Please Help! First brew and no fermentation!

So first off here is my recipe, it was meant to be a Dunkelweizen. I apologize ahead of time if i've made any obvious mistakes. Thanks, any help is appreciated!

3.3lb bavarian wheat malt extract
3.3lb traditional dark malt extract
6oz carawheat malt crushed
3oz munich malt crushed
4oz roasted barley crushed
1.5oz Mt. Hood Hops
0.5oz "Wild Hops" - picked near my house
0.5 tsp Irish Moss
2.5 tsp Yeast Nutrient
Bavarian Weizen Wyeast Smack Pack

Timeline:
steep grains for 30mins
at t=0, mt. hood hops
at t=30, irish moss
at t=50, yeast nutrient
at t=55, wild hops for aroma

removed from burner, chilled in ice bath, waited for yeast and wort within 5 deg of each other (around 75 deg F) and pitched yeast

Has been sitting at between 64-68 deg F in carboy with airlock.
The OG was really high, at near 1.090
After 36hrs, still no bubbles and no top layer cake swimming on top of the beer.
What kind of beer is it? Guy at local brew store said 1.090 was a barley wine.
What should i do to still make this a beer?
If it is a barley wine, can i ferment it to a Dunkelweizen?

Thanks again,
-Chris

With an OG of 1.090, I think your hydrometer reading was wrong.

With 6.6 pounds of extract, and a few other grains, the OG was in the 1.048-1.050 area if you made a 5 gallon batch.

It looks like a dunkelweizen to me! If you still don't show any signs of fermentation in 72 hours, maybe take the SG again to be sure it hasn't fermented when you weren't looking.

It it gets to be 72 hours since you've added the yeast, and if it's still at 1.050 or so, you can purchase and add some fresh yeast.

What she said ^^^^. If you did a five gallon batch ( in other words, you ended up with five gallons in your fermenter) then your hydrometer reading is off - it cannot be accurate.

Also, take a look in the beginners forum and look for a sticky thread about not worrying if you don't see signs of active fermentation for a few days. It might also be in the fermentation forum - in any case, take a look for it and similar threads and you will find comfort and solace!

did you do a full boil or partial boil?

If you did a partial boil, and topped off, your wort probably wasn't properly mixed which is why you got a 1.090 reading.

thanks, i'll check it again soon. The brew supply store said to add some fresh yeast too, that might help as well.
Is the temperature fine? ^^^^^
How long do you think it will ferment?
Thanks again to all for the quick replies!
- Chris

TheGerman said:

thanks, i'll check it again soon. The brew supply store said to add some fresh yeast too, that might help as well.
Is the temperature fine? ^^^^^
How long do you think it will ferment?
Thanks again to all for the quick replies!
- Chris

Click to expand...

the temperature is fine. Check it in a day or two, and if the SG is above 1.048, then add fresh yeast.

It'll ferment as long as it takes to finish the fermentable sugars. Depending on the yeast health and reproduction, it could be from 24 hours to 2 weeks. Sometimes fermentations take a while to get going, and then go quickly, sometimes slow and steady all the way through. No telling with any reliablity how long an individual fermentation will take. You'd be pretty safe in letting it sit two weeks after fermentation begins, and checking it then.

Your temp is good in that it should be in the 65 to 70 degree range. Make sure when pitching yeast you Get plenty of air in the wort to help start fermentation. And as always check out the sticky posts for help. Let us know how it turns out once you repitch yeast.

Plenty of air? ^^^ How do i do that? Just swirl it around with the air-lock on? Or leave the airlock off and give it some air?
I'm probably going to the homebrew store tomorrow and will pick up another yeast pack, just to be safe.

Also, adding more yeast I have researched, would make the yeast lazy, and reduce the banana/clove flavor to the beer.
Any comments?

As long as the beer isn't actively fermenting (look for change in gravity from the starting point) you may oxygenate. Take the air lock off, spray your hand with sanitizer, cover the hole with your hand, and violently rock/shake the fermenter for several min. In the future look for an oxygenation kit. It comes with an air stone diffuser, tubing, and a fitting you use to attach to a oxygen tank (looks like a plumbers torch tank excepts it's orange) you buy at a hardware store. They sell something similar with an aquarium pump, but the pure oxygen does a better, much faster job. It is considered a must have if you ever do lagers from what I've read and heard on podcasts.

It is best to induce air before you even pitch, but it won't hurt anything as one of the homebrew idols, Jamil, oxygenates before pitching, two hours later, and the next morning if fermentation hasn't started at that point. I would do this before adding anything. Also, in the future use a starter regurdless if the yeast says it's pitch-able, except for dry yeast which you may/may not ( I am not getting that argument started) rehydrate according to directions. See www.MrMalty.com for all you need to know about yeast starters.

Update: So this morning I went to check it out and saw small white spots of foam but still no bubbling, and after seeing the posts and talking to the homebrew supply store guy this morning, I decided to aerated the beer by shaking it after sanitizing my hand (gosh, that carboy with the beer in it is heavy!) and then took another gravity reading
The reading now is 1.052, which I am guessing shows that there was minimal fermentation.
Any input on this?
I was told to wait another 24hrs after doing this, and then maybe add some more yeast....
Also, I move the beer upstairs where the temperature is more constant and higher at 66 deg F

Personally I would wait to add the yeast after you do a reading tomorrow. If its matching I would pitch again; but if it shows anymore signs of fermentation you might luck out.

I also store my beer in my ummm man cave (spare bedroom upstairs that holds surfboard, snowboards, and army gear (and all my daughters extra toys and cartoon movie posters)).

Also check into some posts on here about harvesting yeast after fermentation too. I have plenty of jars of yeast I harvested up so if I have a problem with fermentation I can always pull one out and re-pitch and not have to make a run to the LHBS and drop more money.