Dead Yeast??

Ok I've tried the search function but there is too much to go through and I have no clue what to do. It has been over 72 hours since wort was put into primary and I think I killed my yeast when I put it over my cooled wort. The package told me to rehydrate it and I don't think it did it properly. There have been no signs of fermentation and my hydro readings have not changed. My brew store is 45 min away and I will not be able to get there until sat or sun. Can I use yeast packets from Kroger or what can I do? How can i save my beer?????

I used Nottingham and like I said, I think I killed it. Maybe I should have just sprinkled the powder over the cooled wort instead of rehydrating? Help!

How did you rehydrate? How do you know it's not fermenting, hydrometer readings?

I followed the directions on the packet, it said to put 1/4 cup of 90 degree water and stir, let sit for 15 min then add to cooled wort. The hydrometer readings are the same for 2.5 days, wort looks the same, doesn't seem like much pressure build up in my bucket.

As long as the wort was below say 80°F when you pitched it (put it in) then you'll be fine. It can take days for the fermenting to start. It also depends on the fermentation temp - what is the temp in the room?

B

EDIT: Do you mean you added the yeast to 90° water/wort then pitched it? If so, you might have killed the yeast.

Added the water to the yeast in a small measuring glass then dumped it in wort that was 70 degrees. My fermentation room is a steady 65 degrees.

OfcMav said:

Added the water to the yeast

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But that water was 90°? Check on your yeast specs to see if that temp is ok to rehydrate. Another factor can be the time you rehydrated until you pitched the yeast - too long is not great. All that being said, you still could be fine because it can take time. Depending on what you ferment in there can be some action that you don't even see. If nothing happens in the next few days get a new package on the weekend, open the fermenter and sprinkle the eyast right in on top.

B

The yeast package said to add water to the yeast that was 85-90 degrees lol ok I'll keep an eye on it thanks for your help, I am worried that sitting that long without fermenting if it was dead could produce bad things in the beer and cause off flavor

Everything you did sounds right. Go ahead and shake up the fermenter to get the yeast back up into suspension and see if that helps.
If you use bread yeast you will not be happy with the results.

Its probably because its fermenting at 65. Thats a tad cooler than normal. The lower the temperature, the longer it takes.

If activity you mean, bubbling, maybe the lid is not fully sealed. That combine with the cooler ferment temps could be the factors.

Ok thanks for the help I'll give it a shake tonight and I will not use bread yeast lol

OfcMav said:

Ok thanks for the help I'll give it a shake tonight and I will not use bread yeast lol

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No - no bread yeast. You were kidding, but just in case you weren't...

B

birvine said:

No - no bread yeast. You were kidding, but just in case you weren't...

B

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Lol

When you keep your fermenter in a cool room like you have it will take longer for the yeast to get going enough to give you signs that you are fermenting and the ferment will take longer to complete but it will give you a cleaner tasting beer. It takes a lot to kill yeast. Sometimes it just doesn't want to wake up too early.

good to hear, so if it is recommended to keep it fermenting in primary for 2-3 weeks, should i keep it in primary for 3-4 because of my 65 degree temp? I was thinking about moving it to secondary but wasn't sure if and when i should.

rehydrating at 90F is fine...my practice for dry yeast is 1g/gallon of GoFerm added to 25ml/(gallon of wort) tap water at 110F (5g GoFerm to 125ml tap water for 5 gallon batch)

Once it cools to 104F I add the yeast and start the stir plate. After 30 min, I add 125ml of wort and stir for another 30 min. Once the rehydrated yeast is with 15F of the wort I pitch.

I rouse daily and add 1g/gallon of Fermaid K at 1/3 drop from OG.

EDIT: Just DO NOT rehydrate with distilled water...you want some salts to prevent osmotic destruction of the yeast.

helibrewer said:

rehydrating at 90F is fine...my practice for dry yeast is 1g/gallon of GoFerm added to 25ml/(gallon of wort) tap water at 110F (5g GoFerm to 125ml tap water for 5 gallon batch)

Once it cools to 104F I add the yeast and start the stir plate. After 30 min, I add 125ml of wort and stir for another 30 min. Once the rehydrated yeast is with 15F of the wort I pitch.

I rouse daily and add 1g/gallon of Fermaid K at 1/3 drop from OG.
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It sounds like you really know what you are doing and you have excellent beer. However, I have no clue what all of this means. haha

Since you followed the package directions, maybe the yeast were croaked before you sent them into battle....
When you rehydrated the Notty yeast, what did it look like? The cells should swell up and get creamy during the 15 minutes you waited. It is a good way to test for yeast viability.

midfielder5 said:

Since you followed the package directions, maybe the yeast were croaked before you sent them into battle....
When you rehydrated the Notty yeast, what did it look like? The cells should swell up and get creamy during the 15 minutes you waited. It is a good way to test for yeast viability.

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It did not get creamy or swell up during the 15 min, it appeared to be "flat"

Well that does not sound positive, but 15 minutes might not be enough time if the yeast was a bit old. And without a picture we are kind of guessing what happened.

This highlights the fact that you should ALWAYS have extra dry yeast at home. US-05 the chico yeast is a good one for american ales, S-04 and/or Notty for english beers.
There is no excuse not to have extras as insurance (keep em in your fridge; they last years).

As it is now, you are stuck waiting until the weekend to pitch yeast {presuming your hydrometer readings continue to confirm -0- is going on}. If your sanitation was good, it will probably be ok.
good luck.

Thanks for the advice! We will see what happens!

OfcMav said:

Thanks for the advice! We will see what happens!

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SO you still have nothing going on or has it started yet?

Did you aerate your wort? the yeast need oxygen to reproduce.

How does this look??

william_shakes_beer said:

Did you aerate your wort? the yeast need oxygen to reproduce.

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Yes I did aerate my wort

That looks like you had fermentation and that the krausen has already fallen. What are your gravity readings. And take the reading at 60° to get and accurate number.

Looks like you did great.

Looks like there was some fermentation going on in that bucket, what is your gravity reading now?

Thanks! I hope the flavor turns out ok, te gravity reading now looks like 1.012. I think I'm going to transfer to secondary tomorrow night??

Yeah, that looks like beer! Just leave it for 10-14 more days in primary (f* secondary) then bottle.

OfcMav said:

te gravity reading now looks like 1.012. I think I'm going to transfer to secondary tomorrow night??

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Take gravity readings over the next couple days, it actually looks like there is still some action in that bucket.

+1 to both the last two posts.

Make sure the fermentation has stopped before transferring by taking gravity reading over a couple of days until there is no change.

Then wait another week before transferring.

Or skip the secondary entirely. Leave the beer alone for 3-4 weeks then bottle.

for future reference it sounds like you did everything right. My only Idea is that the yeast may have been older and less viable which lead to the longer lag time. Make sure to check the date on the packet before you buy it.

Thanks for all of the help everyone! I'll let u all know how it turns out in a few weeks!!

Update- my red ale is AMAZING. Thanks for all of the support and words of encouragement!!!

Glad that it all worked out in the end for you.