Mr Malty’s Repitching from Slurry Calculator (default settings) said for a 10 litre batch @ 1.054 OG I required 76ml @ 60% Viability (been in the fermenter for 4 weeks at time of harvesting, so estimated harvest date at 3 weeks ago).
Now I’m concerned about Lag Time, so far it’s been 18 hours with little sign of air lock (bubbles) activity. It’s in a white plastic bucket so I can’t really see what’s going on inside?
Airlock activity is a poor indicator of fermentation, especially when using a bucket. Bucket lids are notorious for not sealing well. Also, as Denny stated, 18 hours lag time isn’t a problem. Give it another day and then try shining a strong flashlight or lamp from the back side of the bucket and look for a shadowy area above the liquid level.
Keep in mind too that lag time is more a problem in the minds of homebrewers than to the yeast. What we call “lag” is actually part of the normal yeast life cycle. Think of it as a distance runner eating pasta before before a big race. They are loading up in preparation for a big energy expenditure.
An example that might help. I kegged a English Golden Ale on Tuesday that had taken 4 days to get started. I think I learned a bit about London Ale III. Like ambient temp ~54F may be too low for my timelines but once it gets going it gets the job done.
I ended up raising the wort up into the low 60’s to get it rolling but only because I need the beer for a family get together on 12/21.
Slow is okay, give the little beasties time to do there thing.
Something else to consider…did you just grab some slurry and pitch it, or did you create a starter with that slurry first? If you just pitched the slurry, then a longer lag time would be expected than if you created a starter and got the yeast active before pitching.
Cheers Bob I always make sure I have an airtight seal by applying a very small amount of pressure to the lid with my finger and seeing if the bubbler moves very slightly - very scientific I know First krausen is there now
Cheers Robert I didn’t make a starter, I took it out of the fridge on brewday morning, it’s was at 18c by the time I pitched. Good to hear that it isn’t a problem as a lot of writing seems to say 3-15 hrs for Lag Phase. I won’t worry next time 8)
Another thing about using slurry is that you can try to time your batches so you are repitching immediately from a prior fermenter upon racking out from that primary. This ensures highly viable yeast slurry. Yesterday I racked a batch onto a yeast cake in a fermenter that I had just racked from, only cleaning off the Krausen ring with a sanitized paper towel. I don’t do this often, but it is a bigger lager beer that just went in as the second batch…
Cheers!
Cheers At present I don’t transfer for secondary/conditioning, just 3-4 weeks in same bucket for primary and a fair bit of secondary. I may consider changing my process when using slurry, it makes sense to pitch slurry when highly viable Alternatively I may just make a vitality starter so it’s raring to go! I understand that there will always be a Lag Phase though as the Yeasties have to acclimatise to there new environment and prepare to reproduce.