I just put a pale ale in the fermentor on Saturday (48 hours ago). I used White Labs WLP051
yeast and did a 1 liter starter. I've made this beer two times before and never saw anything like this.
I've got about an inch or two of krausen (less than normal), the yeast is very actively moving around in the carboy, but no bubbles. I replaced the blow off tube this AM thinking I had a leak and put a air lock bubbler on top instead. Still no bubbles.
I've read quite a few articles on the various forums and most are saying its fine and just take a hydrometer reading at some point. My question is… how can this be so different from any other beer I've made? The temp is spot on 68 degrees and everything else looks good. The one thing I did different this time was I added some anti-foaming agent during the boil and during the transfer to fermenter. I've done this a number of times too with no notable effect. I may have used a bit more this time and was wondering if it could be contributing to the no bubbles? Arn't bubbles a given since they are an output from fermentation when the sugar is converted to alcohol?