This is my first time using this yeast (US-05). It was a very slow to start — like 36 hours before any notable action. I pitched 1 pkg., dry, in a 5 gallon batch at 1.065 SG.
Is slow starts normal for this yeast? I’m use to 8-12 hour starts using starters.
I haven’t used 05 in a while, but it was always a reliably quick starter for me. What temperature did you pitch at?
Was the yeast past its expiration date? While usually still quite usable, I have encountered slow starts with some dry yeast strains that are beyond the manufacturers expiration date assigned to the batch.
I brewed yesterday. I pitched one packet of 05 into a 1.045 american wheat @70F with chest freezer set to 65F. About 16 hours later I am seeing airlock activity.
I don’t usually get slow starts with 05, but many report that they do. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I believe you under pitched so sluggish performance should be expected. (Only pitched 75% of recommendation).
Rule of thumb: Pitch 5.5 grams of dry Ale yeast or 11 grams of dry Lager yeast per gravity point divided by 25 in a 5 gal batch. (K. Yager).
Just because you can’t see it working (no airlock activity) doesn’t mean yeast is not doing its job. I wouldn’t start thinking something is wrong until well past 48 hours.
I can only chime in that I have used it quite a bit and usually see activity within 12 hours. But, I am no pro so take it for what it is worth.
It’s one of my go-tos and I normally see action within 6 hours. Obviously YMMV.
Slightly under-itched hence the longer than usual lag. It’s a very forgiving yeast. 36 hours is still within a reasonable window
Dry yeast is very robust. If you just bought this yeast, my guess is it saw the 1.065 gravity as a slight challenge possibly because it’s summer and the yeast packet might have experienced high shipping temperatures at some unknown point between manufacture & now. No worries.
I normally pitch around 70°. It may have been a bit warmer — say mid to high 70’s.
The use by date was mid 2024, if memory serves.
I think this was my issue. I’ve been from the school of thought that said 1 packet of dry yeast is good for a 5 gallon batch. I guess that school of thought is a bust! The good news is I’m in day 2 of a very vigorous fermentation. Yesterday evening, I brought the temp down to 62° and it’s going strong!
Thanks all for the ideas and input!
Cheers!
FWIW, I have never found one pack not enough up to about 1.070
Neither have I.
Ditto. In fact I would usually use 1/2 pack for 5 gallons, only adding the remainder if for some reason the yeast didn’t take off within ~24 hours (which it usually does, 95% of the time)
With a 2024 expiry, it should have been plenty of yeast for a 1.065 wort, but it sounds like the “lag” was only momentary. I can only anecdotally add that my experience is that with the slightly laggard yeast pitches, they often finish fermentation in just about the same time frame as the “quick start” yeast pitches. But lagging yeast has not been a problem for me in the last few years with dry yeast…the yeast seems to take off and finish well sooner than what I expect. The re-pitches are always quick starters any more. I would have to add that I brew much lighter ABV beers these days, so YMMV.
In my experience, you should use about half a package (5-6 grams) per every 5-6 gallon batch for every approximately 1.025 gravity points. According to the pitching rates recommended by dry yeast manufactures. So, for a 1.075 batch you should probably use about 1.5 packages. There is a lot of forgiveness with dry yeast due to the way it is manufactured and because it is in stasis with glycogen reserves in store. So, yeah, I would say you can more easily get away with underpitching dry yeast as opposed to liquid yeast since you can’t be sure of the liquid yeast health.
Fermentis recommends 50-80g/hl … so 10-16 grams per approx 5 gallons.
Manufacturer guidelines are a good place to start, but I judge by my experience.