No fermentation happening...

I'm sure this isn't the first time this issues has come up and won't be the last here at HBT but after brewing my vanilla bean stout (vanilla bean to be added in the secondary...so it ain't in there yet) on Saturday evening, I'm not seeing Amy activity. This is my fifth batch (I hope I know what I'm doing by now), my OG was spot on with what the recipe expected, and I used White Labs liquid yeast, which I've never had a problem with before.

Any ideas anyone? I'm really excited to rack to secondary and add the two, freshly split vanilla beans to make this stout stand out.

Thanks!

What kind of activity have you looked for? Do you see any krausen? Have you taken a hydrometer reading? Sniffed the fermenter (if you get a nice burn in your nostrils, that's CO2)

Firstly, I think that if your gravity was good, and you didn't pitch WAY too hot, you've made a good place for the yeast to live. I doubt the entire vial of White Labs was bad, so even if the number of cells was reduced substantially, the odds are vastly in favor of fermentation. if, however, the number of cells is small, it can take a while to get started.

If you give them food, and you pitch a few cells, the yeast WILL reproduce and ferment your beer. As long as your temp is not too high, or too low, anyway.

I'm guessing if you take a reading, it should be dropping.

What temperature was the wort when you pitched?

What temperature is it now?

How/where did you get your yeast? Did you have it shipped or buy locally? If you purchased local, then just relax and give it some more time. If you had it shipped to you, it could have gotten too hot in shipping, like my last order did.

The only activity that means anything is points on a hydrometer.

The temp of the wort was around 80-degrees, so think that would have been fine. There is no Krasuan forming yet. I plan on re-pitching tomorrow. I get my stuff local and not the mail.

Oh yeah...the temp now is around 74-76 degrees.

Revvy said:

The only activity that means anything is points on a hydrometer.

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Revvy's shortest response EVER.

white_nite said:

The temp of the wort was around 80-degrees, so think that would have been fine. There is no Krasuan forming yet. I plan on re-pitching tomorrow. I get my stuff local and not the mail.

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80 is like the highest you would ever want it to be. Ya I'd say try re-pitching. The thermostrip may have said 80, but you could have been pushing 85 or 90 and killed the yeast.

How long has it been again?

Have you taken a gravity reading to see if it is indeed not fermenting?

I brewed Sunday night and I haven't taken another reading. If there is any fermentation going on...it is so little that it's not making the airlock bubble at all.

I'm re-pitching today. Maybe I killed the yeast (poor little yeast...never had a chance) but I thought 80-degrees was ok.

Airlock activity is irrevelent. Just gravity points on a hydrometer.
Airlock bubbling (or lack) and fermentation are not the same thing. You have to separate that from your mindset. Airlock bubbling can be a sign of fermentation, but not a good one, because the airlock will often blip or not blip for various other reasons...so it is a tenuous connection at best.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years.

That's why you need to take a gravity reading to know how your fermentation is going, NOT go by airlocks, or size of krausen, or a calendar, the horoscope or the phases of the moon (those things in my mind are equally accurate).

The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

80-90F will NOT kill the yeast. It might stress the yeast and produce off flavors, but it wouldn't prevent fermentation. I pitched my first-evet beer at around 90F, and while it's not a great beer, fermentation had no trouble taking off. FWIW...

jsweet said:

80-90F will NOT kill the yeast. It might stress the yeast and produce off flavors, but it wouldn't prevent fermentation. I pitched my first-evet beer at around 90F, and while it's not a great beer, fermentation had no trouble taking off. FWIW...

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Hmmm... this is good to know. I was under the impression they would die off past 80 or so.

Perhaps maybe you have some kind of air leak? Take a hydrometer reading and see where it's at. The seal around the airlock could be leaking, or the airlock itself could be cracked...

Yeast like 80 or so temps. They also produce off flavors at that temp. I've fermented a Saison at around 90 or so. That's getting up there for most ale yeast though.

Honestly, I think you did everything right, so I'd be surprised if you didn't have fermentation, even if you don't really see signs of it. Unless the vial of yeast got killed somehow.

Check your gravity before you panic. The temperature you pitched at shouldn't have been so high it killed the yeast, and some times you just don't immediately see krausen or airlock bubbling for whatever reason (especially if the yeast is old).

Keep in mind it's quite possible you just plain ol' got bad yeast. Could have been an old vial that slipped detection, could have been left out in the sun by accident, could have somehow gotten cooked while being transported, etc. Once in awhile these things happen and nothing can be done about it.

Like Revvy and many others have said - take a hydro reading. And ALWAYS keep dry yeast on hand just in case you DO have a stuck fermentation. Starters always help to kick off fermentation quickly, as does aerating your wort thoroughly before pitching. You'll be fine, but I'd highly suggest a stater and lots of aeration in the future. The yeast strain will also determine whether you have a vigorous (ie noticeable) or mild fermentation.

unionrdr said:

But it seems to me I read that yeast don't start dieing of heat stroke till 105F or so?...

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120, really. And it's not like they all die at once. I've rehydrated at 110F and got a healthy fermentation and great beer (I do think it's important to pitch at 70F or even lower, but you can rehydrate pretty damn hot without much issue)

Thanks for all the input and advice! It sounds like Revvy is passionate about hydrometer readings! . Seriously, good stuff Revvy...and on your blog post.

So, I've god good news (and sorry that I didn't post sooner). My brew is happy! It took almost four days but the evening of the third day...I heard the music that all us home-brewers live for...the gurgling of the airlock. I know that I could and maybe even should have taken a hydro reading but you all know the comforting feeling that bubbling sound is, right?

It first started out very slow and then, like I would normally expect after 24 hours or so, it took off (not as crazy as I've experienced before--some of you gave me good advice back then). The "Special K" wasn't as high as I'd like but like Revvy and others have said, trust the hydro reading. I expect that I'll need to leaving my brew in the primary for a week long than I planned to make up for the slow start.

Anyway, thanks again and I'll let y'all know how the fresh-split vanilla beans turn out in the secondary...I can't wait!