Delayed fermentation

Did second AG last week. Split batch with my son. Used liquid ale yeast (Wyeth, I think). Only variables were that he put his in carboy, mine in plastic bucket and temperature. I put mine in cellar (about 64 degrees) --- after week no fermentation, gravity reading the same.. My son's started fermenting after a day or two. Brought mine upstairs today, swirled it around and bubbling started. What effect does a delayed fermentation have. This has been sitting 6 days , I guess in it's original state from the brew pot since the yeast hasn't done anything. I guess it's like pitching the yeast a week later.

6 days is along time with no signs of fermentation. I would pitch a new batch of yeast and see what happens, taste and smell it, if it funny you should dump it. Fermentation is everything after the boil. Aeration, Temp, Pitch rate, Health of yeast are to me the 4 most important things to try and get nailed down. Good luck and tell us how it turns out for you.

It looks like it kicked in now. It's still bubbling after an hour upstairs. I'll see what happens when it's done. One good thing. I can compare it to my son's batch which started fermenting right away.

six days is sorta longish, but don't dump it, especially if it's bubbling now.

did you guys split the vial of yeast too?

uglygoat said:

six days is sorta longish, but don't dump it, especially if it's bubbling now.

did you guys split the vial of yeast too?

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no, we used separate vials, we made about 11 gallons

assuming sanitation was perfect, a few extra days of lag time is of no significance. the main reasons for wanting fermentation to kick off quickly are:

1. the sooner the yeast takes hold the less likely other bad things will take hold
2. fast acting yeast at the right temperature means a full conversion of sugar to alcohol, minimal yeast stress, and thus minimal off flavors from phenols and esters
3. its a slow enough process to go from grain to tastey beverage...so reducing lag time just helps it get in our belly faster

I don't know that yeast strain, but 64 sounds really cold. Most ale yeast perform best between 68 and 70 degrees. The only question now is can you wake enough yeast up to ferment it down to the FG you are looking for. Bringing temp up and giving it a good swirl were good decisions.

Eastside....

To prevent this happening again with liquid yeasts, you should do two things:
1. Always check the manufacturing date (Wyeast) or sell by date (White labs). Never buy a yeast that's more than 3 months old, or past it's sell by date. If you are paying top dollar for a quality product, you are entitled to get it fresh.
2. Always make a starter. This not only proves that the yeast is viable, but also increases the cell count.
I've had several batches of yeast that have taken their time to get going, and just postponed the brew for a week or so to ensure that the yeasts were healthy and active at pitching time.

-a.

Eastside Brewer said:

I don't know that yeast strain, but 64 sounds really cold. Most ale yeast perform best between 68 and 70 degrees. The only question now is can you wake enough yeast up to ferment it down to the FG you are looking for. Bringing temp up and giving it a good swirl were good decisions.

Eastside....

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Many yeasts will perform at a colder temperature and will make a cleaner tasting beer at the lower temperature. Wyeast has a good chart that was available at some homebrew shops a few years ago. I thought that 68-70 was the optimal temp, but learned that many perform better at lower temperatures. Some people start at 68 or so and then lower the temp.

I often ferment at 62-65 for my ales, they taste great! I will typically pitch the yeast a little warmer though, just to get things going.

PNWgirl said:

I often ferment at 62-65 for my ales, they taste great! I will typically pitch the yeast a little warmer though, just to get things going.

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All yeasts or just certain strains?

I would probably not say "all" yeasts, all the time, but I often do with 1056 and any hefeweizen's that I don't want the banana clove flavor from

Good Morning - I am currently in the process of making my first batch. I had bought some supplies off Craigslist and the guy had a Northern Brewer Phat Tyre kit that he said was a couple years old. I bought a new yeast for it, Wyeast, Belgian Ale, I believe and got going on it.

I took the yeast out of the fridge and activated it. I let it sit for approx. 4 hours while I finished the brew and got everything else ready. It said on the package that it did not have to be fully expanded when added to the wort, and it wasn't. The wort and yeast are in a 6 gallon primary bucket with lid and airlock. After 24 hours no bubbling and I did not open the lid. After 48 hours, it appears that the liquid in the airlock has risen more to one side of the s curve but still no bubbling. Again, I did not open the lid. Should I give it a stir, pitch a new yeast, or just wait a little bit longer?

Remember, absolutely zero experience here, so any help is appreciated!

Oh, and temp in the room I have it is 70 - 72F, Thanks

LittleBearGameFarm22 said:

Good Morning - I am currently in the process of making my first batch. I had bought some supplies off Craigslist and the guy had a Northern Brewer Phat Tyre kit that he said was a couple years old. I bought a new yeast for it, Wyeast, Belgian Ale, I believe and got going on it.

I took the yeast out of the fridge and activated it. I let it sit for approx. 4 hours while I finished the brew and got everything else ready. It said on the package that it did not have to be fully expanded when added to the wort, and it wasn't. The wort and yeast are in a 6 gallon primary bucket with lid and airlock. After 24 hours no bubbling and I did not open the lid. After 48 hours, it appears that the liquid in the airlock has risen more to one side of the s curve but still no bubbling. Again, I did not open the lid. Should I give it a stir, pitch a new yeast, or just wait a little bit longer?

Remember, absolutely zero experience here, so any help is appreciated!

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Bucket lids are notorious for leaking just a little so the airlock doesn't bubble. If you are worried, open the lid carefully and look for brown bubbly stuff. If you have that, the yeast are at work so carefully replace the lid.

BTW, I have one bucket that always bubbles the airlock, one that never does, and one that sometimes does.

You can make good beer at 70 - 72 but you can make better beer if it is cooler for the first few days. Look for "swamp cooler" on here and see if it would work for you.

Thanks for the info. Popped the top on it last night and had a nice, bubbling foam cap, just nothing coming through the airlock.