Safale 05

[SailorJerry]

So, we just got done brewing the Dead Ringer IPA from Northern Brewer, and the yeast above is what came with the kit. Once the yeast is pitched, how long should it take before we start seeing the primary bubbling?

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Fermentation can start as early as a few hours to maybe a day. Don't judge this process by bubbles in the airlock, just trust the yeast and relax.

 

[mongoose33]

Depends on a few factors such as did you rehydrate and the temp of the wort.

I brewed 2 days ago, pitched rehydrated S-05 into 75 degree wort. I put the fermenter in my ferm chamber set to keep the wort at 64 degrees.

I pitched that yeast about 1:30pm; I didn't see any activity until just about midnight, where I had a few bubbles in the airlock. Next morning, it was dead quiet, no bubbling, but by noon it had taken off.

What temp is your wort? And did you rehydrate?

 

[kristiismean]

2 days would be normal

keep in mind, airlock bubbling is not a sign of fermentation. Sometimes it goes like crazy, sometimes not at all. But, whatever you do. don't mess with it for at least 10 days. don't sample, don't take a reading, nothing. just let it sit at around 64-66 degrees (my personal range, some will say a little higher.)

 

[kramer2500]

I have had 05 blow off an airlock and I have had 05 produce little to no bubbles in my airlock. As what everyone else has said, airlock activity is not a definitive sign of fermentation. To emphasize kristiismean's point, dont open the bucket and keep looking. Give it 10 days or so and take a gravity reading.

 

[SailorJerry]

Wort was just shy of 80 when we pitched it. Storing in my basement, in Iowa...gotta be no warmer than 65 down there, probably closer to 60.

 

[Morrey]

Similar question. I brewed yesterday and rehydrated my 05 after boiling the water and cooling down but my mistake was adding the dry sachet when the water was at 90F instead of 80F like I intended. It bloomed 3 hours and was a nice, creamy look with a bit of krausen but not much.

I pitched into 70F wort and set ATC to 68F. Being afraid that I killed (or damaged) the yeast at 90F I am concerned since I don't have activity yet...but I am only 18 hours in now. If I don't have activity when I get home (which will be 24 hours in), I could always bloom another sachet of 05 and try again. Was 90F temp likely to have killed my dry yeast?

 

[Weezy]

Current thinking is to pitch into wort that is at or below fermentation temperature. The yeast can shut down and floc out if the temp drops significantly in a short amount of time. So be careful fellas!

 

[BrewerE]

Similar question. I brewed yesterday and rehydrated my 05 after boiling the water and cooling down but my mistake was adding the dry sachet when the water was at 90F instead of 80F like I intended. It bloomed 3 hours and was a nice, creamy look with a bit of krausen but not much.

you are only supposed to rehydrate for 30min or so...

you'll probably be fine though.

 

[mongoose33]

Similar question. I brewed yesterday and rehydrated my 05 after boiling the water and cooling down but my mistake was adding the dry sachet when the water was at 90F instead of 80F like I intended. It bloomed 3 hours and was a nice, creamy look with a bit of krausen but not much.

I pitched into 70F wort and set ATC to 68F. Being afraid that I killed (or damaged) the yeast at 90F I am concerned since I don't have activity yet...but I am only 18 hours in now. If I don't have activity when I get home (which will be 24 hours in), I could always bloom another sachet of 05 and try again. Was 90F temp likely to have killed my dry yeast?

For a long time that was the recommendation to rehydrate, i.e., into 90 degree water. Since it bloomed that tells me it was likely fine.

I agree w/ BrewerE that it sat there a long time, but all you can do at this point is wait. I'll bet you $10 it starts right up.

 

[ncbrewer]

Similar question. I brewed yesterday and rehydrated my 05 after boiling the water and cooling down but my mistake was adding the dry sachet when the water was at 90F instead of 80F like I intended. It bloomed 3 hours and was a nice, creamy look with a bit of krausen but not much.

A while back I asked Danstar about delaying pitching after rehydration. Their answer was "Our technical manager suggests that you don't go longer than 30 minutes after the start of rehydration before pitching the yeast into wort as the yeast needs nutrients. If there is a delay you could actually add more wort to the rehydration water to give the yeast something to eat while you are waiting to pitch it, so long as it isn't too hot." It's a different company, but probably still applicable.

 

[Morrey]

A while back I asked Danstar about delaying pitching after rehydration. Their answer was "Our technical manager suggests that you don't go longer than 30 minutes after the start of rehydration before pitching the yeast into wort as the yeast needs nutrients. If there is a delay you could actually add more wort to the rehydration water to give the yeast something to eat while you are waiting to pitch it, so long as it isn't too hot." It's a different company, but probably still applicable.

Yeah, I think I jumped the gun rehydrating the yeast when I went out to start the mash. I should have waited to bloom it during the boil. Lesson learned, and since I use much more liquid yeast than dry, my mindset is to work ahead.

 

[mongoose33]

Yeah, I think I jumped the gun rehydrating the yeast when I went out to start the mash. I should have waited to bloom it during the boil. Lesson learned, and since I use much more liquid yeast than dry, my mindset is to work ahead.

Something that has worked for me is that I'll boil the water ahead of time and let it cool in a pyrex cup w/ sanitized foil over the top. Then, just before I begin to chill, I'll rehydrate the yeast.

Chilling takes 5 minutes (Jaded Hydra), then 5 minutes to take the chiller into the house and rinse it off. Then I'll drain the kettle into the fermenter (2-3 minutes, that Spike kettle ball valve has throughput) and cover the opening. Then I'll take the kettle into the house and rinse it out and put 3 gallons of water and PBW in it to start it soaking w/ cleaner. That's about, oh, 7-8 minutes...then back out and oxygenate the wort, takes maybe 5 minutes with all the futzing around. At that point, it's been nearly 30 minutes, just about perfect timing.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

 

[Morrey]

At that point, it's been nearly 30 minutes, just about perfect timing.

Looks like you got all your new gear working as planned. You did some really nice upgrades recently!

 

[mongoose33]

Looks like you got all your new gear working as planned. You did some really nice upgrades recently!

Yeah, this last weekend was the "grand opening" in a way. The weekend before was learning about them, then this past weekend they all worked as hoped for.

The only weird thing is that the new burner is so much faster that previously the ramp-up in temperature gave me time to do other things like cleaning and putting away, whereas now, I have to monitor it more closely. And I've found ways to get things cleaned more quickly.

 

[Morrey]

Yeah, this last weekend was the "grand opening" in a way. The weekend before was learning about them, then this past weekend they all worked as hoped for.

The only weird thing is that the new burner is so much faster that previously the ramp-up in temperature gave me time to do other things like cleaning and putting away, whereas now, I have to monitor it more closely. And I've found ways to get things cleaned more quickly.

LOL be careful what you ask for as you may get it! My new Hellfire came in last week but the legs are arriving tomorrow. I used my old Blichmann yesterday. Plus that Hydra gets it from 212 to 70 in a real hurry this time of year with cool source water.

 

[Ashevillain]

This might not be super relevant but its advice that helped me never have to worry about yeast again. Pitching at too high of a temp can cause gnarly esters that will not taste pleasant. For most styles there is no reason to pitch above 70 degrees, even if you plan on continuing to lower that temp for fermentation. Patience is key to consistent results for every aspect of yeast, including the ever stressed over "airlock activity". I say this because when I started brewing, small misplays in yeast treatment caused 99% of the instances of actual off flavors in my beer. Often it would come down to small things like pitching too high. If you can't cool rapidly, then do the no chill method, which allows you to easily store your wort in a safe environment for as long as you need to get good pitching temps. Also starters are awesome.

 

[Ashevillain]

As a side note, worry about the yeast before it's pitched not after! Aside from fermentation temp control you just should let it do its thing. I've had healthy fermentations where I didn't notice activity in the airlock for like 4 days.

 

[Morrey]

you are only supposed to rehydrate for 30min or so...

you'll probably be fine though.

24 hour check....Blow off tube is firing on all cylinders!!

For a long time that was the recommendation to rehydrate, i.e., into 90 degree water. Since it bloomed that tells me it was likely fine.

I agree w/ BrewerE that it sat there a long time, but all you can do at this point is wait. I'll bet you $10 it starts right up.

Yep, I'd owe you $10 had we bet! It launched today!!

 

[SailorJerry]

Still haven't seen a bubble in mine. Checked the temp of where I was storing it and it was only 60 degrees. I've moved it to a place in the house that averages 65-70 degrees. Hopefully that'll help

 

[bobeer]

I've never re-hydrated my sa05 before and I've had no issues. I've seen it take up to 3 or 4 days to start chugging away but, as others have said, don't wait on the bubbles. If you really want to know what's going on take a gravity reading and see if it's dropped at all. Or look to see if there's any krausen. That will tell if it's fermenting or not.

 

[SailorJerry]

So just pop the lid off and check it?

 

[SailorJerry]

And if it's not, can we pitch new yeast?

 

[Roland_deschain]

So just pop the lid off and check it?

If you're fermenting in a bucket, you may have a lid that doesn't seal well. You won't see bubbling in the airlock but it's working.

 

[mongoose33]

If you're fermenting in a bucket, you may have a lid that doesn't seal well. You won't see bubbling in the airlock but it's working.

This is a major reason I like transparent plastic fermenters where you can easily monitor what's happening.

Pic shows a beer currently fermenting in my refrigerator/ferm chamber; you can easily see what's happening (vigorous fermentation). One wire leads to the temperature probe held against the fermenter by a piece of foam and a bungee cord; the other wires lead to the fermwrap heater wrapped around the fermenter. Both wires just go between the door gasket and side of the fridge. The controller is an Inkbird. The refrigerator can pull the temp down if it rises above 64, but given the ambient in the garage it rarely if ever has to do this.

The ambient in my garage ranges from 45 to 50 degrees; this arrangement easily holds the fermenting wort at 64 degrees.

 

[ncbrewer]

So just pop the lid off and check it?

You can darken the room and set a flashlight on the lid aiming down. You can see the kraeusen ring that way, without exposing the beer to air.

 

[SailorJerry]

Cool, thanks for the input everyone! I'm not sure why it wouldn't be fermenting, and since it's only batch 2 for us, I'm probably just over thinking it.

 

[kristiismean]

2nd batch, you are over thinking it, and that's okay. We all have.. and still do.

The bubbles are satisfying. each bubble says that you did everything correctly. the more bubbles, the better you did..

I mean, that's total BS, but that's how I interpret the bubbles. I know that bubbles are not a good indication of fermentation. I know that no bubbles means nothing, but it's still nice to hear..

 

[mongoose33]

2nd batch, you are over thinking it, and that's okay. We all have.. and still do.

The bubbles are satisfying. each bubble says that you did everything correctly. the more bubbles, the better you did..

I mean, that's total BS, but that's how I interpret the bubbles. I know that bubbles are not a good indication of fermentation. I know that no bubbles means nothing, but it's still nice to hear..

My fermenting beer is....ALIVE! The bubbles are evidence of respiration! It's breathing, it's frothing, it's....ALIVE!

Blip, bloop, bloop, blip, bloop, bloop, bloop....I can think of no better sound than that of my airlock announcing that fermentation is underway.

 

[hagar]

If you're fermenting in a bucket, you may have a lid that doesn't seal well. You won't see bubbling in the airlock but it's working.

Had this happen a couple of times. I could smell beer being fermented and could see a good krausen, but no activity in the lock. Hadn't sealed it up good and tight. Now it's one of the first things I check if I get impatient for bubbler activity.

You can darken the room and set a flashlight on the lid aiming down. You can see the kraeusen ring that way, without exposing the beer to air.

This is my preferred method as well. Good way to get an idea of whats going on without disturbing the little guys too much.

This is a major reason I like transparent plastic fermenters where you can easily monitor what's happening.

Indeed indeed. My next upgrade in my fermentation equipment is going to be clear plastic. Not only is it handy from a monitoring standpoint, but, frankly, watching fermentation in action is just fascinating.

Cheers all!