So I made a grapefruit IPA with an OG at around 1.069 and used dry yeast (safale 05) for the first time. I pitched the packet dry. I’ve used different variations of liquid yeast for all my other batches (with starters). Usual procedure would be to dry hop on day 7. Today was day 7 for the grapefruit ipa and as soon as I opened up the bucket, I noticed that there was significant krausen at the top of the wort with the clear smell of yeast. For those that have used 05 before, when have you notice the yeast start to recede and drop out? Plan was to transfer into a secondary today with grapefruit peel, juice and dry hops. Unfortunately… I went thru sanitizing and got everything ready… only to discover what I said.
IME S05 is slower to get started (being dry) and more powdery and slower to clear than 1056. If you’re roughly at the the OG where you normally dry hop, go ahead. Past that, you may want to crash for several days and/or use gelatin to help it drop out once you do. Or not.
I use 05 quite a bit, and my experience is that the yeast drops out at around ten days. I ferment around 64F, and I always re-hydrate and never cold crash.
I have used s04 and s05 quite a bit. IME it takes aboot 2 days to get going and usually finishes all activity within 3- 5 days, fg 1.010-1.012.
I bottle condition all my beers and they come out pretty clear for not necessarily trying to make clear beer.
Whether it mostly drops out or you should cold crash depends, I think, on the beer temperature. I ferment 66-70 F generally. If keggin, I cold crash, add gelatin and then give it a few days for the yeast to drop out as much as possible. I don’t cold crash if bottling, but I get a lot of sediment with US-05.
Update: Pretty odd… but after taking my fermentor bucket from out of the chamber, to a higher table, then back to the chamber last night, the airlock has started to bubble up pretty good. Not the typical few bubbles here and there after a dry hop. But rather a half way through fermentation type of bubble rate. I wonder if there was just some residual yeast that had just started to drop thru the wort/beer now after the agitation of the movement last night? Thoughts? Regardless, I will wait till Sunday (day 10) to pop her open again to see if I can get a gravity reading and transfer to secondary. Pretty bummed with the minor set back cause I am anxious to try this grapefruit ipa.