No action in the airlock after a day?

[hendrixsrv630]

okay so this is my second brew (first one went really good, pretty buzzed actually!) and i used a true brew brown ale extract kit. made it last night but havnt seen any action in the airlock, wasnt sure what was up. my first brew said to shake up the yeast in the wort for a few min but the brown ale said to sprinkle the yeast on top let sit for ten min and then mix gently 1-2 times with a wooden spoon. SHould i shake up this bad boy or just let her sit?

 

[jd3]

Just be patient and wait it out. Give it a few more days.

What temp is it at? Sure the fermenter doesn't have any leaks?

 

[Nightbiker]

Ok firstly, I agree with jd3 -give it some more time.
Now, a few pointers for you to consider:
It sounds like you used the kit-packaged dry yeast. That in itself is fine, and back when I first started brewing, I brewed that same kit a number of times (it was my very second brew, and I definitely enjoyed every bottle -almost enough to lick the caps (grin)).
First, if you don't do it, get in the habit OF doing it: aerate your wort. Many people use the 'shake rattle and roll' method, it takes a bit of time, but get some air into that wort one way or the other (personally, I use an aeration stone and an aquarium pump (purchased new, and I took the thing apart and sanitized the rubber pump) -but when I have the bread I buy a small O2 bottle and hook it to a regulator -either way, whatever your method, get some air into that wort. The yeast need it.
Next, you need to make a yeast starter -don't care what the instruction sheet says -make a starter and get those little guys good and running before tossing 'em into the brew -these two things alone will help get you off to a much faster, healthier fermentation.
Lastly, and this is like anything else -personal preference. I radically improved my Nut-Brown Ale by using liquid yeast (initially I used WhiteLabs (California Ale, if memory serves) but Wyeast works just as well (I use this now because my LHBS stocks it) -regardless, you will find many more available strains to fine-tune your brew with liquid yeast, and its interesting to see how different strains affect the flavor of your beer.
Aerate and use a starter -your results will be much better.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Ok firstly, I agree with jd3 -give it some more time.
Now, a few pointers for you to consider:
It sounds like you used the kit-packaged dry yeast. That in itself is fine, and back when I first started brewing, I brewed that same kit a number of times (it was my very second brew, and I definitely enjoyed every bottle -almost enough to lick the caps (grin)).
First, if you don't do it, get in the habit OF doing it: aerate your wort. Many people use the 'shake rattle and roll' method, it takes a bit of time, but get some air into that wort one way or the other (personally, I use an aeration stone and an aquarium pump (purchased new, and I took the thing apart and sanitized the rubber pump) -but when I have the bread I buy a small O2 bottle and hook it to a regulator -either way, whatever your method, get some air into that wort. The yeast need it.
Next, you need to make a yeast starter -don't care what the instruction sheet says -make a starter and get those little guys good and running before tossing 'em into the brew -these two things alone will help get you off to a much faster, healthier fermentation.
Lastly, and this is like anything else -personal preference. I radically improved my Nut-Brown Ale by using liquid yeast (initially I used WhiteLabs (California Ale, if memory serves) but Wyeast works just as well (I use this now because my LHBS stocks it) -regardless, you will find many more available strains to fine-tune your brew with liquid yeast, and its interesting to see how different strains affect the flavor of your beer.
Aerate and use a starter -your results will be much better.

Ummm, you DO NOT need a starter with dry yeast packs. If you need more yeast cells, you just pitch two packs. You also don't need to even aerate when using dry yeast. See here

 

[ryandlf]

All the yeast companies claim you don't need a starter and they are right, you don't need a starter. But if you use one with dry or liquid yeast you are going to make better beer...period.

 

[doctorRobert]

What was the temperature of the wort when you sprinkled on the yeast? It needs to be above 90+ to kill the yeast, as long as it wasnt that hot, things should be fine and I would check for leaks and make sure there is enough water in the airlock.

Some dry yeast manufacturers go as far as saying that even aeration is not necessary with dry yeast and the cells are stock piled with all the nutrients they need and you're pitching much more yeast than you would with liquid yeast. O2 aeration is probably more of an advanced technique and is not something you need to be worried about now. When dry yeast I prefer to hydrate the yeast prior to pitching, but many people will just sprinkle it on to the wort.

Also, can you see the wort? Any co2 bubbles coming up or anything?

 

[monty3777]

Don't over think this. Go rock the fermenter then leave it alone for a week. Check your gravity after a week. If it hasn't changed, then repitch. Aerating and yeast starters will improve the quality of your beer, but those techniques are not necessary to get fermentation started - assuming the yeast was viable from the beginning.

 

[sudsmcgee]

All the yeast companies claim you don't need a starter and they are right, you don't need a starter. But if you use one with dry or liquid yeast you are going to make better beer...period.

I'm not sure I'm on board with this with dry yeast, but admittedly I've never made a dry starter. As far as I'm concerned, since dry yeast is so cheap, why not just pitch more than one packet? In the end all that matters is the viable yeast cell count pitched.

 

[hendrixsrv630]

i dont think there are any leaks, when you put any pressure to the lid of the fermenter (im using a bucket not a carboy) you can see the water in the airlock go up and down.

i pitched the yeast when the temp was below 90*, but it was just under 90*.

this may sound dumb...im new to this, but how do i take the temp? do i open her up and put my floating thermometer. in there? i have the bucket sitting in a tub of water, the waters temp is 70*

i opened her up last night to make sure the lid didnt have any seal problems and i didnt see any action of any kind. smelled good though

 

[Revvy]

1 day is not enough time 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.


Airlock 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.

That's why you need to take a gravity reading to know how your fermentation is going, NOT go by airlocks, or size of krausen, or a calendar, the horoscope or the phases of the moon (those things in my mind are equally accurate).

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.

 

[Darklordenron]

Revvy is a god at this. Wait at least 72 hours before making yourself crazy. If you wanna be real crazy, you could pick up another pack of the same yeast and repitch after 72 hours with NO activity whatsoever. Chances are it will pick up and get going though.

I just finished up fermenting a Cream Ale that took several days to get going. I almost panicked. I pitched the wort in too hot, didn't cool it down very fast (~10 hours at 80 degrees!) It now smells absolutely delishus through the airlock and I can't WAIT to drink it. RDWHAHB!

 

[doctorRobert]

All the yeast companies claim you don't need a starter and they are right, you don't need a starter. But if you use one with dry or liquid yeast you are going to make better beer...period.

I couldnt disagree more when it comes to yeast starters and dry yeast. Yeast manufacturers reccomend making a starter when using liquid yeast. They DON'T recommend one when using dry yeast.

The purpose of a starter is to check the health of the yeast and/or grow yeast depending on what kind of OG you're looking at. This is not necessary with dry yeast, as you can check viability by simply rehydrating and there is little risk of not having healthy yeast- and the cell count is already high enough that for a standard beer you could actually begin to overpitch if you do make a starter. It's not necessary. If you rehydrate in your "starter", you may actually be hurting your yeast as they should be rehydrated in hot (85 degree water) for optiumum yeast health.

The best thing to do is to go the yeast manufacturers website and follow their instructions. Their intention is for you to make the best beer possible and they know their products better than anyone else. Sometimes, they make shortcuts for the homebrewer instructions, so its best to look at the instructions given to the pro-brewer. It's the same yeast, and we're capable of pitching the yeast the same way a pro-brewer would, we don't need the simplified instructions. I have yet to find a dry yeast manufacturer reccomend a starter, its far simpler to just buy a 2nd package if you need the extra cells.

http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm

Another case where you generally don’t want to make a starter is with dry yeast. It is usually cheaper and easier to just buy more dry yeast than it would be to make a starter large enough for most dry yeast packs. Many experts suggest that placing dry yeasts in a starter would just deplete the reserves that the yeast manufacturer worked so hard to build into their product. For dry yeasts, just do a proper rehydration in tap water, do not make a starter.

 

[monty3777]

i dont think there are any leaks, when you put any pressure to the lid of the fermenter (im using a bucket not a carboy) you can see the water in the airlock go up and down.

i pitched the yeast when the temp was below 90*, but it was just under 90*.

this may sound dumb...im new to this, but how do i take the temp? do i open her up and put my floating thermometer. in there? i have the bucket sitting in a tub of water, the waters temp is 70*

i opened her up last night to make sure the lid didnt have any seal problems and i didnt see any action of any kind. smelled good though

If I'm reading you right you are wondering if you should test the temp NOW, after pitching. The worst thing, IMO, would be to introduce a thermometer to the beer. Leave the lid on. You are asking for contamination if you put in a therm at this point. Tape a temp probe from a digital thermometer ($19) at Bed Bath and Beyond) to the outside of your bucket at a level where it can record the temp of the contents and leave it for an hour or two. That will bring you close to the temp of the beer. Don't rely on ambient temp, including the temp of any bath you may have your fermenter in. Does that answer your question, or am I reading you wrong?

 

[hendrixsrv630]

no you read it right, i didnt want to put a therm in the beer at this point so i was confused as to how people where checking the temp of there beer. i will look into getting a digi

 

[monty3777]

BTW, you might want to insulate the probe so it doesn't pick up the ambient temp. That's what she said. (thought I'd better get that out of the way )

 

[Yooper]

no you read it right, i didnt want to put a therm in the beer at this point so i was confused as to how people where checking the temp of there beer. i will look into getting a digi

We have "fermometers" which are like aquarium stick-on thermometers to see the temperature inside the fermenter. It's pretty accurate, and tells you the beer temperature within one degree just by a glance.

 

[Darklordenron]

Omg, that's a GREAT idea! Question is, will that peel off when you clean the carboy?

 

[Yooper]

Omg, that's a GREAT idea! Question is, will that peel off when you clean the carboy?

No, it's permanent. It stays on the outside. Don't get it wet, or it'll stop working!

 

[Darklordenron]

Oh, I already have one of those. I thought you were speaking about one that was placed inside the vessel. Mine, I can't tell if it reads ambient or wort temp. I assume it's a mixture of both but treat it as ambient.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, I already have one of those. I thought you were speaking about one that was placed inside the vessel. Mine, I can't tell if it reads ambient or wort temp. I assume it's a mixture of both but treat it as ambient.

No, it shouldn't be reading ambient. It should be telling you the temperature of the fermenting beer, within a degree or two. Ambient temperature doesn't matter in the least when brewing beer- it's the fermentation temperature that matters!

 

[Darklordenron]

Mine never changes. It's always somewhere between 62-66 een while fermenting. Guess that's good then..

 

[monty3777]

We have "fermometers" which are like aquarium stick-on thermometers to see the temperature inside the fermenter. It's pretty accurate, and tells you the beer temperature within one degree just by a glance.

It's helpful hearing from you that these things work. I have always been reluctant to trust them because they are so simple. But I trust you - so I'm getting one

 

[ACbrewer]

Oh, I already have one of those. I thought you were speaking about one that was placed inside the vessel. Mine, I can't tell if it reads ambient or wort temp. I assume it's a mixture of both but treat it as ambient.

Naw a therometer - I use one of the stick on Liquid ones (see here http://www.midwestsupplies.com/dual-scale-liquid-thermometer.html) - if on the fermentor will tell you the temp of the wort - or atleast the outside ( many debates over thermal mass and measuring location deleted)... for the beginner and person not making a large amount they are good. I have a few extras and find usually my fermentor is 2 or 3 or more above the one on the table next to it.

 

[BrewKnurd]

No, it's permanent. It stays on the outside. Don't get it wet, or it'll stop working!

Really? I had no idea that getting those things wet would make them stop working. Thanks!

 

[hendrixsrv630]

okay guys i know you have been very worried about my beer, understandable. came home from work and the airlock was dancin like a disco. SUCCESS!