Trappist

I've had a batch on Wyeast Trappist for 24 hours with no signs of fermentation at all, the Smack Pack was made Sept. 2011, and when activated, never swelled(I waited 3 hours, then pitched @ 70 deg.) Is this yeast slow or should I repitch? In my experiece, Wyeast usually goes nuts around 10-12 hours. Not sure what to do.

I don't think 3 hours is adequate to call a smack pack "not going to swell", nor is 24 hours enough time to judge a fermentation. Give it time young padiwan. 72 hours before worrying is the golden rule.

No sign means no krausen, dropped gravity, churning of the yeast, or just no bubble in the air lock?

Give it 48 hours at least. Look for krausen to form. If you think nothing is happening, take a gravity reading (after 48 hours). Because of a bad lid I have had a beer ferment without a single bubble as the gas was escaping elsewhere. Relax, give it another day.

Batch size?

underground and under the influence

Thanks guys, it's a six gal. batch and there's no krausen, no churning and no pressure differential in airlock (double bubble).

I vote for a bad seal on the bucket. I had a small hunk of wood stuck in the gasket for a couple batches once.

Didn't anyone teach you not to put your wood in the beer?

What did you brew? If it was a high gravity 1.065+ Dubbel, Tripel, or Quad those yeast are busy reproducing. If so go with a large starter next time if you want to see reduced lag time.

solbes said:

What did you brew? If it was a high gravity 1.065+ Dubbel, Tripel, or Quad those yeast are busy reproducing. If so go with a large starter next time if you want to see reduced lag time.

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+1 on the starter

Wellkommen to phencity!

Gotta get a starter on that given how long the yeast will be at work. Stressing them this early is a nono.

solbes said:

What did you brew? If it was a high gravity 1.065+ Dubbel, Tripel, or Quad those yeast are busy reproducing. If so go with a large starter next time if you want to see reduced lag time.

Click to expand...

It's a 1.070 ginger, I got another SP, it's been activated now for 5 hours with no sign of swelling. I spoke to Wyeast, they said the Trappist shouldn't take this long to swell and the product has been compromised. The brewshop is closed, so it will be tomarrow night before I can get more yeast. I hope the wort will keep until then, I'm starting to freak out.

Id consider mixing strains!

Are you sure you broke the internal pouch with the yeast nutrients? I usually double check after I pitch. Sometimes its more diffucult to do. If not, I could understand the activator not swelling much, if at all. But the yeast will still work if the pouch is not broken.

I still would not freak out. 1.07 is pretty high gravity for a single activator pack to ferment. With all that sugar, there are a lot of yeast cells that will be needed for the job. During reproduction, it can often appear as if nothing is going on. I'm assuming you aerated the wort well prior to or after pitching?