Wyeast

I started my second homebrew batch today. This time, I used Wyeast 2007, which was recommended by my supply shop instead of the dry yeast I used the first time.

I followed the directions on the package and added it to my brew, however there was very little bulging (as opposed to what I have seen on Youtube videos of this product) and the ingredients of the Wyeast did not appear to mix properly.

After 3 hours, there was no activity so I added dry yeast to the batch.

Could this be problematic? Should I have waited longer? The first batch I did had yeast activity visible in much less time.

Thanks in advance for any assistance and/ore advice on this matter.

I simply hate to waste a lot of time along with the forty + dollars in materials used so far on this project.

They can be a bit unpredictable at times, temp changes and all. One big thing is to make sure it gets a good shake after breaking the inner pouch. Beyond that, if it swelled at all it should be fine.

Read the sticky threads in the beginners section, especially: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

Three hours is NOTHING... Depending on what you brewed, it could take much longer before you SEE any activity. Depending on what you ferment in, you might not get any airlock movement. Especially since the airlock is NOT a fermentation indicator/meter, simply a way to vent excess CO2 out of the fermenter.

Isn't everything in the 2000 series a lager yeast? If so, it is pretty likely you should have done a starter. Tell us a little more about what you are making.

Edit: +1, 3 hours is nothing. Typically you should wait longer. Some of my packs don't swell much. No big deal.

I always smack my packs a day a head of time. As far as carboy action - I wait 30 hours. Usually have it gurglin in less than 18.

I make my starters a day before I'll be brewing, since I use a stir plate. Typically within 8 hours the brew is fermenting away...

I pitched a pack of American Lager last weekend (10/30) and it just started bubbling last night (11/05). That's a whole lot longer than I would have liked but I'm going to go with it and see how it comes out.

aschettler said:

I pitched a pack of American Lager last weekend (10/30) and it just started bubbling last night (11/05). That's a whole lot longer than I would have liked but I'm going to go with it and see how it comes out.

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When you use lager yeasts (especially at their recommended temperatures) it is STRONGLY recommended to do a sizeable starter. 6 days of lag time is a terribly long time.

SwampassJ said:

When you use lager yeasts (especially at their recommended temperatures) it is STRONGLY recommended to do a sizeable starter. 6 days of lag time is a terribly long time.

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I agree. Lesson learned with this one, I'll be making starters in the future. Especially for bigish gravity lagers.

Golddiggie said:

I make my starters a day before I'll be brewing, since I use a stir plate. Typically within 8 hours the brew is fermenting away...

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Ditto,

Starters are a must. I never have a fermentation fail to take off in the first 12 hours.

Wyeast is a lager yeast. What are you brewing? If it is an ale and you used the lager yeast plus a packet of dry yeast you can expect that the flavor might be quite different than expected.

Again 3 hours is extremely short for fermentation to start even with dry yeast.

Liquid yeast packages will ferment a beer but do not contain enough cells to do it at the optimum. Starters are always recommended.