Obligatory Freak Out Thread

Hi all-

Didnt think I would be writing one of these posts but I am starting to find my resolve is not what I thought it was. My first batch is an IPA and I brewed on Monday. I rehydrated and proofed my yeast and it showed clear signs of activity before pitching(foaming, bubbles). On Weds I brewed a Wheat beer and again repeated the process. The yeast was barely showing any signs. NOt near the foam or bubbles. However, when I looked closely I could see some small bubbles and activity. So I went ahead and pitched, aerated and put cap and airlock on. Since my first batch showed great airlock activity in the first 15-20 hours I am a little concerned that I have none with my latest batch. I also took a gravity reading a half hour ago and it had not changed since the OG reading(1.049). Should I repitch or wait it out another 24 hrs or so?? Thanks much for puting up with another newb.

-Chase

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

RDWHAHB

You could re-pitch now if you want, without any harm. But like a lot of people say, it can take ~3 days to start getting fermentation.

Also, all fermentations are different, so don't worry there.

Also, IPA's tend to start faster because of their higher gravities.

And finally, good for you for taking a hydro reading to confirm that fermentation hasn't really kicked off!

Man I love this forum. Posted, took a shower and come back to find two great responses. Thanks a lot. I'm leaning toward waiting it out another day then repitching if that won't harm anything. No use wasting good yeast if I don't have to. Thanks for the responses!

dont worry, i have made about 10 batches so far and two of them took almost 72 hours to start fermenting, and i followed the same procedure each time., go figure. scared the crap out of me though.

My fermentations never take more than 48 hours to get started (with one Notty exception). At 48 hours, I'd pitch more yeast (if I had it).

But I wouldn't worry, I'd be relaxed, and I'd be drinking a homebrew while doing it

passedpawn said:

My fermentations never take more than 48 hours to get started (with one Notty exception). At 48 hours, I'd pitch more yeast (if I had it).

But I wouldn't worry, I'd be relaxed, and I'd be drinking a homebrew while doing it

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I have had some yeasts take a few days to start showing activity. I just don't worry about it at all anymore. If I don't see anything for a week and I check it and there's no drop in gravity...THEN I would start thinking about repitching.

I don't think that you need to see bubbles when rehydrating. You are just making the yeast wet at that point.

John

Just an update. Repitched last night around 9pm Woe up this morning to a beautifully bubbling fermenter. Is it bad that that probably made my day??

Not at all. It is the hightlight of my day whenever I wake up to a bubbling airlock or blowoff. Just another hint... start sniffing your airlock to get that next fix.

Just out of curiosity, what was the temp in your fermenter during the time that you saw no action?

The temp for fermentation in my basement is aroun 69-70 degrees.

passedpawn said:

My fermentations never take more than 48 hours to get started (with one Notty exception). At 48 hours, I'd pitch more yeast (if I had it).

Click to expand...

Yeah exactly same here , My fermentation also takes 48 hours to get started.

The one time I used us-05, it took 48 hours to show any signs. I was surprised since I normally have crazy bubbles at 12 hours. I usually pitch an active starter though.