Pitched yeast when wort was way to hot

This is my first attempt at making beer, and I made my first mistake already

I pitched my yeast when the wort was between 110º and 120º. Dumb. I know. I now know it has to be around 70º - 80º.

It's been about 8 hours and there is no activity in the fermentor yet. Did I kill the yeast? If so, can I just add another packet now that the temperature has come down? Should I just dump it and start over?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Pitch more yeast immediately...

What sort of yeast did you use? Did you make a starter?

I just used the packet that came with the liquid malt extract (Cooper's Pilsner). 7 grams I believe. I added the yeast to a cup of warm water and then added some sugar. It was starting to bubble after about 20 minutes. Is that what you mean by a starter?

I have another kit here (cooper's Lager). Would the 7g packet from that kit work? Would it be the same yeast?

Don't dump it!

First, 8 hours is too soon to determine anything. You can pitch perfectly healthy yeast at perfect temps and sometimes not see any visible activity for a day or even longer.

Second, yes, that was pretty hot to be pitching yeast, but people have done it before and the yeast isn't always completely killed off. But usually once you get over 100 degrees there is a greater chance that some or all of the yeast were killed.

You can pitch another packet of yeast and that won't hurt anything really. But you still want to add yeast that's similar to the style you're trying to make. If your first packet of yeast was the same as what's in a cooper's lager then go ahead. But if it was something completely different, or if cooper's lager yeast requires different fermentation temps than what your beer is calling for that isn't going to be the best idea either.

Look, it is possible the original pitch is going to work out for you but I would be concerned to not see any activity after 8 hours (knowing I made the pitching mistake).

Sounds like maybe the yeast pack from the second kit is different from the first? In both cases sounds like you are fermenting a lager which means you have to control at cooler temps (<60 F). I would pitch the lager yeast if it was me.

I did pitch the lager yeast. I remember when reading the can for the Pilsner that it used lager yeast, and since they're both from Cooper's I think it's a safe bet that they're the same, or at least similar.

Wish me luck.

jmansfield said:

Look, it is possible the original pitch is going to work out for you but I would be concerned to not see any activity after 8 hours (knowing I made the pitching mistake).

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I really don't think 8 hrs is long enough to determine anything. I've made a number of things in the past that didn't show many signs of action in 8 hrs, but fermented fantastically once they started up.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

It still could end up fine.

Let it rest...I am sure it will be fine! I pitched yeast one time at around 105 degrees...started bubbling in 36 hours...hit my FG...damn good ale...patience...young grasshoppah!

I pitched @120 a week ago and had visible activity on day 5

ScottishPete said:

I pitched @120 a week ago and had visible activity on day 5

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Wow, I know I wouldn't have had the patience for that!

I just checked this morning, and there's lots of activity now. Thanks for the help and support!

It is important to get fermentation started as soon as possible in order to protect the wort from wild yeast and bacteria. Once fermentation begins the wort begins to chemically change and it protects itself by creating CO2 and alcohol and with pH changes. I would not feel real good about a wort that sat for more than a day or two without fermenting. Enjoy your beer!

Another thing for future batches.

It is better to pitch at fermentation temperature if at all possible. So if you are using lager yeast, you should try and pitch closer to 55&#730;F.

TRainH2o said:

Another thing for future batches.

It is better to pitch at fermentation temperature if at all possible. So if you are using lager yeast, you should try and pitch closer to 55&#730;F.

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That'll be difficult to do for me. I don't have air conditioning. Perhaps I should wait until winter to brew the pilsners and lagers when I can better control the temperatures. I'll stick to ales for the summer.

I have to use a combination of a wort chiller and putting my brew pot into an ice bath just to reach ale temps this time of year.

I just brewed an IPA and could only get the wort to 80&#730;F with using the immersion chiller alone. Yes, brewing in the winter is much easier.

I did the similar last week - I brew outside and couldn't get my wort below 90 with my immersion chiller. I pitched anyway (made a starter, so I was pretty sure I had healthy yeast). 12 hours later, fermenting away...

I would say appx. 140F is the definate kill temp for yeast.