First time AG fermentation question

[jbhistory]

Hello digital brew land,

I brewed my first AG this past Sunday (march 10) and like a new father I can't stop obsessing about all the things I may not know or may have messed up. Anyhow..... I pitched my 90 minute clone with 3 vials of 007 yeast and it came to life about 5 hours or so into the fermentation. Last night it really kicked in. The ferment (in a 6.5 gallon better bottle) looks like Snow globe on speed. I had to put a blow-off hose on last night which turned out to be a good choice. I have never pitched with 300 billion cultures of year before and I am assuming this is normal..... My questions are 1) is it normal for this much activity? Should I be intervening in some way? And 2) should I be worried about temp rise? My basement is a constant 66 degrees. I don't have a thermometer on the outside of my better bottle so I have no idea what the inside temp is.

 

[freisste]

I'd guess you are in the 70s for your wort temp. Put it in a water bath to control temp rise.

 

[freisste]

Also, what was the OG and what was the manufacture date on your yeast? Without a starter, three vials of two month old yeast may have been under pitched for a high gravity beer. Sounds like you were fine, but it is something to keep in mind in the future. (Also it is really easy to make a starter and with an extra week for multiplying yeast, you could have pitched $7 of yeast instead of $21. Something to keep in mind.)

 

[TheBiGZ]

Yes. "Snow Globe" effect is totally normal. It is caused by convection.
I wouldn't be worried about the temp either. 66 ambient temp is fine. Wort temp may be a few degrees warmer, but you're still within range.

 

[jbhistory]

Also, what was the OG and what was the manufacture date on your yeast? Without a starter, three vials of two month old yeast may have been under pitched for a high gravity beer. Sounds like you were fine, but it is something to keep in mind in the future. (Also it is really easy to make a starter and with an extra week for multiplying yeast, you could have pitched $7 of yeast instead of $21. Something to keep in mind.)

My OG was 1.087. I had never used liquid yeast before and only learned about the started the night before..... I plan on using a starter next time.... Chalk that bill up to a learning experience!

 

[freisste]

I'm relatively new to starters as well. I plan to brew a lager which I have heard requires more yeast. Because I am somewhat short on time, I used a calculator (yeastcalc.com) to determine what I needed to pitch. As it turns out, the 7 week old yeast I used was only about 60% viable, so I used 2 packages in a two step starter to get from 120BB cells to 350BB cells. According to the tool, without a starter it would have taken like 6 smack packs to get there (almost $50 of yeast at $8/ea). Plus I have the added advantage of knowing that I am pitching happy, healthy yeast in the right quantity.