How long is wort good before pitching yeast

How long is wort good before pitching yeast? I was wondering this the other day while brewing up a batch this past weekend. Can you brew up some wort and store if for a day before pitching, or is the time frame a lot narrower?

I've heard of people waiting a couple days but have never done it myself. I don't see why there would be a problem as long as everything is sanatized very well and capped off from the outside world.

I just wasn't sure if the sugars would drop out or not, and if so how top fermenting yeast would react to all the sugars being on the bottom.

You can wait to pitch your yeast but you must keep in mind that wort is a prime environment for microorganisms to flourish. In brewing beer, the only microorganism we want in our wort is yeast. If your sanatation methods are not up to par, you will invite some nasties to make a home in the wort and cause undesirable results ranging from off flavor to infections.

Some brewers will make a real wort starter if they are not chilling after the boil. This will require the wort to wait 24-48 hours after the boil until yeast is pitched. I've tried it once when I found myself with an unexpected brew day and no time to make a starter. Everything worked out fine.

Unless you have a real good reason for waiting, I'd pitch your yeast right away.

Grimm said:

I just wasn't sure if the sugars would drop out or not, and if so how top fermenting yeast would react to all the sugars being on the bottom.

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the sugar wont drop out. it doesn't work that way. the only reason sugar would drop out is if the water is over saturated with sugar which is not the case with a typical wort. the top fermenting yeast will still eat the sugars at the bottom of the carboy they float to the top when they load up on CO2 from fermentation. once on the top they will lose their CO2 bubble and sink back down to get more sugar and repeat the process.