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Safale 05 question?

Baron Von MunchKrausen

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I've always used liquid yeast and thought I'd give Safale 05 a try on a light ale.
OG on target at 1.048.
Rehydrated at 80 degrees exactly according to instructions on their website.
Sitting in controlled temp fermenter at 65
No activity for 9 hours. Sprinkled 2nd packet of 05 at 14 hours.
It's been 24 hours. Top of wort is clear. No krausen. Not even top forming bubbles.
The date stamp on the packets were fresh.
Anyone have ideas on the problem here?

 
That yeast is my ale workhorse. Clean and crispy. Normally I see activity within ten hours. Don't know what to say. More patience? Bad batch? Go with the know?
 
It is a mystery.
Brewed "Doctor Smurto". Was really looking forward to this one. Brew session was all on target.
With liquid yeast on starter, I'm usually blasting away after 6-12 hours.
Didn't know if dried had a longer lag time.
Clearly something is off. Can't figure this one out!
 
Dried yeast does normally have a longer lag time. Don't panic. :D

You could try raising the temp of the fermenter. 65º does seem a tad low to me. I usually have good results closer to 68-70º and a bit of heat off the bat to get things started and then lower your temp control once things are going.

Just a suggestion.
 
Thanks for the tip.
The Fermentis site shows ideal fermentation temperature for 05 at 59-71F
Usually I start at the mid point and drop the temp when it gets going.
I bumped to 68 and have krausening at around 36 hours.
I've been reading this 05 is a robust and bomb proof yeast. Maybe I just have a finicky batch!
 
the last time I used 05 I had a 34 hr lag time before I seen anything going on. then it kicked in pretty hard. that batch took 9 days to hit final grav. this was 10 days ago.
 
I feel better....  :)
Do ya'all use yeast nutrient with dried? Thought I read somewhere that's it's not necessary. I did not use it.
 
FWIW, I've had shorter lag times by just pitching 05 dry. Rehydrating seems to make it slower.
 
I use Safale 05 quite a bit. There is usually a lag time of 12-16 hours depending on pitching temp.  Aeration is key.  I shake the fermenter a good 3 minutes after pitching.  Sit is a chair, place the fermenter on my lap, cover the neck/mouth with a plastic baggie, cover with palm of hand,  tilt on its side and shake back an forth.
 
By "activity" I should add that I meant a mist of bubbles on top and positive pressure. It takes a day or three to reach full krausen. Being the penny pincher that I am, when I brew I tend to do so in strings. So I'll start the next batch the day that I rack the last, and take a scoop of sludge from the primary to seed the new one. When I do that I see activity almost immediately, and full krausen withing a day. I get three to five batches per packet that way. But the more I think about it, the more I think it takes a few days to show serious activity the first time.  Subsequent batches take off quick. Nutrient isn't necessary unless you're making fruit wine or cider. Even then it will come out OK.  Barley and grapes have all the nutrients that yeast need.
 
I've been brewing long enough to trust the yeast to do what it's intended to do. I pitch rehydrated US-05 in 55 F wort, put it in a 60 F fridge and check it a week or two later, then I raise the temp to 65 F. A week later it has always finished/reached a stable gravity. "A watched pot never boils", and the more you watch yeast, the longer it seems to take to get started.

There's no way for a new brewer to avoid some anxiety over a fermentation, but with time yeast will work.

Using a pitching calculator may help your anxiety level. Yeastcalc.co is an excellent one.
 
Yeah, all these responses seem on target.

1.  Make sure the wort is aerated well. Less of an issue with the relatively low gravity you're working with, but still important.
2.  Cooler pitching temps lead to longer lag times but cleaner flavor.
3.  Safale 05 is a prooven yeast. Maybe it was stored too hot for too long?  Even dry yeast should be stored in the fridge. Did you mail order it and it sat in a hot mailbox for a couple days?
4.  By "no activity" do you mean your airlock is motionless?  What's your fermentation vessel?  Is it a bucket and if so, is the lid tightly sealed so that all the co2 is forced through the airlock?
5.  If so, if you're using a three piece, is the center piece pushed to the lid of the airlock, or is it sitting in the water?

Answering these questions will help discover if your yeast is truly working or not.  I use exclusively dry yeast and dry pitch it all the time. Make sure your thermometer is calibrated and working well.  If your re hydrating too hot, you can shock and kill your yeast. I admittedly do not aerate as well as I should, but have yet to have any serious problems.

Let us know how it turned out.
 
All good tips, and thank you all for responding.
Been 6 days and still maintaining a thick creamy white krausen... beautiful.

Just to clarify, I'm not new to brewing; just new to Safale 05.
I've never seen this kind of lag time with liquid. Thought there might be some additional information not found on their web site. This particular batch is extremely slow acting, but getting the job done. Come to think of it, I've never had krausen last 6+ days before dropping.
I do know what you mean though - new brewers pitch, wring their hands, and are alarmed that there is no robust fermentation in 12 minutes....  ;D
Carry on.. Have a brew.
 
Come to think of it, I've never had krausen last 6+ days before dropping.

This is a ravenous yeast. It will eat everything it can and leave little residual sweetness. That's why I like it.
 
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