How long is my wort good for.

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
AshtrayDinner

AshtrayDinner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
53
Reaction score
2
OK so Monday I brewed a pale ale. I added a pack of wyeast witbread ale yeast. After more than 24 hours I got seriously concerned at the total lack of fermentation, and repitched a wyeast german ale yeast. After another 20 hours or so, I still see no signs of fermentation.

Should I go ahead and pitch my last yeast (belgian abbey 2), or wait?

How long will my wort last without going bad. It's been about 48 hours and I'm concerned about the wort spoiling before any of the yeasts manage to ferment it.

Please help, I would just die if the 10 gallons of beer I brewed went to waste.
 
What temperature are you trying to ferment at? Raise the temps a bit and rock your carboy/bucket a bit. Your yeast are probably fine.
 
The temperature in my apartment is around 70 F.

Usually by now I see some sort of activity in the carboy.
Instead my wort is just sitting there totally still.
Any idea how long it can do that before it expires?
 
Dude dont add 3 yeast packs to make a beer. It will cost $18+ just for the yeast and is not necessary and might make the beer taste funky (mixing 3 different types of yeast).

Witbread - Temperature Range: 64-75F, 18-24C
German Ale - Temperature Range: 55-68° F (13-20° C)

Raise the temperature to about 70F and pickup your fermentor and shake it. Did you aerate the wort when you first brewed it? How old was the yeast? When you took it out of the fridge did you let it sit at room temperature for a few hours?
 
My witbread yeast was just reaching 5-6 months after the manufacture date. I smacked it, and left it out at room temperature for 4-6 hours. After it didn't swell I waited until the morning to pitch.
In the morning the package still had not swollen. I decided to pitch anyways. The next morning(today) I decided the yeast had probably frozen or something, and was dead. I decided to salvage my pale ale and make it an alt instead. I popped a German ale yeast pack(probably 4-5 months from manufacture date), and pitched it after it swelled(only an hour or two).
It's been 20 hours since pitching the German yeast and I have absolutely no activity at all in the carboy.
I am worried my beer will get infected before the yeast can take hold. Unless you mean to tell me that my wort cannot go bad as long as it is sterile, and in a sterile carboy.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
AshtrayDinner said:
My witbread yeast was just reaching 5-6 months after the manufacture date. I smacked it, and left it out at room temperature for 4-6 hours. After it didn't swell I waited until the morning to pitch.
In the morning the package still had not swollen. I decided to pitch anyways. The next morning(today) I decided the yeast had probably frozen or something, and was dead. I decided to salvage my pale ale and make it an alt instead. I popped a German ale yeast pack(probably 4-5 months from manufacture date), and pitched it after it swelled(only an hour or two).
It's been 20 hours since pitching the German yeast and I have absolutely no activity at all in the carboy.
I am worried my beer will get infected before the yeast can take hold. Unless you mean to tell me that my wort cannot go bad as long as it is sterile, and in a sterile carboy.

Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

It can't go bad. That doesn't mean it won't catch an infection. Next time, make a starter. If you make a starter a day or two ahead of time, it will ensure that your yeast is nice and healthy.

For now, I think you'll just have to wait. It will eventually do it's thing.
 
Okay.

I'm definitely going to wait.

I was really anxious that my beer was going to be ruined, but I think everything was clean, so I doubt it is infected. After reading the 24-72 hours thread, I am going to give it until at least tomorrow or the next day before doing anything.

Perhaps I was too hasty in repitching more yeast.

Out of curiosity, if the two different yeasts I pitched, both took 72 hours to take. What would be the effect of the multiple yeast strains on the beer?
Has anyone done this before?
 
You will just have to see what kind of flavor you will get it. Sounds like your yeast was pretty dormant and might take longer to wake up. Keep shaking your fermentor as much as you can and if possible raise the temperature to 75F just to get it going. Once its going you can lower it to 70F.

I am thinking of mixing Witbier + French Saison strains and make a house strain out of it.
 
I just want to clarify the above post. You don't want to shake your fermentor, you want to rock it. Don't splash.
 
Sounds good. One of the carboys got a very thin krausen on it last night, and this morning it was pillowy and thick.

It smells delicious, I am so happy I didn't have to write this batch off. Monday was a nightmare brew day. It rained through the entire boil and while using the CFC. Plus it took like 9 hours to brew, because I don't have a HLT and I needed 10 gallons of sparge water to make a 10 gal batch.

I turned my temps up, and now I'm just waiting for the other carboy to start up. I've been shaking it frequently, and I'm expecting some kind of reaction soon.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
You guys are awesome. After 48 hours my German yeast is going strong.

I think that the witbread must have gotten frozen, because I truly believe it was dead. However your advice to wait 48-72 hours was spot on. Looks like I'm not gonna end up pouring this out after all.

Pouring out 80 pints of beer makes me cry.
 
Even if the yeast was frozen, it would still probably be good. I'm sure there were a few viable cells left in it to get the job done, they just needed to multiply.
 

Similar threads

C
No activity
Replies
14
Views
760
cleaner72
C
F
my beer wont clear in the fermenter
Replies
11
Views
851
FloppyKnockers
FloppyKnockers
R
Here I go again, Yeast issue or not?
Replies
37
Views
1K
BrewnWKopperKat
BrewnWKopperKat
_Keven
No activity after 12 hours using a yeast starter
Replies
15
Views
1K
_Keven
_Keven
Z
Self carbonating in fermentor?
Replies
9
Views
640
hotbeer
hotbeer

Latest posts

Back
Top