gravity rising, no airlock activity

Question

fermenting a bochet, I dropped a bluetooth hydrometer in the must and started with a gravity reading of 1.128. Pitched lalvin EC-1118, and over a day the gravity has gone up to 1.144. I've heard that if your yeast is active enough, it can physically push your hydrometer up, and throw your reading off. However, would that not mean that I should have some visible airlock activity?

I'm also quite sure my airlock is working properly - the fermenter is a corny keg, so when I pull the pressure valve on the lid I can see the fluid level in the airlock drop. If I remove the airlock and push it on again, I can see it start at a higher level, and pull the pressure valve, I can watch it again.

what could cause this?

Answer 1

Well, gravity can't go up...so it sounds like the honey probably wasn't dispersed evenly in the water. I imagine getting caramelized honey to evenly disperse probably takes aeration or an immersion blender. If you just dumped thick honey and water in a keg and gave it a shake- it probably had pockets where the honey was more dense than others and threw off your reading.

For the airlock...it sounds like it's working- isn't it? Why would the airlock move when you pull the release tab if there was no positive pressure in the keg? That said..it's only been a single day so you'll probably need to wait another day (Although at this time..it's been a few days). As an aside I would really recommend adding some yeast nutrient if you haven't already.