Fermentation Issues

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RobBrown

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last night i made my third batch of beer, but as of this evening i have seen no signs of fermentation. I have always had problems with fermentation getting stuck or stopping when racking to a carboy for secondary fermentation so i just bypassed the plastic jug and went straight to the carboy, however as i stated above i have had no signs of fermentation. Was this a mistake to go straight to the carboy? if so will fermentation still commence? or do i need to move it to a plastic fermentor and re-pitch the yeast? I appreciate any help i can get on this topic.
 
i wouldn't worry about it until 48 hours goes bye with no action. anything could affect the times between pitching the yeast to starting fermentation. mine have usually started after around 36 hours.
 
Did you use liquid yeast or dry and did you aerate your wort before pitching? Depending on the type of yeast and method of handling it, depends on how fast it gets going. I've only ever used a glass carboy to ferment in so I doubt that is the issue. In any case it's way too early to be worrying.
 
Yeast is an interesting creature. I just did a blueberry ale with liquid yeast and had zero signs of fermentation for 72 hours. I ordered California Ale V from AHS as a backup in case i killed my yeast and before it got here it started bubbling away. Now a week later i hit my FG and it's all good. I've heard people on this board say to give it 72 hours and even then, don't worry about it. Just correct it.

If you were using dry and/or liquid yeast you can just buy a second serving and pitch it directly into the carboy (with proper sanitation).
 
You need to learn to make a starter a couple days ahead of brewing. You wouldn't be playing the "waiting game" now if you did. ;)

Your comment about getting a stuck fermentation when racking to the secondary is curious as your brew should be almost or completely done fermenting before you rack to the secondary.

What's the attuation of the yeast? Most are in the 75% range so I use that as a baseline. What you do is divide your OG by 4 to get your projected FG. (Example: 1.042 (or just 42) /4= 10.5). Once the brew's in that range then it's time to rack to the carboy. ;)

If yours hasn't been in that range then you've been racking too soon. :eek:

Fermentation is a natural process that moves along at its own pace, not ours. If we try to rush it there are consequences. In our case green beer. But if you wait...and wait you will, wait until the brew is REALLY ready, the reward is so much nicer.
 
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