contamination in fermenter

[BingenBrew]

I've been home brewing for a few months now and this is the first time I've run into contamination. I pitched my yeast and there is absolutly no activity in the brew. Even in the first three days, nothing. I was very thorough with being sanitary, but the yeast won't eat the sugars. What can I do to fix the brew? It's a pumpkin ale.

 

[pericles]

This is not a contamination issue. If your beer were contaminated, you would see lots of activity, and the gravity levels would be falling significantly - you're beer would just taste bad.

There are a couple of possible issues here. One is that the yeast you pitched is, really, truly, dead. That's unlikely, though, if you purchased it from a home brew store with high turnover. (Some packets of Nottingham dry yeast have been reported DOA, but they're mostly out of the brewing system by now.)

It's also possible that you killed the yeast, which is more likely. Did they freeze when you left them in your car overnight? Did you try to make a starter and (for some weird reason) throw them in the microwave?

What's more likely, though, is that the yeast are just getting started SLOWLY. Give them another few days before you freak out. If you continue to see no change in gravity (take lots of hydrometer samples) then you can pitch a second vial/packet/smack-pack of yeast.

 

[mrk305]

What was the temp when you pitched the yeast? Why do you say they aren't eating? You might just have a little leak in you bucket lid or airlock grommet.

 

[BingenBrew]

I pitched at 70 degrees and I used a wyeast so it had its own starter in it. I let it sit for 2+ hours to activate. I'll give it a few more days before I freak out more about it. Thanks for the insight guys, I appreciate it. Cheers!

 

[Revvy]

How does no activity translate into infection?

A smack pack doesn't have it's own starter in it, it has a tiny nutrient pack but that's not the same thing as making a starter. It only has 100 million cells which is not enough for any beers above 1.030 og.

It's not surprising underpitching that you might have a 3 day lag time, but as this sticky shows, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/, and by visible signs we don't necessarily mean a bubbling airlock. it means gravity reading

It IS a sticky at the top of the beginners forum for a reason, afterall.

Have you taken a grav reading yet? That's the only activity that matters.

I think you've made a few assumptions that don't necessarily mean anything's actually wrong.