So I brewed a 2.5 gallon batch of dunkelweizen, and pitched a smack pack of 3942. This was on Wednesday. I have only really used dry yeast up to this point. I know that it's better to make a starter with liquid yeast, but I figured that since it was a smaller batch it would be ok. Add to that the fact that an episode of Basic Brewing Radio found that underpitching a belgian yeast can actually help bring out some desirable characteristics, I didn't feel like I was putting my beer in any danger. I shook the fermentor a lot to try to aerate. It's in a 5 gallon carboy, so lots of head space.
The first day, a krausen formed, and got up to probably 3-4". Not very aggressive bubbling, and the wort itself looked pretty clear the whole time. In the past, I've always seen lots of sediment moving around like a lava lamp. After about a day or so, the krausen dropped and all airlock activity stopped. I agitated the fermentor a couple times to see if anything would restart, but nothing. Temperature on the strip stayed around 66-70 the whole time. I can only use ambient room temperature.
Is it likely that the yeast is done so quickly, and without much fanfare? I'd read that this was a pretty aggressive strain and was prepared for some fireworks, but not much at all has gone on. Is it possible that the yeast could have stalled even after forming a krausen? I know common advice is to just let it ride for 3 weeks and take a gravity sample, but if it's not done fermenting I don't want to risk spoiling it. I can move the fermentor closer to the air vent to try to raise the temp even more, but I don't know how good sporadic bursts of hot air would be for the yeast.
The first day, a krausen formed, and got up to probably 3-4". Not very aggressive bubbling, and the wort itself looked pretty clear the whole time. In the past, I've always seen lots of sediment moving around like a lava lamp. After about a day or so, the krausen dropped and all airlock activity stopped. I agitated the fermentor a couple times to see if anything would restart, but nothing. Temperature on the strip stayed around 66-70 the whole time. I can only use ambient room temperature.
Is it likely that the yeast is done so quickly, and without much fanfare? I'd read that this was a pretty aggressive strain and was prepared for some fireworks, but not much at all has gone on. Is it possible that the yeast could have stalled even after forming a krausen? I know common advice is to just let it ride for 3 weeks and take a gravity sample, but if it's not done fermenting I don't want to risk spoiling it. I can move the fermentor closer to the air vent to try to raise the temp even more, but I don't know how good sporadic bursts of hot air would be for the yeast.
