Forgot to aerate the wort

I did not aerate the wort and to make matters worse the water added to the wort was boiled (and cooled). it's been 2 days now and there is very minimal activity (no bubbling of the airlock). Can I aerate the wort at this stage ? or should I just leave it alone.

Do you have an original gravity reading and the present gravity? I'm not sure I'm qualified to advise you either way but that info might help.

i did not measure the original specific gravity ..

Make sure everything is sealed up tight (the lid to the bucket or the rubber stopper on your carboy) and make sure your at the right temp for fermentation. Fermentation can take a few days to start so wait a bit and see what happens.

motogod said:

i did not measure the original specific gravity ..

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The only thing I can take from this is that you just don't care.





Honestly I find that I obsess over the numbers. It's just what I do.

As for your beer, I didn't aerate my first beer and I still enjoyed immensely. Don't sweat it too much, just live and learn.

edit: I just thought of something. If there really has been that little activity, does anyone else think this might be a good candidate for a tiny tiny tiny bit of olive oil? Allow the yeast to grow without risking oxidation. A slightly risky treatment but it just might work. I think I might just sanitize a pin, dip it halfway into olive oil, and either swirl it around or just drop it in (and don't forget it's there) Discussed at length here.

this is my first time, i forgot to measure the specific gravity and forgot the aerate the wort. I basically did exactly what the kit said.

You did not mention if it is in a carboy or pail? A pail can leak CO2 thru the lid seal and not show in the air lock. Can you see signs of a krausen (foam on the top of the wort)? Rock the carboy/keg to roust the yeast. It may take a day to get going. Try to keep it 70F and after it gets going try to keep it at 65F to 67F but no lower if you have the resources.

It's a pail, yes there is foam on top. I think i'll just leave it alone as suggested, may be give it a bit of a shake to wake up the yeast.

Thanks

motogod said:

It's a pail, yes there is foam on top. I think i'll just leave it alone as suggested, may be give it a bit of a shake to wake up the yeast.

Thanks

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Go easy on it if you touch it at all. The foam is a good indication that fermentation is beginning. I'll bet it will be bubbling away this time tomorrow.

the wort looks and sounds completely dead now .. it's been 4 days .. is there anything i can do .. or should I just leave it along for 10 days and see how it tastes ?

If you had foam, you had fermentation...THere is actually a lot of debate as to wheter aeration of wort is even necessary (as opposed to aeration of a yeast starter.) Lot of people don't aerate like Coastarine said and their beers turned out fine.

Leave it for 10 days and take a reading.

You have N00b-itus, that is all...Relax, you beer will be fine.



If you didn't pitch your yeast into boiling water, or let your fermenter drop below the yeast's temp range...then they're doing their jobs.

motogod said:

...is there anything i can do...

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Take a gravity reading!:fro:

If you don't have a hydrometer you should get one. Only a couple bucks, and while it doesn't allow you to hear what the yeast are saying, it does give you some indication of what's happening in the beer, not to mention it lets you feel like you're doing something, thereby satiating that restless feeling.

I too recently forgot to aerate my wort. The beer turned up fine. Though I realize that it started up rather slow. Usually when I use Nottinghams, there will be activity in just under 12 hours. But however for this particular brew, I had activity only after 36 hours or so.

thanks,
i am going to leave it alone and pretend it does not exist for the next few days ... it's going to be pretty hard though ..

motogod said:

thanks,
i am going to leave it alone and pretend it does not exist for the next few days ... it's going to be pretty hard though ..

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It get's easier with time.

McKBrew said:

It get's easier with time.

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I just made an account on this website to congratulate you, 7 years late, on an absolutely fantastic pun, I hope many beers have been brewed since then,

Also, thank you everyone in this thread for the information this was one of the first links on google after realizing I didn't aerate my beer and panicking, this has reassured me that it might not be a disaster,

Apologies if this is against forum rules for reviving a dead thread but it seems like a useful topic and is extremely high on the google search engine optimization algorithm,

Thanks again,

- a new and interested member of the forum,