No Bubbles - Check for krausen?

[MWM777]

First brew fermenting as we speak. It's now been 48 hours in the primary bucket, and no sign of bubbling. How long should I let it go before checking for krausen to ensure fermentation?

Brewed a Brewer's Best Weizenbier kit with a White Labs Hefeweizen Ale liquid yeast. Bucket has yet to hit over 67°F.

If no bubbles/krausen develop over 72-96 hours, would you pitch more yeast? Perhaps with a starter this time? Do a SG reading prior to anything else?

 

[freisste]

Leave it, it's probably fine. Did you do a starter? Are you sure there isn't CO2 leaking somewhere?

If you don't see any bubbles after 36 more hours, look through the airlock hole. If you see krausen, reattach airlock and leave it alone. If you don't see krausen, take a gravity reading.

 

[MWM777]

Leave it, it's probably fine. Did you do a starter? Are you sure there isn't CO2 leaking somewhere? If you don't see any bubbles after 36 more hours, look through the airlock hole. If you see krausen, reattach airlock and leave it alone. If you don't see krausen, take a gravity reading.

No, I was told by my local HB store clerk that White Labs liquid yeasts shouldn't need starters. Was I misinformed?

 

[freisste]

No, I was told by my local HB store clerk that White Labs liquid yeasts shouldn't need starters. Was I misinformed?

Not necessarily. It is nice to use the starter as proof of active yeast. Also, liquid yeast usually comes with approximately 100BB cells - enough for 5 gallons up to about 1.050-1.060 gravity. However, the yeast die in the packet, so if it is old, you may get substantially less than 100BB cells. I'm sure you're fine, but starters are good practice.

I know far more people who wish they had made one than people who regret making one .

 

[zeekage]

In the future, check out a site like http://yeastcalc.com/ or http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html to figure out how many yeast cells you should be pitching into the batch, as well as how big of a starter you'll need based on the yeast packet you're using.

Also, as long as you're careful there's no real harm to opening the lid and checking for a Krausen if it will give you peace of mind. Don't sneeze in there or let your kids pee in there while it's open and it'll be fine. Take a peek and seal it back up.

RDWHAHB

 

[VikingChrisColby]

Check the seal on your bucket. That's most likely the cause if the bucket has been at 67 °F and you pitched a tube of fresh, healthy yeast. If the temperature been less than that, you may have a slow start.
If the bucket is sealed and it's been sitting at 67 °F, pitch some fresh yeast as soon as possible.
Making a starter isn't strictly necessary for an average strength ale, but it does let you know that the yeast is active and it does prevent slow starts. You're probably underpitching somewhat, but the yeast will divide and eventually reach the proper density. (If you severely underpitch, other problems can result.) Many brewers find making a starter takes the worry out of waiting for fermentation to start.

Here's some info about starters that might help:
http://beerandwinejournal.com/better-yeast-starters/

Chris Colby
Editor
beerandwinejournal.com

 

[WaltG]

Lids should have a clear window so you can look....

 

[MWM777]

Check the seal on your bucket. That's most likely the cause if the bucket has been at 67 °F and you pitched a tube of fresh, healthy yeast. If the temperature been less than that, you may have a slow start. If the bucket is sealed and it's been sitting at 67 °F, pitch some fresh yeast as soon as possible. Making a starter isn't strictly necessary for an average strength ale, but it does let you know that the yeast is active and it does prevent slow starts. You're probably underpitching somewhat, but the yeast will divide and eventually reach the proper density. (If you severely underpitch, other problems can result.) Many brewers find making a starter takes the worry out of waiting for fermentation to start. Here's some info about starters that might help: http://beerandwinejournal.com/better-yeast-starters/ Chris Colby Editor beerandwinejournal.com

Great stuff! It seems like its an no-brainer to use a starter. A little bit of insurance never hurts. I'll most likely use starters here on out. Again, great info.

Since my seal appeared good, I decided to take a peek. Voila, krausen! Eases my beginner mind a bit. Now, the question is...to skim the krausen, or not? I'll have to do a little more research on that. Opinions seem to vary.

Thanks all!

 

[jpeebs]

Don't skim it. Let it just drop out by itself. I would basically just leave it alone until fermentation is completely done. Take a hydrometer reading after about 3 weeks or so then take one a couple days later. If the readings are the same, you're all set to bottle. But don't mess with it until then. You run the risk of infecting it the more you open the lid.

 

[Setesh]

Them buckets be leakin. Buckets are notoriously hard to seal tight enough to get good airlock activity. Two reasons I like better bottles:
1. I love to watch! There is something about seeing the churning action that I just love.
2. I can seal out the oxygen better. Buckets are highly O2 permeable. They work just fine though, don't let it scare you. I just tend to be lazy and let my beer sit in primary (I almost never secondary) for 3-4 weeks.

Just thought of another reason. When you open a bucket you have a large surface area exposed to oxygen and stuff falling into your wort. A better bottle's opening is much smaller. Less oxygen exchange when you take samples and less area for stuff from the air to settle into your wort. As mentioned before, the more you have your fermention vessel open the more risk for infection. Logically the larger the opening the larger the risk as well. Again, this is all in the realm of getting as much control over a process as possible. It isn't necessary to make beer, but it is necessary for us obsessive types to feel better

 

[GASoline71]

I had a Dunkelweizen last year that never bubbled once out of the airlock that I saw. However... 14 days later when I checked FG, there was a krausen ring on the sides, and it was at it's FG. So into the keg it went. It was the first beer I brewed that never bubbled out of the airlock. So my bucket was leaking from somewhere.

Gary

 

[libirm]

Here is my experience
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/belgian-triple-no-bubbles-yet-446812

 

[05m50dan]

Here's the deal with liquid yeast...

You can pitch without a starter, but usually homebrewers underpitch. Unless you have a fresh (less than 1 month old) vial/pack of yeast and pitch it to a 5 gallon batch of 1.040 or less beer, you are not pitching enough yeast to get OPTIMAL fermentation. Use Beersmith software or one of many online website like http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html to figure out how much yeast to use. Each Vial (Whitelabs) and Activator Smack Pack (Wyeast) has about 100 Billion cells, and THAT IS NOT ENOUGH YEAST TO PITCH INTO A 1.050-1.060 BATCH! Not only that, from the minute they leave the factory they start to lose cell counts to the tune of about 20% per month. You dont have to use a starter, but you should still pitch the right amount of cells for your batch size and gravity (roughly 1 million cells/ml/degree Plato.) That being said, starters do so many good things for the yeast that I never use liquid yeast without making a starter.
Also, with liquid yeast (vs dry) oxygenation is much more important (dont ignore it with dry yeast though). If you are going to consistantly use liquid yeast then I would look into some sort of pump to deliver oxygen to your beer. I use a pure O2 system with a diffusion stone, but that is a much bigger investment than I would have ever though of after my fist batch. But for now, until you figure out what sort of airation plan you are going to use, just shake the crap out of your wort before (and after pitching until you see activity in your airlock.) I use to put a broom handle under the bucket and vigorously shake back and forth. Other people have different ways to oxygenate, but DO NOT SKIP THIS PART! Those yeasties need their O2!

I love the variety of the liquid yeasts from both Wyeast and Whitelabs, but they do require more attention and effort then the dry yeasts do. For most cases there are dry yeasts out there that work great for most styles of beer. I recommend sticking with the dry yeast at least until you get a few brews under your belt, and get a good feel for your processes as a brewer. Once you get a good feel for what you are doing, then look into using liquid yeast and using it the right way.

 

[dxbq48]

Lids should have a clear window so you can look....

I just put a flashlight to the top of the bucket to check. I can always see the shadows of the krausen if it is active and even see when it has dropped as long as its not a dark beer.