Wyeast 3068 Not Responding

I ordered 2 smack packs of Wyeast 3068 from Northern Brewer for a Hefeweizen. I pitched on Saturday the 9th and there has been hardly any activity. When the yeast arrived at my house it had an ice pack between the two packages inside of the box, but it had completely melted and was warm (so I was already a bit concerned). I put both yeast packages in the fridge for a few days and then activated them (at room temperature) about 6 hours before pitching. Should I still expect something to happen? Is it just really delayed b/c of the temp fluctuation in went through? Should I go buy some other yeast and pitch that? Any suggestions or ideas would be most appreciated!

Did the smack packs swell after you activated them? If so there was viable yeast present but really no way of knowing how many cells between the two packs. Also, was your wort cooled down to fermentation temps before you pitched? If it was too hot, it could have shocked the yeast.
I have used this yeast in a Hefe before and had a lot of activity within 24hrs at about 68 degrees ambient temp.
Regardless, the best way to ensure a good pitch is to make a starter. It's pretty easy and will help you get active fermentation going quickly after pitching. Check out DeathBrewer's "How To Make A Yeast Starter" thread here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/
Cheers!

Both packs swelled and the wort temp was correct when I pitched. Any suggestions about what I should do at this point?

d4rren said:

Both packs swelled and the wort temp was correct when I pitched. Any suggestions about what I should do at this point?

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If it really has been 4 days, you could be out of luck. Your best bet is to get some danstar Munich and cross your fingers. Do you have a local store you can get yeast at quickly?

1) have you checked you SG, is it dropping?

2) did you get something in your fermenter that would kill the yeast? cleaner etc.

3) was you yeast warming at the same temp as you were going to pitch?

4) essentially yeast needs food, nutrients, O2, the right temperature and right PH. In infected batch isn't going to stop the yeast, that will only mess up the flavor of the beer.

The thing is, if you had smack packs that were bulging, you 100% had yeast ready to go. Hefe don't need much O2. Could there be some chemical in your brew process or major issue with wort?

That said, dump any dry yeast you can get your hands on ASAP and see if you can save it.

jermanimal said:

That said, dump any dry yeast you can get your hands on ASAP and see if you can save it.

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First off check to make sure you lid is on tight and snapped on right. If you want to see airlock activity.
But what I would do is check the SG. See if it has changed. If not then buy more 3068 and repitch.
I bet your beer is fine

Without a hydrometer reading, you'll never KNOW what's going on.if it hasn't changed in 5 days, it's time to repitch!

3068 is usually so foamy and frothy, it doesn't seem plausible strain to stealth ferment. Did you dose it with ferm cap? What temp is at now?

starman said:

3068 is usually so foamy and frothy, it doesn't seem plausible strain to stealth ferment. Did you dose it with ferm cap? What temp is at now?

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I second this, it should be going crazy blowing off the top.

jermanimal said:

I second this, it should be going crazy blowing off the top.

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While I agree, I am profoundly confused by the reluctance of many HBT'ers to do a simple test. Many will spend the money on more yeast w/o knowing whether it's truly necessary. Heck, in the time it takes to post here, you can know for certain! Just confused. /rant

Ok do your test, but it is irrelevant if you don't have krauzen on an ale. It is obvious if you have populations of yeast propagating. You can not accidentally have fermentation, in a hefe with that yeast, IT WILL BE MUNCHING SUGAR LIKE MAD.

If you keep dipping into sugary unfermented wort and done see any thick white foam on top, your yeast isn't doing anything. Repeatedly testing and especially testing for no reason is a very bad idea. Every time you open that fermenter you open the chances of letting the baddies in.

I agree that 24 hours is too early to start freaking out and buying yeast. But 4-5 days, getting more yeast is critical.

Ok do your test, but it is irrelevant if you don't have krauzen on an ale. It is obvious if you have populations of yeast propagating. You can not accidentally have fermentation, in a hefe with that yeast, IT WILL BE MUNCHING SUGAR LIKE MAD.

If you keep dipping into sugary unfermented wort and done see any thick white foam on top, your yeast isn't doing anything. Repeatedly testing and especially testing for no reason is a very bad idea. Every time you open that fermenter you open the chances of letting the baddies in.

I agree that 24 hours is too early to start freaking out and buying yeast. But 4-5 days, getting more yeast is critical.

A) sanitation us important no matter what
B) I advocated ONE test as a general rule

We can agree to disagree on this one. I would rather not touch the beer or wort if I don't have to.

I like to use a glass carboy, because I can see what is going on. I like using a 1 piece bubbler, because you can see if there is pressure in the fermenter. Pending temperature fluctuations, the pressure will start to build before they yeast starts to propagate at top of wort.

Closely monitoring the SG is much more useful in determining if a beer has stalled out then if it is started. Testing at this point is much safer too because there is a CO2 barrier over the beer and alcohol is present.

I am all for testing and monitoring the process, but at that critical point were the sugar is ripe to get eaten by bacteria or yeast, I need a real good reason to check SG.

So, to make things more interesting... I just checked the gravity and it is down to 1014 from 1045. I have kept it about 68 degrees. I threw in a picture as well in case that reveals anything to anyone. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you in advance...

That looks like krausen to me. I think you have beer. Congrats!

d4rren said:

So, to make things more interesting... I just checked the gravity and it is down to 1014 from 1045. I have kept it about 68 degrees. I threw in a picture as well in case that reveals anything to anyone. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you in advance...

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@jermanimal~ perhaps now you see my point. One test = clarity. Of course, your beer is your beer & YMMV, etc.

@d4rren~looks like you're in good shape! Cheers!

I am happy, but it is very weird b/c I never witnessed any activity out of the airlock. I pitched at about 10:30pm Saturday night and checked in at about 5:00pm on Sunday (I was out the whole day). Could it have finished that quickly? I have never had anything like that happen before.

I had the same problem with my last IPA. I gave the bucket a good shake and the airlock started to bubble hours later. After that it took about two and a half weeks to finish fermenting. Beer turned out ok in the end.

d4rren said:

I am happy, but it is very weird b/c I never witnessed any activity out of the airlock. I pitched at about 10:30pm Saturday night and checked in at about 5:00pm on Sunday (I was out the whole day). Could it have finished that quickly? I have never had anything like that happen before.

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There are many threads or comments here about this. I use a mix of carboys and buckets. It's not unusual for my buckets to show no airlock activity b/c the fitting isn't as tight. My carboys, by contrast, have shown bubbling almost every time b/c the bung makes a tighter seal.

Regardless, however, I try to suggest that people get used to taking hydro readings when they need to KNOW. With proper sanitation, there is little danger IME.

d4rren said:

I am happy, but it is very weird b/c I never witnessed any activity out of the airlock. I pitched at about 10:30pm Saturday night and checked in at about 5:00pm on Sunday (I was out the whole day). Could it have finished that quickly? I have never had anything like that happen before.

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I made a Barleywine a month or two ago that went from 1.102 to 1.020 in about 80 hours. Wheat beers are known to be ferocious and quick fermenters, so it seems plausible to me that it was largely done in a relatively short period of time.

piratwolf said:

there are many threads or comments here about this. I use a mix of carboys and buckets. It's not unusual for my buckets to show no airlock activity b/c the fitting isn't as tight. My carboys, by contrast, have shown bubbling almost every time b/c the bung makes a tighter seal.

Regardless, however, i try to suggest that people get used to taking hydro readings when they need to know. With proper sanitation, there is little danger ime.

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+1

Any one who makes beer did not for any reason need the check the SG of that beer to see if the yeast was going. That photo is 100% all you need.

It is actually almost done looks like the yeast is starting to slow. 1 to 1.5 weeks and you are ready to let or bottle.

I stand by what I said before.

I would bet last Monday you had a very good fermentation going and your bucket lid wasn't sealing well. This totally doesn't matter, btw.

Even with a bucket you can see activity without openong it if you stick a flash light on the other side.

Thank you for the help/comments everyone. If I remember, I will post about the final outcome.

I used this one recently and it was a sneaky little bugger. I thought my starter was dead because there was no activity. Little did I know this yeast is so aggressive it must have fermented out in less than 24 hours or so and I missed seeing the activity. Then when I pitched for real, visible fermentation was done in less than 36 hours. Sneaky.

jermanimal said:

Any one who makes beer did not for any reason need the check the SG of that beer to see if the yeast was going. That photo is 100% all you need.

It is actually almost done looks like the yeast is starting to slow. 1 to 1.5 weeks and you are ready to let or bottle.

I stand by what I said before.

I would bet last Monday you had a very good fermentation going and your bucket lid wasn't sealing well. This totally doesn't matter, btw.

Even with a bucket you can see activity without openong it if you stick a flash light on the other side.

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That is exactly what I thought when I saw that picture. I had something similar happen to me with Safale US-04. The problem was me. I didn't get the lid on the bucket good enough. Lifted the lid and immediately saw signs of fermentation. Got the lid on better and the air lock started popping away.