No Foam or Activity after 12 hours

[FuzzyMcGee]

Hello,

So I just finished my 2nd 5 gallon batch last night around 9pm and did everything correct... I think. The one thing I messed up for sure was after pitching the yeast, I put the airlock on but forgot to fill it with water. I woke up around 4am in the morning, remembered, and quickly filled it about half way. This morning, there were no bubbles, very little foam in the empty space, etc.

Will this spoil the batch? Any steps to save it (it's been 24 hours since fermentation started)?

Thanks!

 

[BendBrewer]

Nope, you are just waiting for the yeast to get going.

"Bacteria aren't Ninjas".

 

[Hammy71]

Don't worry, you'll be fine...Beer was made for thousands of years in open containers, without a airlock to be seen. Hell, some breweries still do open fermentation.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

 

[Golddiggie]

If there's any krausen on the wort, even a tiny amount, that means the yeast is coming out of lag phase. Having ANY kind of fermentation sign, is a good thing.

Depending on the yeast you pitched, it could just be taking more time before it starts going ape-nuts. Of course, it might never have airlock movements, doesn't mean nothing is going on... If there's zero fermentation sign after 72 hours, then you might have an issue...

I've found that using a starter typically cuts lag time done a LOT... But, if the wort has a low enough OG, you could get away without a starter.

 

[Toga]

Relax. The yeast will wake up and do it's thing. If there is no activity in 2 days then worry