1.096 OG stout not fermenting after 14 hours

[evans5150]

Hey guys,

I brewed up an imperial stout the other night that calls for 1 pound of brown sugar. This is an extract/grain brew. OG measured at 1.096 and it is still there 14 hours later with no signs of fermentation. The yeast said "best by 1.30.11" and I pitched it yesterday which was 1.15.11. I did not do a starter for it and it was liquid yeast...not a smack pack. Irish Ale yeast. Am I panicking too early?? I made this recipe last year and by this time it was giving the blow-off tube a run for its money!! I believe that was with a smack pack. (LHB was out of the smack this time.) It was a 90 minute boil and I boiled in the 6 lbs of malt extract and 1 lb of brown sugar with 15 minutes left to go in the boil. It tastes very sweet right now.

Thanks,

evans5150

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

you dramatically under pitched...I'd be surprised if you saw any activity before 48-72 hours.

according to the mr malty calculator you would have needed 4 vials of yeast with that expiration date into a 3L starter on a stirplate to get to the correct pitching rate.

 

[Vance71975]

Hey guys,

I brewed up an imperial stout the other night that calls for 1 pound of brown sugar. This is an extract/grain brew. OG measured at 1.096 and it is still there 14 hours later with no signs of fermentation. The yeast said "best by 1.30.11" and I pitched it yesterday which was 1.15.11. I did not do a starter for it and it was liquid yeast...not a smack pack. Irish Ale yeast. Am I panicking too early?? I made this recipe last year and by this time it was giving the blow-off tube a run for its money!! I believe that was with a smack pack. (LHB was out of the smack this time.) It was a 90 minute boil and I boiled in the 6 lbs of malt extract and 1 lb of brown sugar with 15 minutes left to go in the boil. It tastes very sweet right now.

Thanks,

evans5150

I would give it a total of 72 hours, Some yeast are slow starters, and i have noticed that Irish ale yeasts tend to be a bit on the slow side, at least from my personal experience. If it hasn't started in a full 72 hours i would re-pitch. As stated above you did seriously under pitch for that SG. Had it been me and i wasn't making a starter, i would have used 4 tubes of yeast at least, if not 5 or 6. A starter is of course always a better and cheaper way to go, but sometimes you just get the itch and HAVE to brew right now lol.

 

[evans5150]

you dramatically under pitched...I'd be surprised if you saw any activity before 48-72 hours.

I was thinking that. The smack packs act as starters so that wasn't a problem last year. Do you think it will still be sufficient or should I go grab another vial of Irish Ale yeast and pitch that? The soonest I can do that is Tuesday.

 

[jkreuze]

I wonder if it wouldn't be a better plan to call it a Mulligan on the Irish Yeast and just pitch some dry yeast. Wyeast says:

A low pitch rate can lead to:
Excess levels of diacetyl
Increase in higher/fusel alcohol formation
Increase in ester formation
Increase in volatile sulfur compounds
High terminal gravities
Stuck fermentations
Increased risk of infection


It'd be a real downer to have brewed up a big beer like you have and then have it taste like Satan's Anus.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

I was thinking that. The smack packs act as starters so that wasn't a problem last year. Do you think it will still be sufficient or should I go grab another vial of Irish Ale yeast and pitch that? The soonest I can do that is Tuesday.

I would get more yeast into that beer as soon as you can, if it's a dry pack of nottingham or s04 you have on hand, or if you have to go buy a new tube.

You're going to get some crazy ester production and its likely that it wont attenuate properly if you leave it as is.

 

[Vance71975]

I would get more yeast into that beer as soon as you can, if it's a dry pack of nottingham or s04 you have on hand, or if you have to go buy a new tube.

You're going to get some crazy ester production and its likely that it wont attenuate properly if you leave it as is.

+1 i always keep at least a dozen Packages of Notti on hand for just this purpose, well that and it is my fav yeast lol

 

[evans5150]

+1 i always keep at least a dozen Packages of Notti on hand for just this purpose, well that and it is my fav yeast lol

I might be screwed. The LHB isn't open on Sundays and Mondays. It will have to wait until Tuesday. Ugh.

 

[Yooper]

I was thinking that. The smack packs act as starters so that wasn't a problem last year. Do you think it will still be sufficient or should I go grab another vial of Irish Ale yeast and pitch that? The soonest I can do that is Tuesday.

The smack packs do NOT act as starters! They just reassure you that the yeast is active. That's all.

From Wyeast's own website:
Activator™ packages include a sterile liquid nutrient pouch that, when “smacked”, releases its contents into the yeast slurry and “activates” the package. The available nutrients initiate the culture’s metabolism which in turn generates CO2 and causes swelling of the package. This process will reduce lag times by preparing the yeast for a healthy fermentation prior to inoculation. Activation also serves as a viability test of the culture. Expansion of the package is an indicator of healthy (viable and vital) yeast. Although beneficial, cultures do not need to be activated prior to inoculation.

Usage

The Activator™ package contains a minimum of 100 billion cells in a yeast slurry.. The Activator™ is designed to directly inoculate 5 gallons of standard strength ale wort (1.034-1.060 SG) with professional pitching rates.

Full swelling of Activator™ packages is not required for their use. The contents of Activator™ packages may be direct-pitched without prior activation. Our smack pack technology is intended to be a tool for your use in determining viability, and in initiating metabolism for faster starts to fermentation.

_____________________________________________________________
You made a 1.090 beer, and the smack packs at best are for a 1.060 wort. I say at best, because even that is underpitching but I'll go ahead and not start an argument with Wyeast! That's an OLD yeast, too, so you should have pitched about 4 of them, maybe more.

To see how much yeast would be ideal for that beer, check out mrmalty.com's pitching calculator: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[evans5150]

The smack packs do NOT act as starters! They just reassure you that the yeast is active. That's all.

From Wyeast's own website:
Activator™ packages include a sterile liquid nutrient pouch that, when “smacked”, releases its contents into the yeast slurry and “activates” the package. The available nutrients initiate the culture’s metabolism which in turn generates CO2 and causes swelling of the package. This process will reduce lag times by preparing the yeast for a healthy fermentation prior to inoculation. Activation also serves as a viability test of the culture. Expansion of the package is an indicator of healthy (viable and vital) yeast. Although beneficial, cultures do not need to be activated prior to inoculation.

Usage

The Activator™ package contains a minimum of 100 billion cells in a yeast slurry.. The Activator™ is designed to directly inoculate 5 gallons of standard strength ale wort (1.034-1.060 SG) with professional pitching rates.

Full swelling of Activator™ packages is not required for their use. The contents of Activator™ packages may be direct-pitched without prior activation. Our smack pack technology is intended to be a tool for your use in determining viability, and in initiating metabolism for faster starts to fermentation.

_____________________________________________________________
You made a 1.090 beer, and the smack packs at best are for a 1.060 wort. I say at best, because even that is underpitching but I'll go ahead and not start an argument with Wyeast! That's an OLD yeast, too, so you should have pitched about 4 of them, maybe more.

To see how much yeast would be ideal for that beer, check out mrmalty.com's pitching calculator: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Thanks for the info. I bookmarked that page. After calculating it says about 3 vials (or 3.4 to be exact.) I have been at the computer in the same room as the beer for the past hour. No bubbles in the blowoff that whole time. Then about 5 minutes ago it started bubbling at a rate of one per 10 seconds. I think it's finally starting. I will grab another two vials from the homebrewer on Tuesday and pitch those that night. Thanks again for all the info!!

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the info. I bookmarked that page. After calculating it says about 3 vials (or 3.4 to be exact.) I have been at the computer in the same room as the beer for the past hour. No bubbles in the blowoff that whole time. Then about 5 minutes ago it started bubbling at a rate of one per 10 seconds. I think it's finally starting. I will grab another two vials from the homebrewer on Tuesday and pitch those that night. Thanks again for all the info!!

If it's fermenting, pitching more yeast is just a waste of money! The yeast reproduce before fermenting, so if you've got fermentation now, you don't need more yeast.

 

[evans5150]

If it's fermenting, pitching more yeast is just a waste of money! The yeast reproduce before fermenting, so if you've got fermentation now, you don't need more yeast.

Music to my ears, Yooper. Thanks again for the link and the info. I made this brew last year and it was FANTASTIC!! I'm hoping to have it bottled by late February.

 

[g-star]

Learn from this. Use Mr. Malty, make real starters, pitch the proper amount of yeast (dry or liquid). You'll get fast starts and better tasting beer.

Under-pitching and/or improper fermentation temperatures are the leading cause of homebrew tasting "home-brewy" and not more like commercial craft beer, IMO.

 

[evans5150]

Learn from this. Use Mr. Malty, make real starters, pitch the proper amount of yeast (dry or liquid). You'll get fast starts and better tasting beer.

Under-pitching and/or improper fermentation temperatures are the leading cause of homebrew tasting "home-brewy" and not more like commercial craft beer, IMO.

I will. Mr. Malty has been bookmarked. I will also get into the practice of making starters with bigger beers like this. My next beer is going to be my own Pale Ale recipe and it's a smaller beer but I'll still make a starter with that just for practice. The temp was never an issue as that was at or around 68 the whole time.

It has been fermenting like CRAZY all night long. I keep getting the massive gurgles from the blow-off tube.