Thin Krausen

JWR_12

JWR_12

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Hi everyone,

Beginner here again. So I have brewed a fair number of batches at this point. And when things have gone well, generally, I have a thick krausen by day 2. I just brewed a batch on Saturday (two days ago), using Saf Ale 05. I tried to do everything right, and hydrated the yeast in advance. 1 packet.

Anyways, the beer is bubbling, but the fermentation is not the fast bubble / thick krausen I normally get at this stage. There's a thin krausen at the top.

The beer is at about 63 degrees.

I should say the batch is in a larger fermentor (3 gallons in a 5 gallon fermenter).

I guess my question is how concerned should I be that this has not taken off like a rocket. And if it never develops a noticeably vigorous ferment and thick krausen, is that a problem?

Thanks!

John
 
Don't be concerned at all. Many variables cause the speed of fermentation.

Yeast health
Yeast nutrients
Fermentability of the wort
Mash temp
Fermentation temp.

As long as it gets going and finishes, good to go
 
Hi @JWR_12 welcome to the forum.
The topic of hydrating dry yeast has been discussed much of late. In general, it is not necessary to hydrate dry yeast before pitching, but many do anyways. I am in the camp of never hydrating dry yeast that is within its window of freshness - I just pitch it dry right on top of the wort, and have never had any problem getting active fermentation. I even got good results this summer with a dry Farmhouse Ale Saison-style yeast that was months past it’s “expiration” date.
If you do hydrate the dry yeast, then it might be beneficial/necessary to oxygenate the wort prior to pitching your now liquid yeast. If you did not oxygenate the wort by splashing the wort into the fermenter while transferring from the kettle, and/or vigorous shaking and rocking of the fermenter, then you might have shortchanged the yeast.
In any case, good luck with your fermentation, likely everything will turn out fine. Be patient, let the yeast do their work in converting your wort into beer. Keep us up to date on your progress.
 
Thanks for these replies as well! Looks like I’m a hair below ideal temperatures which may explain something, I can bring it out of my basement if needed to warm it up a bit. I definitely am glad to hear hydrating is more optional, as I always forget to do it and just pitch. Except this time, when I was being extra ‘by the [wrong?] book’.
 
This is a great hobby, with lots of learning involved. Keep at it, always try to keep it fun. At the end of the day, you will have made beer!
I just wanted to add something here. According to the yeast information given on this very site under the Browse tab, Fermentis Safale US-05 has a fermentation temperature range of 54F - 77F. So your 63F temperature should be fine. As a matter of fact, my fermentation closet sits at ~60F, and I have fermented just fine with US-05 at that temp.
 
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Herm brews said:
This is a great hobby, with lots of learning involved. Keep at it, always try to keep it fun. At the end of the day, you will have made beer!
I just wanted to add something here. According to the yeast information given on this very site under the Browse tab, Fermentis Safale US-05 has a fermentation temperature range of 54F - 77F. So your 63F temperature should be fine. As a matter of fact, my fermentation closet sits at ~60F, and I have fermented just fine with US-05 at that temp.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That's what I thought too. But then the link provided above seems to point to a different range: https://fermentis.com/en/product/safale-us-05/

This is what it says (but perhaps this is pitching temperature rather than fermenting temperature):

Dosage / Temperature​


50 to 80 g/hl at ideally 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F).
 
It is pretty happy around 68. That is a clean yeast, so it might not make as big a difference as some of the others but check your attenuation and the end for the next batch.
I think that is fermentation temperature. I have pitched it close to 80. My water doesn't get much colder than that, and I can't normally get beer below 78 with a normal wort chiller. I use the refrigerator to chill for about 3 hours for my lagers.
 
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I got no proof, but my feeling is that yeasts are quite strong and versatile
I think a steady temperature is more important than anything. Wildly fluctuating temps are a problem

My first brewing steps were with store bought juice and bakers yeast.
Any bread baking thing I read said temps ove 40 oC would kill yeast. I had great fermentation between 40 and 45 oC and the result was pretty drinkable too
 
When I first started brewing, US05 was the only yeast I knew about and I had no temp control and the beers turned out good. Also it's not a fast ferm yeast.
 
US-05 is slow, well, relative to say a Kveik strain;)

Not only is it unnecessary to rehydrate dry yeast, there is also no need to aerate your wort if your OG is 1060 or less. I have actually pitched US-05 into 1063 wort without aerating and had no negative effects.
 
Craigerrr said:
US-05 is slow, well, relative to say a Kveik strain;)

Not only is it unnecessary to rehydrate dry yeast, there is also no need to aerate your wort if your OG is 1060 or less. I have actually pitched US-05 into 1063 wort without aerating and had no negative effects.
Click to expand...
Dry US-05?
 
Herm brews said:
Hi @JWR_12 welcome to the forum.
The topic of hydrating dry yeast has been discussed much of late. In general, it is not necessary to hydrate dry yeast before pitching, but many do anyways. I am in the camp of never hydrating dry yeast that is within its window of freshness - I just pitch it dry right on top of the wort, and have never had any problem getting active fermentation. I even got good results this summer with a dry Farmhouse Ale Saison-style yeast that was months past it’s “expiration” date.
If you do hydrate the dry yeast, then it might be beneficial/necessary to oxygenate the wort prior to pitching your now liquid yeast. If you did not oxygenate the wort by splashing the wort into the fermenter while transferring from the kettle, and/or vigorous shaking and rocking of the fermenter, then you might have shortchanged the yeast.
In any case, good luck with your fermentation, likely everything will turn out fine. Be patient, let the yeast do their work in converting your wort into beer. Keep us up to date on your progres
Click to expand...
Rehydration of dry yeast does not mean it needs to be aerated. If the dry yeast has been put through a fermentation or built up in a starter, then it should be treated as a liquid yeast which requires aeration. If it’s simply rehydrated , then it can pitched without aeration.

Rehydration does help shorten lag times.
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
Rehydration of dry yeast does not mean it needs to be aerated. If the dry yeast has been put through a fermentation or built up in a starter, then it should be treated as a liquid yeast which requires aeration. If it’s simply rehydrated , then it can pitched without aeration.

Rehydration does help shorten lag times.
Click to expand...
OK
 
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