Bubbling after only 5 hours?

[fuji6100]

I started a nut brown ale today and pitched my yeast about 2pm. I always use a starter and I aerate the crap out of my wort before I pitch.

Anyway, it is now 7:30 pm and it is already going crazy. I'm using a 6.7 gallon plastic fermenting bucket and the krausen is already almost up to the airlock, which is bubbling constantly.

My last batch kicked off after only 7 hours, and the batch before that as well.

I typically pitch around 78 F, and the brew is sitting on about 74 F right now.

Is this normal to kick off so soon? I often read about people having 24 hour lag times (or more) and mine always get going pronto.

[yonkersbrewer]

Count yourself lucky if you get a good start each time.

Why put that crap in if you then have to "aerate the crap out" each time?

Check out half batch thread for info on second use of yeast.

[Tweek]

thats a good thing. The shorter the lag time the better.

[fuji6100]

Ok, I guess I'll relax and have a homebrew now.

Thanks guys!

[Redbird Fan]

yep, 5 hours is great! (especially if you didn't even start your yeast in advance) -

you mentioned the krausen is nearing the airlock - you may want to switch to a blow off valve type system initially if you are having that kind of success in pitching your yeast - after a couple days you can always go back to the airlock - I'd hate for you to ruin a great start to your brew w/ contamination from your airlock - just something to consider, may not even be a REAL concern.

Enjoy the brew!

[shughes600]

Originally posted by yonkersbrewer
Count yourself lucky if you get a good start each time.

Why put that crap in if you then have to "aerate the crap out" each time?

Check out half batch thread for info on second use of yeast.

Because every minute you are lagging you are susceptible to the start of an infection by any bacteria that might have gotten into the batch.

[iowabrewer]

Good for you! Faster start means your doing something right. Make sure that your airlock stays clear of any clogging. If your in glass, be very sure! If your in plastic, check on it often. Have you ever blown the top off of a batch of beer. That's fun!

[paul84043]

I had one batch try to kill me....it was just sitting there...doing nothing...brown stuff in the airlock, foam in the airspace (I was using a 5 gal carboy)...
I bent over and tapped it gently and the airlock blew out like it was shot out of a cannon. I got sprayed in the face with beer and the airlock barely missed my head! Then it foamed all over hell....
Quite a way to wake up at 3:30 in the morning, let me tell you!

I have had a few fast starts, under 8 hours. Only with the White labs yeast, never with anything else.
Typically it's about 10 to 15 hours.

[fuji6100]

For some reason I always get fast starts when using the dry Munton & Fison Ale yeast. I plan on upgrading to liquid after I buy a few more fermenters/carboys and brew more often.

I don't use a commercal airlock, rather I ran a clear sanitized hoze from the rubber grommet in the lid of my fermenting bucket (where an airlock usually goes) into a small cup of grain alcohol. Basically like a mini-blow off tube.

This is the first time krausen has risen up to the top, so I'm hoping the tube is thick enough to handle any overflow if it happens while I"m at work.

[paul84043]

You get faster starts with the dry yeast because you are forced to make a starter. You also get alot faster starts with liquid when you make a starter, but I don't bother with lower gravity beers.
Some of us have also started using oxygen, which can increase the lag time a bit, but the results are worth it.

[dynomax]

Oh yeah man, that coopers i was talking about was working in less time than that. I had the temp up around 25 (which is a little hotter than i like to pitch, but i did anyway, and 2 hours, it was cooking. i had about 6" headspace on the primary. cause i dumb it down cause i use a 19L carboy and this pimary is made for 23L kits.

I've seen it before this too. its the coopers yeast, every time i've used coopers, its cooked in a real hurry. Muntons is fair too.

I use a heatbelt too.

[paul84043]

Dude....I am having to go back to my "metric system" class again....
Stupid english kings anyway...

The warmer temp will really kick things in the butt. The problem I have is once they kick off, the exothermic nature of fermentation pushes the temp up even higher, to the point that I am afraid it will actually lose efficiency, or even kill the yeast!

I have a Stout and a Black&tan going right now, I started them around 70F, and they are both at nearly 78F while the other beers in the room are still at 70 or so....I have to open the window in the room to cool them off!

[dynomax]

Well, i use a heatbelt, and i mean, that thing only gets so hot, it cant heat the brew any hotter than it gets itself. So the added heat from fermentatino has never put me in any kind of danger zone.

I leave a theremometer right in the brew, and my hydrometer. i check it every day, its always 23 or 24.

Do you think clairifying at about 18deg C, or 68F is ok ?
i use finings. and dont transfer until MOST of the fermentation is done.

I'm sitll having a yeasty flavor problem. i think this might be due to stalled, or slowed fermentation. i havent tasted my first heat belted batch yet, so i cant answer this myself yet. but its my thought!

[paul84043]

I can't give any suggestion on batches that you have used dry yeast on, I never used it. I would imagine that it's just yeast in suspension and chilling may help reduce it. Typically to clarify, I think they chill the beer as low as they can get it, larger brweries go below freezing.
A finig agent added to the secondary is definitely what you want to use to clear out yeast.
You could also let it sit an extra week at a lower temp after activity has stopped to let more yeast settle out. I know this works because the batches I do in the glass carboys take twice as long to carbonate as compared to the conicals that I have. The conicals are a bit more difficult to get all the stuff out of and typically have more sediment in the beer, but it has always tasted just fine.