How long to wait?

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ohiodad

ohiodad

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O.k. Yesterday I brewed using the Northern Brewer Porter kit. Brew looked and smelled great. Used the Wyeast Smack Pack.. Big one of Ringwood yeast. Today almost 24 hours later still no bubbles in the airlock. How long do I wait before I toss in some dry? And if I need to can anyone recommend some kind of dry yeast that will get close to the same results? I'm fairly new and just learning my way around brewing..
Cheers!
Scott
 
This is a common question. I am fairly new as well, but I think most people will tell you to wait it out a little longer.

some questions: How long between smacking the yeast and pitching it to your wort? Did you create a starter with the smackpack or just pitch it in your wort?

by answering a few of these questions the experts will be able to better help you.
 
I brewed up my first batch on Sunday and didn't have any airlock activity until Wednesday night. Since then it's been rolling steady.

I asked the same question and general consensus seemed to be wait at least 72 hours before adding more yeast.

The guys around here are full of great advice the best of which I've found is RDWHAHB (Relax Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew)

Good luck :tank:
 
Matt Foley said:
This is a common question. I am fairly new as well, but I think most people will tell you to wait it out a little longer.

some questions: How long between smacking the yeast and pitching it to your wort? Did you create a starter with the smackpack or just pitch it in your wort?

by answering a few of these questions the experts will be able to better help you.
Click to expand...

No Starter.. I'm still trying to learn about those and the pack said I didn't need one.. I smacked it about 11AM and pitched it about 5:00PM.. It didn't swell quite as big as the last one that I used but it did swell some...
 
you're probably fine...wait another day. grab some dry yeast to keep around the house in case this or other brews go 72 hours or so without any activity.

read up on starters, they're handy with letting you know your yeast is viable and they'll reduce lag time. and they're really, really easy ;)
 
agree, prolly just fine...its just lag phase. next time, smack the pouch a full 24 hours in advance if you're not making a true starter.
There are two sizes of smack packs...one really really needs a starter, the other you can get by as long as the yeast is still fresh.
you can't go wrong with a starter in either situation though.
 
your pack should easily swell within 6 hours...if you're going to go 24 hours in advance you might as well make a starter. here's how i do it:

bring to a boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat and mix in 1/2 cup of DME.

boil for 10 minutes, then cool to below 80 degrees

pour into sanitized 1000 mL beaker and fill with 75 degree (clean) water to about 800 mL

cover with aluminum foil and give it a good swirl every 30 minutes for the next day(every time you walk past it) to aerate it and keep the yeast in suspension.

you should see it develop a krausen. now you know your yeast is good to go and you've just greatly increased your yeast cell count!

hope this helps :mug:
 
DeathBrewer said:
your pack should easily swell within 6 hours...if you're going to go 24 hours in advance you might as well make a starter. here's how i do it:

bring to a boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat and mix in 1/2 cup of DME.

boil for 10 minutes, then cool to below 80 degrees

pour into sanitized 1000 mL beaker and fill with 75 degree (clean) water to about 800 mL

cover with aluminum foil and give it a good swirl every 30 minutes for the next day(every time you walk past it) to aerate it and keep the yeast in suspension.

you should see it develop a krausen. now you know your yeast is good to go and you've just greatly increased your yeast cell count!

hope this helps :mug:
Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch!! I found a link above where someone builds one in a brewpub growler and I think that will work best for me probably... I don't have a lot of flasks laying around.. Anyway.. I've past the 24 hour mark and still no bubbles :-( I hope it is still live!
 
a growler will work good, just make sure you cover that sucker with aluminum foil...don't cap the top...you want to let a bit of air get in (but still keep contaminants out)

i'm sure your beer is fine, dude ;) just you wait.
 
You also didn't mention if you aerated the wort well before pitching your yeast. I've always used the "shake the hell out of the carboy" as I ferment in a carboy, others find other ways to get oxygen into their wort once its cooled down near pitching temps. It really helps to give the yeast a kickstart.

On top of that, I had a batch of Ringwood that was really slow once. I checked the date on the package and it was 9 months old. So if you are buying your yeast from the LHBS always make sure to check the date!
 
I don't believe there is a dry yeast that will produce the results Ringwood does. Just wait a few more days.
 
Well good news!! This morning there are bubbles... Slower than usual bubbles but I'm seeing bubbles!! Looks like everything is going to be o.k. after all!! And yes to the poster that asked I shook the heck out of the bucket before I threw in the yeast.. I always do that... Hopefully I'm on my way to a good porter now!! God do I love porters!
 
Wow is this ever fermenting away today... Almost blew the airlock out of the bucket lid... It took a while to start but it is lookin good today!! Thanks everyone for encouraging me to wait it out!
 
I am just a noob, but by listening to others, i would wait three days standard. If nothing after three, then pitch a dry.
 
Good thing for this site. I've been brewing now two years, something like 18 beers, and never had an issue with yeast until my last one. I'll give it one more day and then pitch a dry yeast. Hopefully it will work out though, since it's a Belgian dubbel and so much depends on the yeast.
 

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