Glossary
Lag phase
The period between pitching and visible fermentation, during which yeast takes up oxygen and nutrients and multiplies before it begins producing much alcohol.
A lag of a few hours is normal; a lag beyond about 24 hours suggests under-pitching, poor yeast health, insufficient oxygen or too cold a wort, and lengthens the window in which contaminants can establish.
Related
- Pitching — What precedes it.
More vocabulary
Arrested fermentation · Barrel ageing · Batch sparging · Biotransformation · Blending · Bottle conditioning · Bottom fermentation · Burtonisation · Cask conditioning · Centrifugation
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.