Did i kill my yeast?

I Know this is an age old question.. but its new to me. Ill start of by saying my LHBS could not sell me a hydrometer. So i realize im up to the plate without a bat at this point. I compleated the broiling process, added my yeast, dry yeast. its been two days and ive seen limited bubbles coming from the air lock, but when i look inside the bucket i cant see anything forming. Its Wheat Beer im trying to make with ale yeast, so i thought i would be seeing foam start to form like i did when i brewed my American Ale. Im thinking of just adding another packet of the same type of yeast in. is everything normal or did i somehow murder my yeast?

Fermentation can take a few days to start. What temp was the wort when you pitched yeast?

ultimatly you really need a hydrometer asap so you can check. Normally if you take a reading and your at say 1.056 and then you check again in a day and its still at that number you know nothings going on. And there pretty cheap.
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=801

If your wort was over 80 degrees that degrades greatly the ability of your yeast. I would hydrate some of the dry yeast for a half day or so in some springwater and then pitch it in. If you want you could also make a starter for your next batch at least.
http://www.hbd.org/uchima/yeaststart/yeaststart.html
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

good luck

scinerd3000 said:

If you want you could also make a starter for your next batch at least.

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+1. Since I started making starters my lag time between pitching and the beginning of fermentation has gone from 2-3 days to withing 12 hrs.

If you use a plastic fermenter, you could open it up just a bit and peek inside. You can very reliably tell if fermentation has taken place by the formation of the sludgy stuff around the top of the wort. If it's there, seal it up again and leave it alone. If that's happened, if you let it sit in the primary for three or four weeks, even without a hydrometer, you can be pretty certain it will be ready to bottle. Check Papazian on this if you need further reassurance.

SteveM said:

If you use a plastic fermenter, you could open it up just a bit and peek inside. You can very reliably tell if fermentation has taken place by the formation of the sludgy stuff around the top of the wort. If it's there, seal it up again and leave it alone. If that's happened, if you let it sit in the primary for three or four weeks, even without a hydrometer, you can be pretty certain it will be ready to bottle. Check Papazian on this if you need further reassurance.

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thats usually true but i would definitively recommend getting a hydrometer. There a pain in the ass sometimes to take that extra step but its also the only way you can find out how much alcohol % you produced by taking the difference between gravity at the beginning and end.

You'll pretty much find all your answers hear...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=74520

They will all pretty much come down to this answer...fermentation can take up to 72 hours to start, your airlock should never be used as an indicator of fermentation or lack of, unless you pitched into boiling water you didn't kill your yeast, your beer is hardier than you think it is, the yeasts are alive and have their own timeframe, and you just need to relax!!!

Revvy said:

... and you just need to relax!!!

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And if you find yourself stressing, read this one over once more.