When should i worry?

**dooman333** · 09-09-2011, 06:00 PM

Made an extract amber ale on sept 2. No bubbles yet. Guna check the SG tonight. Very simple recipe. Wasn't expecting any issues. I've only used danstar nottingham before and this time I used safale us-05. Do they work differently? If my SG has dropped accordingly then its still good?

russellqwerty · 09-09-2011, 06:32 PM

Did you let the wort cool before you pitched your yeast?

**dooman333** · 09-09-2011, 06:33 PM

ya down to 78F

**Celticway** · 09-09-2011, 06:34 PM

Are you fermenting in a bucket where you cannot see anything? Sometimes you will not get any bubbles if CO2 can escape from somewhere else.

hercher · 09-09-2011, 06:36 PM

Make sure your airlock is on nice and tight. Remember, bubbles (or the absence thereof) in your airlock don't mean anything. Rely on your gravity readings insted. Yes, if your SG has dropped, you are good to go. Keep taking readings every day or two until you get 2 or 3 identical readings in a row.

If your SG hasn't dropped at all, then your yeast was no good and you need to add some fresh yeast. As long as everything was properly sanitized, you should still be OK.

**dooman333** · 09-09-2011, 06:40 PM

Ya its in a bucket. I used the same bucket and airlock a month ago with an american wheat and it worked great. on nice and tight. ill keep checkin the sg. thanks. ill keep ya posted!

**Celticway** · 09-09-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dooman333

Ya its in a bucket. I used the same bucket and airlock a month ago with an american wheat and it worked great. on nice and tight. ill keep checkin the sg. thanks. ill keep ya posted!

With a bucket, it is very possible for CO2 to escape out of the lid. Check your SG and let us know what you find.

**unionrdr** · 09-09-2011, 07:18 PM

I've found it best when cleaning the FV,to pour some PBW around the seal area with the bottom of the lid up,then take an old (but clean) tooth brush & scrub the seal & surrounding area clean. Then flush well with cold water to get the grainy bits out. It seals well that way. Take an SG reading now to verify that the yeasties are working. Then wait till the 2 week point to bother checking it again. No sense wasting good beer checking it everyday. Def no need to do that. We learn these things the more brews we do.

BonnieJ · 09-30-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hercher

If your SG hasn't dropped at all, then your yeast was no good and you need to add some fresh yeast. As long as everything was properly sanitized, you should still be OK.

As far as I'm reading, that was 7 days ago that he originally pitched yeast. Is it safe to just put more yeast in there? For some reason I had an impression that unfermented wort could go bad fairly quickly (as in, days).

I'm a total noob, though, so can't say that I know ...

hercher · 09-30-2011, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonnieJ

As far as I'm reading, that was 7 days ago that he originally pitched yeast. Is it safe to just put more yeast in there? For some reason I had an impression that unfermented wort could go bad fairly quickly (as in, days).

I'm a total noob, though, so can't say that I know ...

If sanitation was proper, it will be fine. Remember, liquid malt extract is unfermented wort, and your LHBS keeps that around for weeks. So yeah, it should be OK to add more yeast.