So Saturday I brewed an Orange IPA using Saf-ale S-04 and an ESB using my rinsed yeast cake off my last batch of ESB. Here is where it gets strange! I placed my Orange IPA that was pitched with two packets sprinkled on the wort inside my fermentation chamber at 64* and the ESB on the floor of my office at 65* four days later the fermentation chamber is showing no sighn of bubbling but the choking power of co2 is there. the ESB os also showing no sighn of bubbling but the karusin*sp? is there any thoughts on whats is happening with the bubblers? I thought I may not have sealed the lids but that is not the case. I will take a gravity reading on saturday but out of over 100 batches and 17 years I am stumped. but this hobby always throws one thing after another at me just to teach me a lesson. any thought on this. Thanks in advance,
Are you using the 3 piece air locks? If so do you have a crack in the inner piece? I have broken many of them and if it has a crack in it the co2 will escape through that. They are pretty fragile. Just a thought.
I think that if you have krausen and co2 you have fermentation so it is probably a case of a small leak on your bucket lids (even though you dont think that is the problem).
Do you have fermometers on your vessels? what temp do they read? I have never used s-04 myself but seem to recall it being viable at a lot of temps from posts on here. If you pitched at 64 I wouldnt worry about any ale yeast at that temp unless the ferm temp got too high but a 1.060 shouldnt go too crazy with any yeast around that temp.
You definitely have a leak somewhere.
I have a similar thing with one of my lids that I accidentally set on fire once (don’t ask) and now it doesn’t quite make an airtight seal. When I use it there is never any sign of fermentation in the airlock even with a 1.080 monstrosity writhing and breathing fire inside.
Just think of it as a semi-open fermentation
Thanks for the replies. I am using the one piece bubblers and I think they might be cracked as I am now noticeing whhite stress fractures. I am just going to wait till tomorrow and give it the old gravity reading. To the poster on setting a lid on fire… no need for an explenation. my first mash tun lid got torched on an electric burner during a not so careful mash in. I understand lol.
