No yeast activity.. re-pitch yeast.. should I boil the wort again?

I pitched the yeast on Saturday and have seen no effect at all as of today. I am going to wait until this weekend before getting some more yeast from the LHBS. My question is.. if the yeast is indeed bad, should I boil the wort again this weekend given that it's been sitting at room temperature for a week?

It's a belgian tripel with a SG of 1074

Check the gravity and see if it did do anything, don't rely solely on appearance or airlock activity

superfknmario said:

I pitched some yeast on Saturday and have seen no effect at all as of today. I am going to wait until this weekend before getting some more yeast from the LHBS. My question is.. if the yeast is indeed bad, should I boil the wort again this weekend given that it's been sitting at room temperature for a week?

It's a belgian tripel with a SG of 1074

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Have you taken a gravity reading to be sure nothing is happening?

Did you aerate? What yeast did you use? Did you make a starter? Is it in a bucket with the possibility of a leaky seal?

No you do not need to re-boil. Fermentation can take up to 72 hours o start, especially if any of my questions were no or not sure.

Before doing anything further take a gravity reading

I haven't taken a gravity reading yet because, as you guys mentioned, I feel it's still too early to panic. I just want to be preparred for the worst. lol

I used Wyeast Belgian Abbey 1214

I haven't checked the seal on the bucket, but both bucket and lid are brand new. I'll check anyway

Thanks again!

oh, and I didn't aerate the wort much, apart from a messy pour into the bucket and a quick stir right before pitching the yeast.

superfknmario said:

I haven't taken a gravity reading yet because, as you guys mentioned, I feel it's still too early to panic. I just want to be preparred for the worst. lol

I used Wyeast Belgian Abbey 1214

I haven't checked the seal on the bucket, but both bucket and lid are brand new. I'll check anyway

Thanks again!

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There is no need to panic but there is no harm in checking gravity to ensure that something is happening. The lids on buckets are notorious for not sealing well, especially if the lid does not have a rubber gasket in the lip. If the lid leaks the airlock won't bubble.

Aerating the wort is one of the most important things you can do when pitching yeast. Ample O2 is red during the first growth phase of the yeast. Without ample O2 the initial lag/growth phase will take much longer, stress out the yeast and promote fermentation problems like off flavors and poor attenuation.

Sounds good. Still no activity, so ill take a reading today to see if its done anything. If not, I'll aerate the wort best I can and pitch a new vial of yeast.

Quick question..how much yeast is too much?

With no starter you needed around 2.5 tubes of yeast.

superfknmario said:

Sounds good. Still no activity, so ill take a reading today to see if its done anything. If not, I'll aerate the wort best I can and pitch a new vial of yeast.

Quick question..how much yeast is too much?

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You can visit Www.yeastcalc.com to calculate the proper pitch rate for any beer. Simply enter date on pack, batch size and OG.

So the label on the tube that says one tube for a 5 gallon batch isn't accurate? I'm asking cause I am not getting much activity either, but again, I'm using a bucket so it could be leaky and I haven't check the gravity so I am not relying on what the airlock is doing. I was going to just let it ride a couple weeks and check things out to see where it was at. I only used one tube pitched directly in to my 5 gallons of wort. I am assembling the parts to build a stir plate so I will be using starters from here on out.

Nubster said:

So the label on the tube that says one tube for a 5 gallon batch isn't accurate?

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1 yeast package is good to ferment a 5 gallon batch with an OG of 1.060 or below.

For every .015 gravity points above 1.060 make a 1L starter. For example, an OG of 1.075 = 2L starter, OG of 1.090 = 3L starter, and so on.

You also want to make a starter if the production date on the yeast is prior to the month you're pitching the yeast.

A lot of people will tell you that you always need a starter. I don't buy it, especially considering that the yeast is going to reproduce in the wort anyway.

^ 1 tube of liquid yeast for a 5 gal batch is fine, even if you pitched in dry yeast, or rehydrated it, your still fine.......

Nubster said:

So the label on the tube that says one tube for a 5 gallon batch isn't accurate? I'm asking cause I am not getting much activity either, but again, I'm using a bucket so it could be leaky and I haven't check the gravity so I am not relying on what the airlock is doing. I was going to just let it ride a couple weeks and check things out to see where it was at. I only used one tube pitched directly in to my 5 gallons of wort. I am assembling the parts to build a stir plate so I will be using starters from here on out.

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In short, yes and no. It really depends on the OG of the batch and the viability(freshness) of the pack.

Yes you can direct pitch and it will ferment your beer but it may not optimally ferment your beer.

Unless your yeast is really above 95% viable you will usually be under pitching any beer with a gravity above 1.030 and most people do not brew such low ABV beers.

Plug some numbers into the links provided and you will see what happens to cell count and pitch rate

There seems to have been a tiny bit of activity as my reading is around 1.070 now as opposed to the SG of 1.074-5

I pitched two vials of yeast without stirring or doing much else as I was afraid to leave the bucket uncovered for too long. Lol