Yesterday I brewed the NB Honey Brown Ale (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/hone … xtract-kit).
I’d had the kit in my possession for almost two weeks and I didn’t refrigerate the yeast. I could see some visible fermentation happening after an hour or so. It’s now been almost 24 hours and I’m still not seeing much vigorous activity in the airlock.
Is something wrong? Should I pitch another packet of yeast? If so, do I need to do it right away or can it wait a few days?
Thanks a lot,
Adam
Rehydrated dry yeast or liquid yeast without a starter? What was the wort temperature the yeast was pitched into? are you brewing in a bucket or carboy?
I used a package of dry yeast. The one that came with the kit (Safale US-05). Wort was about 70 degrees and I’m using a bucket.
Not refrigerating the yeast for that short of time will not be a problem. Not refrigerating for a year and a half might.
I suspect, now that the initial very active fermentation is over, the CO2 is beginning to take the path of least resistance and coming out around the rim of your bucket instead of through the air lock. Buckets often do not seal well, and some are designed to not seal.
You could sanitize around the air lock, pull it and take a peak. Another way to check for krausen, is to hold a bright flash light at the opposite side of the bucket to light up the darker beer and the lighter layer of krausen on top.
[quote=“flars”]Not refrigerating the yeast for that short of time will not be a problem. Not refrigerating for a year and a half might.
I suspect, now that the initial very active fermentation is over, the CO2 is beginning to take the path of least resistance and coming out around the rim of your bucket instead of through the air lock. Buckets often do not seal well, and some are designed to not seal.
You could sanitize around the air lock, pull it and take a peak. Another way to check for krausen, is to hold a bright flash light at the opposite side of the bucket to light up the darker beer and the lighter layer of krausen on top.[/quote]
The thing is, it never was vigorous and my last two batches were at least for a day or so. Now it is possible I didn’t close the lid tightly.
So seeing the krausen is sufficient evidence that fermentation is happening?
Thanks a lot for your patience!
I would bet large sums of money that this is why you didn’t see airlock activity
yes. said differently, airlock activity does not indicate fermentation activity.
Good luck! You have made beer.
The presence of a krausen does indicate on on going fermentation. Fermentations will finish sooner in a wort that is to warm. Wort that becomes to cool can cause the yeast to drop out and become dormant. I like to ferment US-05 at 66° to 69°F. This is wort temperature, not ambient temperature. An active fermentation will produce heat so the beer inside the fermentor will be warmer than the ambient air temperature.
Take a SG reading in a week if your fermentor is showing a krausen today.
Everything will be just fine. Dry yeast lasts for, like, forever, even if not refrigerated. 24 hours is pretty quick to expect results. You’ll probably see visual signs of fermentation within 30 hours, or 36 hours absolute tops. If not, then pitch more yeast. But I’m sure you’ll see activity very shortly.
[quote=“flars”]Not refrigerating the yeast for that short of time will not be a problem. Not refrigerating for a year and a half might.
I suspect, now that the initial very active fermentation is over, the CO2 is beginning to take the path of least resistance and coming out around the rim of your bucket instead of through the air lock. Buckets often do not seal well, and some are designed to not seal.
You could sanitize around the air lock, pull it and take a peak. Another way to check for krausen, is to hold a bright flash light at the opposite side of the bucket to light up the darker beer and the lighter layer of krausen on top.[/quote]
Or you could just pop the lid off and look in. 8)
