I hate to be yet another homebrewing newbie obsessing over fermentation, but I need either some reassurance or guidance! On Saturday I brewed an IPA using extract, OG was 1.058 on my hydrometer. This is overall the fifth beer I've made, so I have a little experience but I'm sure I could be prone to rookie mistakes. I pitched one packet of Safale US-05 ale yeast according to the directions, complete with rehydrating. It was stored in my refrigerator and was about a month prior to expiration. I pitched the yeast at about 72 degrees and the wort has been at a steady 64-66 degrees ever since then. Usually when I use this yeast and brew under similar conditions, I get fairly active fermentation within 18 hours - visible airlock bubbles and everything. It's now been 48 hours, and I have about 1/2 inch of krausen but absolutely no airlock bubbles. I'm fairly sure I don't have an air leak because I'm using the same equipment I've used the first 4 times and didn't have any issues in the past (of course, things do change so I can't rule that out). Is it time for me to pitch another packet of yeast? It doesn't seem like my OG was high enough to warrant needing 2 packets but I guess it's possible. Is it possible that I just had some bad yeast? Am I worrying about absolutely nothing? Please help!
You answered your own question right here. Krausen is a sign of fermentation, not your air lock. How can you be so sure? If you have krausen but no air lock activity you have a leak somewhere. Yes.
Thanks for the reassurance! That's what I needed to know. I'll just take a hydrometer reading in 2 weeks and see where I'm at.
One packet of rehydrated US-05 into 5 gals of 1.058 wort is plenty. Your only danger is if the yeast have been mishandled and are DOA. But they will tell you how healthy they are during rehydration: after adding to water and waiting 15-30 minutes you should notice they are expanding (rehydrating). They will not be bubbling, but after a stir they'll be even larger and will have a distinctive yeast/bready aroma. The one time I had bad dry yeast (opened/resealed) it looked/smelled like I poured a tsp of sand in a bowl of water.
