No Activity at 24 hrs

I brewed up a batch of pale ale using Safale S-05.
I always make a quick starter when rehydrating dry yeast; 1 cup of tepid water with 2 tablespoons of honey. I pitch the yeast into the starter during the boil and by the time I pitch it into the wort there is nice activity in the starter.
I have brewed this same beer many times and I always see activity 12 - 24 hrs in. Not this time. There is no sign of activity and no krausen. Temp is about 65 degrees.

I have seen many similar posts here on HBT. Most end happily.

If there is no activity 36 hrs in, and the hydrometer hasn't moved can I re-pitch with more yeast or is this batch destined for the drain?

Davida said:

I brewed up a batch of pale ale using Safale S-05.
I always make a quick starter when rehydrating dry yeast; 1 cup of tepid water with 2 tablespoons of honey. I pitch the yeast into the starter during the boil and by the time I pitch it into the wort there is nice activity in the starter.
I have brewed this same beer many times and I always see activity 12 - 24 hrs in. Not this time. There is no sign of activity and no krausen. Temp is about 65 degrees.

I have seen many similar posts here on HBT. Most end happily.

If there is no activity 36 hrs in, and the hydrometer hasn't moved can I re-pitch with more yeast or is this batch destined for the drain?

Click to expand...

NO. No you shouldn't pitch more yeast and no it isn't headed for the drain. Yeast work on their schedule, not ours. If there is no sign of activity at 72 hours you can pitch more yeast but I think these yeasts are just being a little lazy. RDWHAHB

I would not recommend making any type of starter for dry yeast. Just rehydrate it in plain, pre-boiled water.

One of the best beers I ever made had a lag phase that lasted a full five days. As long as you are sanitary in your process, an extended lag phase is nothing to worry about.

Wouldn't you also want to let the starter work for at least 12-24 hours as well? The point of a starter is to help the yeast multiply and become active. If you are only letting the yeast munch for an hour or two you might as well just re hydrate the yeast and pitch it in. I always make starter and let them sit for a day and out of my 8-10 batches I have never had to wait any more than a few hours to see activity. I also use pure oxygen which also helps get a strong start.

biohaz7331 said:

Wouldn't you also want to let the starter work for at least 12-24 hours as well? The point of a starter is to help the yeast multiply and become active. If you are only letting the yeast munch for an hour or two you might as well just re hydrate the yeast and pitch it in. I always make starter and let them sit for a day and out of my 8-10 batches I have never had to wait any more than a few hours to see activity. I also use pure oxygen which also helps get a strong start.

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Dry yeast have many more cells than liquid yeast already. You can either hydrate it for 15min or longer, or just pitch it in directly.

Thanks for all the great feedback!
One thing I've learned brewing is that you can't rush.
Most threads I saw on HBT had fermentation being slow but working. I didn't see a thread that actually addressed if re-pitching was feasible.
I wasn't sure this could be done to save the brew.
I will wait the 72 hrs and see where it stands.

jflongo said:

Dry yeast have many more cells than liquid yeast already. You can either hydrate it for 15min or longer, or just pitch it in directly.

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Oh I did not realize dry yeast had more cells than liquid. So it still stands to question isn't there really no point in making a starter with dry yeast? Just that it needs re hydrated and then pitched? I would also just like to know for my own knowledge.

Davida said:

Thanks for all the great feedback!
One thing I've learned brewing is that you can't rush.
Most threads I saw on HBT had fermentation being slow but working. I didn't see a thread that actually addressed if re-pitching was feasible.
I wasn't sure this could be done to save the brew.
I will wait the 72 hrs and see where it stands.

Click to expand...

You sure can re-pitch to save the brew but there are very few times when that is necessary. I've seen a couple threads where the yeast was dumped into boiling water to hydrate which killed it and a re-pitch was needed. For most though, it is just a matter of waiting long enough for the yeast to get going or a reliance on the airlock to tell if it is fermenting which is a very poor indicator.

I am happy (and relieved) to report that I awoke yesterday to my airlock happily bubbling away. 48 hrs in IT IS ALIVE!
Now the waiting game begins. 2 weeks primary - 3 weeks secondary...
Thanks again for all the great advice!
:rockin:

Probably the best early indicator of yeast activity is cloudy wort. It will settle pretty clear pretty quickly but if the yeast are 'doing their thing' it will be cloudy from the yeast.