No Airlock Activity, Krausen, or Boil

[MagicMike314]

Thanks for your help!

I "brewed" this no boil NEIPA recipe on Saturday evening and am still to see any activity whatsoever.

As someone who doesn't keg, I bought a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket (with a spigot at the bottom) to help bottling when it comes to oxygen. I sanitized everything incredibly well and mixed everything in the plastic bucket along with some water at 155 degrees. It took a solid 4 or 5 hours for the wort to get to a manageable temperature for the yeast, and I pitched two packets just to be safe. Fast forward to 62 hours from pitching the yeast, there still is no krausen or airlock activity. Any advice from here? I'm trying to time out when I should be adding the hops and want to make sure things are on track. I feel as if I added plenty of yeast so confused what else could be the issue. Wondering if the no boil or plastic fermenter factor in somehow.

 

[rburrelli]

Have you taken a hydrometer reading yet? That would be the indicator if it has fermented or not.

 

[BrewZer]

Thanks for your help!

I "brewed" this no boil NEIPA recipe on Saturday evening and am still to see any activity whatsoever.

As someone who doesn't keg, I bought a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket (with a spigot at the bottom) to help bottling when it comes to oxygen. I sanitized everything incredibly well and mixed everything in the plastic bucket along with some water at 155 degrees. It took a solid 4 or 5 hours for the wort to get to a manageable temperature for the yeast, and I pitched two packets just to be safe. Fast forward to 62 hours from pitching the yeast, there still is no krausen or airlock activity. Any advice from here? I'm trying to time out when I should be adding the hops and want to make sure things are on track. I feel as if I added plenty of yeast so confused what else could be the issue. Wondering if the no boil or plastic fermenter factor in somehow.

More Questions:
How old was the yeast?
What sanitizer did you use?
How cold is your fermenter?
Do you have a good seal between the lid and the bucket?

 

[MagicMike314]

More Questions:
How old was the yeast?
What sanitizer did you use?
How cold is your fermenter?
Do you have a good seal between the lid and the bucket?

The yeast had just been picked up so should have hopefully been very fresh!
I used Star Sans like most batches and haven't had a problem
The fermenter stays a pretty stable 66 degrees in my basement.
The guy at my LHBS told me while a lot of people make sure the lid is on airtight, that he recommends just placing it on top. I was pretty confident that this would explain the lack of airlock activity, but I'm a little surprised there was very little krausen whatsoever.
I took a hydrometer reading a few days after pitching the yeast and it had already gotten down to 1.025.

 

[balrog]

I always ask if you can smell it, whenever someone is worried about no activity -- any co2 created will push out the easiest place it can find , but if you keep the fermenter in a nonwindy place and walk over to it, open the closet door where it sits, or climb up into the belfry where you've stashed it, and you can smell it, then the gas is being procuced by fermentation and getting pushed out; just perhaps not through the airlock or whatever you are using to determine that there is no activity.

Also, hydrometer shows it's working. Well done you. Beer has once again been made.

 

[Birrofilo]

Sometimes airlocks don't bubble because the fermenter is not air tight. Yet, if you have your wort increasing in temperature after a couple days, going above the room temperature*, then a fermentation is certainly happening.

Temperature is a much more reliable indication than bubbles of a fermentation in progress.

*or above the temperature at which you set your heating mat, if that is above room temperature