inactivity - pitch +24hrs

[willyroyale]

hi

my current batch is looking inactive at pitch +24hrs.

19l extract
OG 1.048
pitched safale us-05 at recomended temp ~23C after rehydrating.

the mrs said it was bubbling. thought i didnt see this.

moved the FV to another room the next morning with no visible activity in airlock

gravity now~1.040 though no airlock activity. temp strip on FV reads ~21C

i peaked in and no krausen. there is a bit of scum around the top but i aerated prior to pitching by pouring from boil pot to FV a few times which created a v frothy head. this mostly settled before i pitched the yeast.

i have a packet of same yeast, re-pitch? i could wait and take gravity readings but im going away for a week and would like to try something quickly.

thanks for any replies.

 

[The Idiot]

At 24 hours with some signs of activity I'd stop looking and let it get on with things. Taking readings and messing with it after such a short time only increases the risk of something going awry. I've had wort sit for a week or so with dead yeast with no ill effect so give it time. If nothing has changed in a few weeks then think about doing something different, but my money is on it kicking off by then. The yeast are probably just building up numbers...

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
There are plenty of posts online about US-05 being a slow starter, including one from this forum who stated that his experience with this yeast was 36 to 48 hours before it go going.
Patience!

 

[Leon103]

Why can't brew shops sell patience?

Serious we must have a dozen of these threads a day.

Once you have pitched the yeast leave the fv alone, don't look at it and don't move it.

Air locks are a waste of time and don't rely on them.

 

[JFB]

I brewed a beer two weeks ago, I swear I only saw three bubbles! 12 days latter had a fg of 1008...
I resisted the temptation to peek and sat on my hands:thumb:

 

[willyroyale]

ok, thanks for the advice. airlocks v compelling for the noob. esp as my previous brews have been bubbling away.

 

[Graz]

Personally as I've had a few non starters over the years I do just crack the lid open a little to take a peek after a day or two.

In 24 hours though you've nothing to worry about yet, my personal experience of US-05 is that it does take a bit longer to get going and generally longer to finish too.

Was having similar concerns over a Coopers kit I've just done, 24 hours no activity at all, 48 hours little bit of froth on the top, phew. Probably have another look tonight but fully expect a healthy krausen to have formed.

Certainly wouldn't be bothering with gravity readings or anything else though, too much risk of infecting it.

 

[terrym]

I'd like to subscribe to the 'box it up and forget all about it' way of thinking and normally that's what I do. But you can't always apply it and sometimes intervention is needed.
What do you do with a Wherry kit that's obviously stuck because you used the kit yeast?
And at present I have a Sundew kit which stuck at 1.020 (down from 1.048) after 3 days although I substituted the yeast, and needed some intervention, i.e. new yeast, gentle stirring etc, which as it happens has made little difference in that it may have come down a couple more points when I get to bottle it tomorrow. But I'm still satisfied I did what I could.
So my take is 'box it up and forget all about it' but be aware that sometimes you may need to intervene, especially if the pitching yeast is rubbish or it sticks.
And personally I have no qualms about opening up my FV to investigate if its needed, I just take the usual precautions re. sanitised kit and minimise the time the lid is open. How come commercial breweries can brew beer in open FVs; they don't get 'infections' or traditional brewing would have been done another way.

 

[Lord0]

I've had some brews that take days (~2-3) to start fermenting.

I've also had brews that I thought weren't fermenting but they were.

If it were me I'd leave it 48 hours or so before worrying, then I'd measure gravity, if it's not changed since you originally pitched then I would repitch

Measuring gravity is about the only think you can rely on

 

[Hoddy]

Why can't brew shops sell patience?

Serious we must have a dozen of these threads a day.

Once you have pitched the yeast leave the fv alone, don't look at it and don't move it.

Air locks are a waste of time and don't rely on them.

Do what this bloke said [emoji6]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[willyroyale]

thanks Leon. its ok if you're experienced - you know what to expect, new people here are asking for advice and guidance.

my previous batches have had activity pretty soon after pitching certainly all <24 hrs.

this batch is now bubbling away, it took at least 3 days to start. but thank you all for your advice and shared experiences.

safale us-05 is a slow starter.

 

[foxbat]

safale us-05 is a slow starter.

I use US-05 a lot and it's always started when I do my 24 hour check on it. All I do is rehydrate before use according to the instructions and pitch into about 24C wort plus or minus a few.

I'd call it a quiet workhorse of a yeast. It won't bubble like crazy and it won't throw a krausen at your ceiling. For me I just get quiet activity and a small 1cm or so krausen then as reliable as clockwork it's hit FG after 7 days.