Fermentation woes

So I brewed a Pumpkin Ale about two weeks ago and my original yeast died. No krausen on top, no difference in gravity, nothing. It was my first time used dry yeast, and looking back on my method, I completely messed up the rehydration process. Monday I ordered some more yeast from a homebrew shop about 30 miles away, and in my haste before I went off to class I must have clicked "no cold pack" along with misspelling my address. So the yeast were left in the UPS truck for 2 days in the Orlando heat. It was downright miserable outside too.

I added the yeast in on Wednesday and I was nervous about their viability. I aerated the wort again and did not see any signs of fermentation for a few days. Well today (5th day since adding it in) I took the lid off fully expecting to see no signs of fermentation, and noticed small bubbles starting to appear from inside the wort. Is it possible that some small amount of yeast survived in the heat and are now reaching viable numbers? I plan on doing a gravity reading later tonight or tomorrow to see if there is any change.

Normally my beers have fermented in the typical 24-72 hour time period window, so this is a new experience for me.

Hopefully the small bubbles turn to many many bubbles! Good luck

At two weeks, you could be seeing signs of other things munching through the wort. Without pictures, it's hard to say. Which yeast did you select for the brew?

Take a SG reading to see IF anything is happening at all.

I wouldn't wait so long, next time, between pitching and checking to see what's going on.

I've been using liquid yeast since I started brewing. Getting solid results from every one of them. I also make starters for pretty much every batch. I brewed last night, and already heard back from my brew-buddy (I brew and ferment at his place due to a stupid LL) that my batch is showing [very] active fermentation signs at <8 hours from pitching the slurry (from a starter). This is pretty normal for me, getting active sign typically in under 24 hours, often in the 12 hour area.

I would suggest not having yeast shipped to you during the hot months in FL (which is at least 6 months of the year). IMO, better to drive the 30 miles to the store to pick up the yeast (bring a cooler with an ice pack in it) than worry about the yeast viability after going through the typical FL heat.

Just curious to know how you rehydrated that was 'messed up'...

I added Munton's Dry yeast the first time and liquid White Labs British Ale yeast the second time. I will attach a few pictures, the white on top does not look like any infection that I have seen. However, I am not that experienced so I would love the opinions of others.

As far as gravity reading go, evidently there IS something going on. My original gravity was 1.038 and it is down to the target gravity of 1.010. I repeated my gravity reading twice more and got the same results. I'm going to continue taking gravity reading for a few more days and see if there is any change. There is an overwhelming pumpkin and pumpkin spice taste (which is good) and I do not taste any off flavoring.

I know, I really should have taken gravity readings earlier and I usually do. I got caught up with finals and was pretty sick for a little over a week, so it was honestly on the back of my mind (also why I opted out driving to pick up the yeast).

As far as how I believe I messed up the rehydration process, I rehydrated the yeast ~45 minutes before I added it into the wort. So I assumed they all died out because I recall reading there is a small time window in which you should add the yeast into the wort so that they do not die.


http://imgur.com/qjgpT

http://i.imgur.com/XweNE.jpg