[alcaponejunior]

BEER ALERT
( I just had to try the marquee   )


OK.  Noob question here.  

Last link in my signature if you want the entire recipe/procedures used.  Short version here:

I made an English IPA last Friday (four days ago).  Used Nottingham Ale Yeast, 11g (0.388oz) Saccharomyces cerevisiae top fermenting yeast.  5.5 gallons.  OG 1.052.  Pitched directly, no starter.  Waited about five minutes, then aerated vigorously with sanitized spoon.  Temps have been slightly cool but by no means cold.  Approximate average ambient room temperature inside closet has been 65-69.  It was at the warmer side on day one, cloaked bucket with slightly wet towel.  Towel has since dried.  May re-wet if temps seem to be likely to go over 72F.  NO chance of over 72 or under 64 F inside closet, 68-69 is pretty steady.

So how soon till vigorous bubbling should occur?  Will it?  Any guesses on approximate brew time if conditions remain like this?  

Is there ever any need to make a starter for dry yeast?  If so, any recommendations thereof?  I did save a 12oz bottle of wort from this batch.  Whether it becomes useful in the future or not, well, I don't know.  

All comments (and the ramifications thereof) welcome.  Please do elaborate in great detail.

Thanks!

al

[a10t2]

Have you taken a gravity reading? It's probably finished, or nearly so.

You shouldn't make a starter for dry yeast, but you should rehydrate. Dumping the yeast in dry kills off about half the cells.

[alcaponejunior]

Done in four days?

Followed directions on recipe.  Not sure why/if/how-to rehydrate dry yeast.

[Jimmy K]

It could be done in four days, and if there was a leaky seal in your fermenter you'd never see any bubbling.

[alcaponejunior]

Done or not, I hadn't planned to sample it for gravity until at least Feb 10th (14 day mark).

There is some chance it might not seal perfectly, but the last batch did vigorously bubble (was done with Wyeast 1469 with starter).

I am being patient though, just curious.  I have no intention of messing with it until the 10th at the earliest.

[euge]

You murdered your yeast by sprinkling directly and then whipping it with a spoon 5 minutes later. They are in a delicate state at about that time. I aerate before pitching the rehydrated dry yeast.

Did you look to see if there is an active krausen? Airlock bubbling is deceptive.

[a10t2]

Not sure why/if/how-to rehydrate dry yeast.

Every manufacturer has slightly different directions, but they're all basically the same. For Nottingham: http://www.danstaryeast.com/sites/default/files/nottingham_datasheet.pdf

[alcaponejunior]

Not sure why/if/how-to rehydrate dry yeast.

Every manufacturer has slightly different directions, but they're all basically the same. For Nottingham: http://www.danstaryeast.com/sites/default/files/nottingham_datasheet.pdf

That's handy to know for next time.  My next batch is stored and I'm too lazy to look it up right now... but will make sure to do more research on the yeast before the next batch is brewed. 

Given that the directions and seller didn't tell me all that stuff, what should I expect?  Will it just take a bit longer?  Will the beer come out as expected?  I've read elsewhere to just pitch the dry yeast directly, what would be the advantage/disadvantage to that?  Why? Be specific with scientific information if you like, I will understand.

I know I'm picking the brains of you guys, but that's what this place is about, right?

thanks!

[alcaponejunior]

Dang it, you guys got me curious now.  Sanitized a wine thief, carefully opened bucket and took a sample for SG, 1.015.  Fermentation is mostly done after all, without much obvious bubbling, because it does look like high krausen has passed (there's gunk along the sides of the bucket up to about an inch from the top).  Sample was very cloudy and yeasty but tasted and smelled pretty beery (and actually quite dry, and good, at least for what I expected, the bitterness had dropped and so did the sweetness).  It will probably come out good if my inexperienced homebrewer's pallet means anything. 

I probably should have just waited, but I need to know this kind of stuff now, while I'm learning and the batch cost/effort was fairly low.

I still plan to wait to bottle till the 10th (or a day or two later, depending on when is practical).  I don't plan to take another gravity reading until the 8th or 9th.  I highly doubt there's any chance of making bottle bombs at this point.  I will move it to the bottling counter area on the 8th or 9th, to allow time to settle before racking to the bottling carboy.

Last batch used 2/3 cup corn sugar for bottle conditioning.  I have two bags of sugar left, 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup.  It's only a 1/12 of a cup different, but I'm curious if I can notice the difference in the final product.  May be futile to attempt to differentiate because all the batches are different in so many other parameters, but batch 1 and 2 in this five gallon setup are both IPAs, so I'll probably use the 3/4 cup on this batch.   Next batch is a sweet stout.

Bah!!  I'm just going to have another beer and quit worrying about it all for tonight.  Thanks guys!

[euge]

Bah!!  I'm just going to have another beer and quit worrying about it all for tonight.  Thanks guys!

Sometimes that's the best solution. Called RDWHAHB.

Sounds like you made some beer!