Safale S-04 question

[stoneyts]

I brew some beer last week ( 5 gal extract kit) and have a fermentation question. I allowed the wort to cool to a little under 75 deg. and then pitched the yeast. I held the temp at between 60 and 65 deg. I saw some action within the first 24hrs and it lasted maybe 2 days. As of the 5th day I'm seeing no sign of bubbling in the airlock. I haven't test the gravity yet but am wondering if this short sign of action is normal for 04. I've only used S-05 before and would see alot of bubbling etc. but this time there was not that kind of action. It wasn't ever vigorously bubbling away like 05. Any info would be great and appreciated.

 

[Copbrew133]

I used it recently after not having done so for quite a while. I read around and kept reading around where alot of folks were saying how sluggish it was. i had the opposite, and like you, had a pretty quick ferm. I had high krausen at around 48 hours and after that it just disappeared. It fermented properly and I hit close to expected final, but it was really quick. It turned out to be a good beer though after about a month of conditioning. I really concentrate on O2 post chill and temps. as well so I am finding less and less lag time with my usual yeasts. Can't say it is usual, but definitely possible.

 

[mblanks2]

I too am having the opposite experience. I just finished a 11 gallon 1.064 IPA. I decided to split between US-05 and US-04. I rehydrated both. I shake my carboys vigorously. Both had activity within 4 hours at 61*F.
The following morning or 18 hours later the airlock had blown off my US-04 carboy and it was rolling over like a volcano. US-05 was steadily churning but without the blow out.
I removed the airlock and sterilized everything to add a blow off tube and it is still producing a very vigorous fermentation. It's going to be interesting to see how the two turn out with a side by side comparison.

 

[Octavius]

...It's going to be interesting to see how the two turn out with a side by side comparison.

Please post your findings!
I'm thinking, from what you have found already, that S05 might be a better choice for pressure-fermentation because it will be less likely to foam up and clog the spundling valve.

Cheers

 

[stoneyts]

I still haven't checked a gravity reading yet, but when I opened the fermenter ( ale pail) I found very little sign of krausen. ?This beer only has 4oz of hops in it so I don't know if that would have anything to do with it. If I take a gravity check and it doesn't look close to what it should be is there anything I can do?

 

[UberHasselhoff]

There's a good chance it could have finished fermenting already. S-04 and S-05 are beasts.

I think your best bet is to take a gravity reading if you're really concerned. If you don't know your starting gravity, you can use something like www.brewtoad.com to calculate it based on your recipe. Good luck!

Aside: I just brewed a mild brown ale with s-04 a week ago and I didn't see any action in the airlock, but it finished. My carboys were full and I used a bucket... I think the seal just wasn't as tight on the lid. Seems fine.

 

[UberHasselhoff]

If I take a gravity check and it doesn't look close to what it should be is there anything I can do?

I was going to add if that if the gravity check shows it is stuck, you can pitch more dry yeast. Perhaps try a fresher packet of S-04 (or S-05 if you're really concerned).

 

[fearwig]

S-04 is quick to attenuate, though I think it's better with a full three weeks on the cake to clean up flavors (assuming > 1.050). It's basically English on the nose and American like us-05 on attenuation, a useful mix for me.

Next time I'd take gravity before posting though, no such thing as good advice without data. Homebrewers spend too much time trying to learn airlockese (which is another strike against the silly things).

 

[tooldudetool]

S-04 always finishes quick for me too. I pretty much exclusively use S-04 for all my English beers and S-05 for all my American ones. S-04 usually finishes (bubbling the airlock anyway) in 2-3 days, and S-05 usually takes about twice as long.

 

[mblanks2]

Please post your findings!
I'm thinking, from what you have found already, that S05 might be a better choice for pressure-fermentation because it will be less likely to foam up and clog the spundling valve.

Cheers

Well, the US-04 has slowed down to about the same pace as the US-05 as far as air lock activity vs. blow off tube bubbling. About a bubble per second.
The krausen on the US-05 never reached the top of the carboy but was about 4" high. I use 6.5 gallon carboys. They will both stay in the carboy for a total of 21 days before moving to secondary for dry hopping. I will continue to monitor their progress visually but will not measure gravity until time to dry hop.

 

[stoneyts]

So my OG was 1.06 and the reading I took yesterday was 1.016. I figure this means its finished but I will wait another week , check it again and then decide whether to bottle or not. I feel pretty comfortable at this point that things are good.