Cold Fermentation

[durandf]

Hey all,
I have had pretty good success with fermentations in general, but today I pitched an Ale Slap Yeast, into 62 degree wort and I still dont have a single sign of fermentation. Usually , I begin to see something happen 8 hours after I pitch my yeast.

I am wondering if I just chilled my wort too much? If I had an OG of 1.062, a mix of grain and extract and I had a nicley swolen slap pack, should'nt I see some signs of fermentation 10 hours after pitching the yeast. The current wort temp is 68..right in the middle of an Ale temp.

Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[giraffeman]

How do you know nothing is happening? What kind of Ale yeast and How long has it been since you pitched?
Most likely it will just take a bit to wake up
I have pitched Ale yeasts at 64 a lot of times but it takes 24 + till I see activity.
It all depends on the brand /type. check out the recommended temp range for the kind you used on line it will give you a good idea of how low you can go.

 

[501irishred]

I've certainly seen it take longer, but usually after I've about written it off, I forget about it for a day and all is usually well. 12, 15, 23hrs?? 62 is a little cool, but my question is what temp your slap pack was when you pitched? If it was fairly warm, it might have given somewhat of a thermal shock. Should still be ok, just may take time to recover and take off.

 

[Golddiggie]

If the wort was 62 when you pitched the yeast, and it's now at 68F, and the ambient hasn't changed, you have active fermentation going on.

I've pitched yeast into 54F wort before and had active fermentation sign within 12 hours. For me, the more accurate sign is the increase in temperature (airlocks lie). If you're using a bucket, chances are the lid's not sealed 100%, so the excess CO2 is leaking out there someplace.

 

[durandf]

Thanks Guys you all were right. I woke up this morning to a beautiful carboy full of foamy krausen .... I guess the little yeast guys just needed time to wake up before doing their thing. The wort was 62, the yeast was room temp when I pitched it becuase I left it out for 5 hours so they probally had a little thermal shock like 501Irish said. Now, I can have my coffee and chill....Cheers from South Florida

 

[Pappers_]

FWIW, I usually ferment with ale yeast at 60 - 62F.

 

[501irishred]

Thanks Guys you all were right. I woke up this morning to a beautiful carboy full of foamy krausen .... I guess the little yeast guys just needed time to wake up before doing their thing. The wort was 62, the yeast was room temp when I pitched it becuase I left it out for 5 hours so they probally had a little thermal shock like 501Irish said. Now, I can have my coffee and chill....Cheers from South Florida

Congrats - It's amazing how good a few bubbles and foam floating in a fermenter can make you feel!

 

[diS]

FWIW, I usually ferment with ale yeast at 60 - 62F.

Same here, so far I never had stuck fermentation.