Did I screw up when adding the yeast?

[morganm]

hello,

It's been about 10 years since Ive brewed any beer and I finally got around to getting back into it.

I finished my beer last night (from those boxed kits) and when i pitched my yeast in i dont know if i did it correctly. i let the yeast activate in 90-100 degree warm water for 15 minutes and it appeared to be active. however, when i put it into my below 80 degree wort/water mixture, i did not aerate/oxygenate the water or mix the yeast into the mix. i just kinda poured it in there and closed the lid.

will this work still? am i allowed to open the bucket while it's fermenting and mix it up a bit or will this ruin everything? should i just leave it alone? it's only been about 10 hours so it's impossible for me to tell since it takes a couple days to start fermenting.

thanks in advance,
morgan

 

[SteveM]

Yer prolly fine.

Amplifying - below 80 is OK - shoot for 70 next time. It should not have been hot enough to screw with your flavors.

 

[gresc]

I wouldn't open the lid, let it sit though that's on the hot side; it's probably ok.

 

[Dextersmom]

My first batch I didn't really aerate the wort much and it took closer to 72 hours for fermentation to really kick in....you're prolly good...the FG might be a little off due to the lack of oxygen.

 

[Laurel]

I'm still a noob, but I was under the impression that yeast should be activated in 70-80º water. Many people get activity within 12 hours, I know I did, even when using dry yeast. You can pull the lid and have a look, but try not to get too much air movement over the bucket. I'd probably wait at least 1 more day before worrying though.

 

[morganm]

wow! that's some quick responses!!! thanks guys.

lastly, forgot to mention... i have my fermenters sitting in my garage on some pads so they're not directly on the cold concrete surface. I also have some towels wrapped around them in hopes of also keeping them warmer. The buckets are reading 62-64 degrees. I live in southern california, a fairly warm area but Im afraid the temperature is still too low.

a. is this too low?
b. if the temp fluctuates from day to night, is this bad?

thanks again,
morgan

 

[Dextersmom]

how much does it fluctuate?
my ambient temp in the room that I ferment goes from about 60 at night to about 64-65 during the day.

i'm not sure actually if that kinda fluctuation is bad...i'm pretty sure its just fine. and the temp isn't too low for fermenting..especially during active fermentation which could raise the bucket / carboy temp quite a bit.

 

[McKBrew]

Dry yeast? If so most dry yeast activate in the 90-100 degree range. As you already know fermetation can take up to 72 hours to start.

Rehydrating dry yeast

As for the temperature range, I'd try to keep it a bit more constant, but a few degrees is not going to ruin things.

 

[Beerthoven]

I'm still a noob, but I was under the impression that yeast should be activated in 70-80º water.

It depends on the yeast. 70º is probably too cool and 100º is definately too hot. You should check the manufacturers website for information. For example,

SafAle US-05 says rehydrate at 74º - 86º
Nottingham says rehydrate at 86º - 95º

You also want the temperature of the wort to be within 10º of the temp of the yeast when pitching.

 

[morganm]

you were all right.

i think it's ok. both buckets are bubbling nicely and my garage smells like beer

 

[gauthierk]

I have found that temp's can never really be too low. Well, under 50 maby but I normally ferment around 65 to 70 degrees. I would leave the lid on and let it sit for a bit. My first batch I ever made took about 48 hours to kick off and start really fermenting. If you for any reason have to remove the lid and feel the need to stir, make sure you sanitizer and clean everything that comes in contact with the wort.