So, I brewed an AG on Friday. I bought my recipe from AHS and they shipped my stuff to me pretty quick. It was shipped out last Monday. I did decide to get the 'cold' pack thrown in with my yeast to keep them fresh. Maybe I was dreaming, but I figured they'd put it in a little dry ice container to keep them cool. That dang cold pack isn't worth two cent when it takes 5 days to get your recipe... in the summer.
Anyhoo... lesson learned, buy the yeast local...
So, I had an OG of 1.055 (shooting for 1.060) after it was all said and done. Brew session went great and chilled the wort w/ a counterflow chiller down to 78 - 80 degrees. I pitched the yeast, sealed my bucket and put it in the closet. It's been 75 in there for almost 5 days and very VERY little airlock activity. So, I called AHS today and they "yeah, your yeast cells are probably dead". They then suggested that I take another gravity reading to see if there was a leak in my fermenting bucket. For the record, there wasn't a leak in my bucket; the seal was pretty good.
I took a sample just a few minutes ago and my gravity is still at 1.055. There is a little off smell, not really a rotten smell but kinda like old, stale, nasty smelling beer coming from my sample. Now, I have never smelled any beer / wort before it has finished fermenting so this may be normal....
My question is if I go buy a new yeast vial and pitch it, what can I expect? Should I make a starter for it? Should I dump the batch because of this old / stale odor? I'm not real sure so I look to you guys for help.
Eric
Anyhoo... lesson learned, buy the yeast local...
So, I had an OG of 1.055 (shooting for 1.060) after it was all said and done. Brew session went great and chilled the wort w/ a counterflow chiller down to 78 - 80 degrees. I pitched the yeast, sealed my bucket and put it in the closet. It's been 75 in there for almost 5 days and very VERY little airlock activity. So, I called AHS today and they "yeah, your yeast cells are probably dead". They then suggested that I take another gravity reading to see if there was a leak in my fermenting bucket. For the record, there wasn't a leak in my bucket; the seal was pretty good.
I took a sample just a few minutes ago and my gravity is still at 1.055. There is a little off smell, not really a rotten smell but kinda like old, stale, nasty smelling beer coming from my sample. Now, I have never smelled any beer / wort before it has finished fermenting so this may be normal....
My question is if I go buy a new yeast vial and pitch it, what can I expect? Should I make a starter for it? Should I dump the batch because of this old / stale odor? I'm not real sure so I look to you guys for help.
Eric