5 gal maybe trashed

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pantherbrew

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I brewed a 5gal batch of Brown Nut ale on Saturday. It went into the primary around 5:00 at 9:00 I made the mistake of unplugging the lamp inside the freezer ( it is covered so light isnt a issue) the freezer dropped to 50 deg by Sunday morning at 9:00. I fixed the problem and checked today the freezer is holding at 69 but no bubbles yet. I used a white labs liqued yest. Should I just wait or what should i do.
 
Did you make a yeast starter for your WL liquid yeast? If not, then you'll likely have a long lag time anyway, regardless of temp. The cold temps probably shocked the yeast, but give them time, it didn't kill them. You should see activity within a few days. After 72 hours, if you still don't have anything, then you can start to think about repitching something else.
 
1) Bubbles mean nothing, don't use them as a reliable indicator of anything...Only use the hydrometer....Over 50% of my beers have no airlock action EVER.

2)Secondly the cooler temps put the yeasties to sleep, so they need to wake back up, they will eventually. I would kick the temps into the 70's for a few hours then back it down to your normal range, as well as gently swirling the fermenter to re-suspend the yeasties...

But even of you don't raise the temp, they will wake up eventually.

But remember airlock bubbling or lack thereof is NOT an indication of fermentation, it is simply and indicatation of excess co2...It is a BLOWOFF valve, not a "fermentation gauge." In your case since it was cool, the CO2 more than likely just sitting on top of the beer, so it doesn't need to VENT.
 
Unless you have a perfect seal on your fermenter, the CO2 will find an easier path out than through the airlock. That said, I'd still think the cool temps just put your yeasts in hibernation and they should kick start a few hours after it warms up (like maybe within 48?)
 
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