Worried man

Im a little worried about how my fermentation is going. It has been about 36 hours so far and im making some stout. This is my second batch that ive tried to make. I snuck a peek inside the primary fermenter (bad i know) and there is just a thin coat of bubbles on the top of the brew - in my last batch (India pale ale) there was a big foam on the head. Could the yeast be bad - should I pitch some more to give it a little help??? Im worried my stout may not turn out

By the way I pitched a pack of dry yeast which i re hydrated first and it is fermenting at 70-72 degrees about 20-21 celcius - any advice for this worried man would eb greatly appreciated

I'd say it is fermenting. What are the temps where it is at? Is it on a basement floor? At this point, I would not say that you need to repitch. a day and a half is not really all that long if you are not using a starter. Plus it appears that it has already started, it is just not going vigorously.

Just relax and let the yeasties do their thing! The various yeast strains have different characteristics, they don't all develop the same amount of krauesen so don't use that as an indicator of healthy fermentation. The fact that it has a krauesen on top is all you need to know.

Just leave it be for a week and check the specific gravity. If it's at your target, go ahead and rack to secondary, if not let it keep going until it is.

I did a Dry Stout without a starter and it didn't start for 48 hours, but then it went great. No worries bud!

I've had brews with almost no krausen at all that were just fine so rdwhahb

I had a recent beer that didn't show airlock activity for almost 3 days. At 36 hours its still early to worry. From your description it sounds like the yeast is just getting started and you will have activity soon.

RDWHAHB

Craig

If you learn to make a starter a day or two before brewing you will not have to worry at all.

Worrying is like paying interest on a debt you do not owe.

Why bother with worrying? It's totally correctable and unnecessary if you plan properly.

A starter has more benefits than just fast fermentation, and if you are going to go to the trouble, I highly recommend a liquid yeast that suits your beer style. Dry yeast is a 1 size fits all(at least in all that I have seen). The yeast is a huge ingredient and a lot of people don't realize it. You can make two fairly different beers from the same wort with two different yeast strains.
I have to admit, for all of my talk, that I have become addicted to one particular strain despite the bounty of choices. I love White Labs "Irish Ale Yeast" for just about anything I brew. Good Luck! And remember that freshness counts too, check the date!