dead yeast or did i go wrong?

So yesterday was my first experience in the homebrewing world. Thought it went pretty well considering i only have a hot plate to boil the couple gallons of water on. The problem is that once my wert cooled and was in the primary fermenter(at around 70 degrees) I added the yeast expecting the yeast to go nuts as I had used a can of liquid malt and an extra 3 pounds of dried malt. But nothing happened. I waited...still nothing, this morning nothing. So I looked at the yeast package that came with the can of liquid malt, and it says "Best used before November 6, 2006". So maybe the yeast just died? Any ideas?
Daum

The yeast is probably fine, but it doesn't spring to life upon contact with wort.

Leave it be, give it time. If it doesn't start doing anything in 3 days you might start to think about pitching some new yeast. Until then keep busy planning your next batch.

Yeah, what B-D said. It's not instantaneous "magic", but magical just the same.

12-48 hours is usually the norm. I bet it'll be gurgling away when you get home tonight.

I'll check on it when I get home, hopefully it will be bubbling. My other question is my room is most likely going to be around 70 ish degrees, depending on how my little AC can do. Is this ok? From what I understand it is on the warmish side? Also, I read some people have had extremely quick firmentations, is there a good way to check on when the fermentation is done without a hydrometer?

Thanks again,
Daum

daum said:

My other question is my room is most likely going to be around 70 ish degrees, depending on how my little AC can do. Is this ok? From what I understand it is on the warmish side? Also, I read some people have had extremely quick firmentations, is there a good way to check on when the fermentation is done without a hydrometer?

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yeah, 70 is on the warm side but still acceptable, 74 is when you start to be too warm. You can always put your fermenter in a water bath and add ice to keep it cool, that's what I've had to start doing.

Even after the fermentation you want to leave your yeast in there to clean up after them selves. Most people suggest the 1-2-3 method which is 1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, and 3 in the bottle. For most ales that will work fine. If you only have a primary than just do 3 weeks in primary, 3 weeks in the bottle.

pfranco81 is right. The 1-2-3 is sure fire.

But...without a hydrometer you may be missing a chance to speed things up a bit.

I've had beers ferment to their terminal gravity in less than 30 hours. If I didn't have a hydro, I wouldn't have known that and I would have let the beer sit around "wasting time" in the primary for an extra few days.

A hydrometer is cheap and it's how you know the progess of your beer and the ABV% of what you're drinking/serving.

Aye, I am itching to get to drinking this....Maybe i'll see how much the hydrometer costs, seeing how i am on the budget, haven't even bought the siphon/bottling bucket/bottle capper and what not.

since my room is a warmer temperature it should ferment much quicker right?

Thanks,
Daum

Yeah it'll ferment faster, but it'll also create a lot of things you dont want like fusel alcohols (which give you hang overs) and esters which are odd smells. My first beer which i just bottled smells like a fruit bowl because it fermented at too high a temperature.

If you want good beer, dont rush it. That's why I bought 2 other fermenters, to keep myself occupied with other brews.

i'll have to check up on what temperature my room is, hopefully it was cool....Is a refridgerator too cold for the yeast? Since I could fit it in my fridge. This batch we were hoping for a strong, yet better than colt 45, tasting beer. Had cascade hops, a can of liquid malt(with some hops already in it i believe), a 3 pound dry malt. The hops we put in smelled really good, hope that the room temp doesn't ruin it.
Daum

It won't ruin it, just make it.... interesting. I'm a St. Ides man myself. Ale yeasts should be in the 60s at the coldest so i tink your fridge is probably too cold. Putting it in an ice-bath works well, that' what I do.

If I'm looking to ferment a lot cooler than my room temperature, I put my fermenter in a deep sink filled with cold water, then take an old towel, dunk it in the water and drape the whole wet mess around the fermenter. That way, the water wicks up thru the towel. I change the water out every couple of days.

I'm a bubble counter and I wait until the bubbles in the airlock are ~45 secs. to one minute apart before I rack to secondary. I have a hydrometer. I'm just lazy.

75 isn't all that bad depending on the yeast used. Thing is, ambient temp may be 75, but internal temp will likely be 80f ot higher as the yeasties generate heat from the wild sugar eating party.

What yeast was with the kit or did it just say "yeast"?

Try and find Mauribrew yeast. It's fairly clean up to 90F.
It's an aussie yeast that was designed for higher temp climates.
They are oowned by the same company that owns fleichmens bread yeast.

You can order 500gs from http://www.beerandwinefilter.com/

But thats a LOT of yeast. lol

Well here is the update. I went home and it was bubbling away, bubbles probably every couple of seconds. I check the temperature in my room by placing my thermometer on top of the fermenter and it is reading in at ~68. So i think that should be fine right? I was thinking for in the future what I could do is place it next to my fridge(slightly touching it) since the fridge outsides stay in the low 60s.

I'll wait for the bubble to slow to about 1 every 45-60 seconds as Rhoobarb had said. It smells a lot like the hops I had put in the beer while boiling the wort.


As for the yeast, it came with a I believe it was Cooper brew kit for a light draught I think it said....not sure was too zeroed in on the fact I was actually brewing to pay attention to the names.
Thanks for the helper all and hopefully this will come out tasting relatively well.

Daum

Yeah, 68oF ambient temp is great for most ales. I ferment my ales in a room where the ambient temp is usually ~67oF and that seems to be ideal for me.