen is starting to fall. Although it wasn't nearly as big as I expected.

One good thing is that I can't detect any off smells. The beer smells just as good as the other four batches I have done, so that's positive.

I'll probably take a sample this weekend and see where the gravity is. Hopefully it's gotten fairly low.