1st brew blues.... seeking advice!

[gbing]

So, I suspect that I may have a problem. ...
I boiled my wort on Monday afternoon with no hiccups, followed the recipe to a tee ( Brewers Best IPA btw) and paid very close attention to times and temperatures, and sanitization ( sorta goes with the territory of being a chef!)
It is now 50+ hours later and I've seen absolutely no activity in the airlock ( which means absolutely jack, I've read on this and other forums) took a hydrometer reading today, and it reads exactly the same as at time of pitching.
I tasted my sample, and it did in fact taste curiously like alcohol. It also looks and smells better. I clearly don't understand the SG though.
I've read about stalled primary fermentation, but I don't know what the signs are.....
I'm doing my primary in a bucket ( stupid, I know!) So I can't see what's happening, when I took my sample this afternoon, I saw no krausen, or any evidence of it ever being there....
So, my question is. ...
Why did my SG not change? If I am experiencing active fermentation, should it not have changed? Or, why am I tasting the unmistakable taste of alcohol if I am not fermenting?

Somebody please help me!!

 

[sputnam]

what yeast are you using?

what temp did you pitch at?

what is OG?

did you make a starter?

If SG has not changed, you are not tasting alcohol.

 

[TheHopfather]

SG is a measurement of the amount of sugar in the wort. Yeast will "eat" the sugar and fart out alcohol. If your SG hasn't changed the yeast haven't eaten any sugar. You don't have a stalled fermentation, you don't have any fermentation.

Like sputnam already asked, what yeast did you use? What temp did you pitch at? What temp is the wort at now?

 

[gbing]

I'm using a Lavalin ale yeast that was supplied with the kit. I pitched at 70F (about 20C).
OG was right on the money @ 1.062. And you'll have to forgive me, I've read about a starter, but don't as yet know what it is or how to do it....

 

[ndinh]

Yep. Sounds like nothing is happening and probably nothing will be happening if your gravity is the same after 2 days. Are you positively sure you pitched your yeast and did you remember to oxygenate your wort. Also, what temperature are you fermenting? The yeast in the kit may not be viable as well.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

A few questions. What are the ingredients and your process? What kind of yeast? What was the temperature of the wort when you pitched? At what temp are you fermenting? If the wort was still hot (>100F) you may have fried the yeast. If it was too cold (depends on the yeast) the yeast may have gone to sleep. If it is fermenting too cold, the yeast may have gone to sleep. If the temps were anywhere near these extremes, you may have just shocked the yeast and they need some time to recover.

Let it sit for a couple more days at about 70F. If the yeast are shocked or asleep they should wake up. If your gravity still hasn't budged, your ast are dead and you can repitch with new yeast.

The SG in a stuck fermentation will still drop some. If it hasn't dropped at all, it's not stuck - just dead. And fermenting in a bucket is absolutely fine, though perhaps a little frustrating because you can't see what's going on.

Give it time and see what happens.

Edit: Looks like I took too long to post

 

[gbing]

Pitched yeast provided with kit, fermenting @ 20C ( I'm Canadian eh, about 70F)
And thoroughly oxygenated before pitching

 

[mainiac]

I didn't know Lavalin made an ale yeast . . . I thought all their stuff was for wine and champagney things.
Get a packet of Safale US-05 if you don't want to mess with liquid yeast, starters and such and just pitch it on top of your wort (rehydrating is best IMHO, but it will work fine dry - I've done it both ways). I bet within 12 Hours you will have some activity in your airlock.

 

[russell58]

As stated earlier if the SG reading is the same then no fermenting has been done. I have read here that with some kits might be older and the yeast not viable. You can do a search and find a different yeast that will be for that style and re-pitch. If using a dry yeast remember to rehydrate then pitch. Hope this helps and good luck.

Cheers

Did a search and found the same thing as Mainiac seems to be on target. I only saw yeast for Wines, Cider and Meads.
here is the article
http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2011/10/12/5-lalvin-yeast-how-to-use-them/

 

[blackbeer]

go to morebeer.com and order a pack of wyeast 1056 liquid yeast overnighted to you and smack it, let it swell and then pitch it and hope your sanitation was good enough that there is no infection already. a bit costly, but what the heck.

 

[joshesmusica]

SG is a measurement of the amount of sugar in the wort. Yeast will "eat" the sugar and fart out alcohol. If your SG hasn't changed the yeast haven't eaten any sugar. You don't have a stalled fermentation, you don't have any fermentation.

Like sputnam already asked, what yeast did you use? What temp did you pitch at? What temp is the wort at now?

i have to completely disagree with you on this one. the yeast piss out alcohol, they fart out co2.

 

[ericbw]

Like others have said, pitch another pack of something.

With dry yeast like you have, you don't need a starter. You should get some activity unless the yeast died.

I pitched a batch well over 100 degrees, and it didn't kill it. We'll see if it's nasty though. And I have rehydrated/proofed bread yeast over 110 and it lived.

 

[gbing]

So does anyone suggest re-pitching, or should I give it a bit more time?
I just so happen to have another kit for the same style, but from a different company....

 

[WayFrae]

I feel like you might as well repitch some yeast. It isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[brewguyver]

So does anyone suggest re-pitching, or should I give it a bit more time?
I just so happen to have another kit for the same style, but from a different company....

I think everyone is suggesting repitching . You should totally repitch. Also make sure you are sanitizing everything with a no rinse sanitizer (e.g. Star san) every time you open the fermenter, just to be safe.

I know this is painful, but it happens to everyone. I had 3-4 beers in a row not ferment after my brewing partner moved away. It sucked! For me it was pitching liquid yeast too hot - dry yeast is way more forgiving.

 

[ericbw]

So does anyone suggest re-pitching, or should I give it a bit more time?
I just so happen to have another kit for the same style, but from a different company....

Please tell us you're joking. YES! Repitch.

 

[grrickar]

SG is a measurement of the amount of sugar in the wort. Yeast will "eat" the sugar and fart out alcohol. If your SG hasn't changed the yeast haven't eaten any sugar. You don't have a stalled fermentation, you don't have any fermentation.

Like sputnam already asked, what yeast did you use? What temp did you pitch at? What temp is the wort at now?

Correction, they pee out alcohol and fart out CO2

Edit: Joshes beat me to it...

 

[CUrchin]

You should take a read through this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

 

[cyberbrew]

So does anyone suggest re-pitching, or should I give it a bit more time?
I just so happen to have another kit for the same style, but from a different company....

For the love of Pete, re-pitch, man!! Seriously though, grab US-05 sprinkle it in and let the magic happen. Let us know how it turns out!

Cheers!!

 

[gbing]

Thanks everyone! Repitched with "Coopers" yeast for IPA cuz that's what I have available at the moment.... will get back to this thread in the morning. .... Thank you very much veteran homebrewers, and I apologize for my noobiness!

 

[gbing]

So, after re-pitching yesterday evening, I can finally see the goddamn krausen forming.... it's not very thick yet, the point is that it's there and my little swimming buddies are doing what they need to do!!
My concern now is, it sat for almost 60 hours with no action happening. Apart from a less than optimal flavour, what are some other negatives that I should watch for, and how do I identify them visually?

 

[DennisinIowa]

Put the lid on it and walk No run away for at least three weeks.
D

 

[gbing]

So, for a complete noob such as myself, no one is recommending racking to secondary after a week?

 

[TheHopfather]

I believe the whole rack to secondary thing came from John Palmer in How To Brew - 1st Edition. John has since come back and said that that information in that edition is outdated (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/) and with the quality of today's yeast there is no need. It is totally up to you, as long as you sanitize everything properly there shouldn't be an issue. However with the knowledge of home brewing we have today the thought is you can skip the secondary completely and not only will there be no downside to doing so, but you'll probably end up with better beer for having skipped it.

On another note your beer should be fine even if it didn't start to ferment for 60 hours. When the wort is put into the carboy / bucket it is most susceptible to infection. The alcohol the yeast produces protects the beer from infection, that is why you want to pitch as soon as possible. As long as everything was sanitized properly you should be fine, should being the key word.

 

[ncbrewer]

Put the lid on it and walk No run away for at least three weeks.
D

Yes - the fermenter has already been opened many times, and the wort has been sampled many times. You want to minimize this. You can get a rough idea of kraeusen by darkening the room and set a flashlight on the lid shining down - you can see kraeusen thru the side of the bucket.

 

[ericbw]

You should get fermentation now, even if it's just from wild yeast or bacteria. Haha.