Help: Fermentation Not Starting

[zycki]

I'm having problems with fermentation starting on an extract batch and hope someone here can help. I'm relatively new to brewing, having done only 4 all-grain 1 gallon batches. I upscaled my equipment and received a free pale ale extract kit. I never brewed extract, nor plan to, but I figured why waste the kit.

So I followed the crappy instructions and after 1 week (almost) nothing. The well known but shall remain nameless mail-order outfit I ordered from had zero helpful advise. So here are the details:

• Nothing for 2 days but on the 3rd day the inside of the airlock rose overnight. No bubbling evident nor anything through 5th day. I'm fermenting in the 6 gallon pail I just ordered. It is sealed tight (see next bullet).
• On advise of the mail-order outfit, I open the bucket lid on day 5 to see if there is any kreusen, which there wasn't any. The lid was a pain to get off and on super tight.
• I took a reading using both a refractometer and hydrometer (a belt & suspenders approach since the refractometer is new). The gravity reading is the same as the OG reading: 1053. (Per instructions the OG should have been between 1030 - 1040.)
• Yesterday, day 6, I pitched new yeast (Muntons Ale Dry Yeast, same as what came with the extract kit) along with 1/4 teaspoon of yeast energizer. (The yeast energizer seemed to be advice shared on many different forums for stuck fermentations.)
• The only 'deviations' from the instructions on brew day were (1) altered hop schedule (@ 30 minutes rather than @ 60 minutes), and (2) steeping the specialty grains for 20 minutes since the instructions stated 10-20 minutes.

As of today, day 7, there is zero airlock activity. The batch smells like beer and tastes like you would expect. Any thoughts/suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dixon9717]

What's your ferm temp? Maybe to cold?

 

[Hudini56]

Knowing you took a hydro reading and there was no change in gravity you obviously know there was no fermentation. Now you just pitched a second yeast yesterday, being it was a dry pack (assuming you didnt rehydrate, which is ok) I would wait a little longer. Sometimes the dry packs can take a day or 2 to get going I have found. Hopefully you will begin to see airlock activity soon. Then in a couple days take another reading. Dont always rely on airlock activity. Sounds like you are doing the right thing so far. Whats the temp of the wort right now? And what was the temp when you pitched the first yeast pack?

Interesting on the OG, was there top off water needed? Maybe you had too much wort in the boil and not enough top off? Dont know..

The change in hop schedule would have no effect on ferm. Same with steep time, 20 min is perfectly acceptable and there was not likely any conversion in the steeping process anyway.

 

[Hudini56]

Also did you aerate the wort well prior to pitching?

 

[ncbrewer]

If you rehydrated the yeast, you could have killed the yeast with high temperature (around 120F or higher). If you dry pitched, it might have been too cold, not allowing it to rehydrate properly. Fermentis states that if dry pitching, the wort should be at least 68F. (This might be a stretch, since lots of brewers dry pitch successfully.)

 

[Coathanger]

Also did you aerate the wort well prior to pitching?

I second this... I had a batch with virtually no airlock action and little fermentation because of this. When you pour into the primary let'r fly man.

 

[zycki]

What's your ferm temp? Maybe to cold?

Fermenting has been between 62-70 (house temperature). Being in NJ, I've kept in upstairs rather my basement, which is cooler. I also have a blanket draped on. It's not steady but the range is constant.

 

[zycki]

Knowing you took a hydro reading and there was no change in gravity you obviously know there was no fermentation. Now you just pitched a second yeast yesterday, being it was a dry pack (assuming you didnt rehydrate, which is ok) I would wait a little longer. Sometimes the dry packs can take a day or 2 to get going I have found. Hopefully you will begin to see airlock activity soon. Then in a couple days take another reading. Dont always rely on airlock activity. Sounds like you are doing the right thing so far. Whats the temp of the wort right now? And what was the temp when you pitched the first yeast pack?

Interesting on the OG, was there top off water needed? Maybe you had too much wort in the boil and not enough top off? Dont know..

The change in hop schedule would have no effect on ferm. Same with steep time, 20 min is perfectly acceptable and there was not likely any conversion in the steeping process anyway.

I pitched at 68 and right now its 69. As mentioned in another reply, my house ranges from 62-70 and it is not kept in the basement.

I took my OG reading after topping off. (I boiled 5 gallons of wort and separately boiled 2 gallons for top off, of which I only needed 1 gallon.) I aerated the wort by pouring from the brewpub to the bucket about a foot above the bucket and then stirring. (I haven't figured out an equivalent method to shaking/rolling around a glass carboy yet.)

 

[zycki]

If you rehydrated the yeast, you could have killed the yeast with high temperature (around 120F or higher). If you dry pitched, it might have been too cold, not allowing it to rehydrate properly. Fermentis states that if dry pitching, the wort should be at least 68F. (This might be a stretch, since lots of brewers dry pitch successfully.)

Dry pitched at 68. I thought of this too.

 

[zycki]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's good to know that I've been doing the right things. I think I will wait another 2 days and see what happens. If there is no or minimal improvement I'll transfer to a carboy and aerate the hell out of it.

 

[Hudini56]

Personally I pour from my keggle via hose run it through a mesh strainer only for the purpose of aeration, not straining. Then after pitching I put the lid on and shake ferm as rough as I can for 1 minute or more. As much as I can until I get tired. If you feel aeration is the issue. Theres no harm in shaking that primary for a few minutes..

 

[ncbrewer]

Fermenting has been between 62-70 (house temperature). Being in NJ, I've kept in upstairs rather my basement, which is cooler. I also have a blanket draped on. It's not steady but the range is constant.

That's a really wide temperature swing. I can't say from personal experience, but I've read that wide temp swings (over 4 deg F difference in a day) isn't good for the yeast. The blanket should help some, but probably not enough to maintain a steady temperature. A fermometer on the side would be helpful.

 

[Hudini56]

So did this ever take off for ya?

 

[MarcGuay]

What was the expiry date on the yeast?

 

[zycki]

Today is day 10 and nothing is happening. Yesterday I siphoned into a carboy using the white doohickey from my mash/lauter tun at the end of the hose just inside the mouth of the carboy. Aerated it pretty good. Unfortunately nothing.

Marguay - I don't have the packaging anymore for either yet pitches, though if it was old I'm sure I would've noticed beforehand.

ncbrewer - That's the general house temps. Over the last several days the brew has only fluctuated between 67-69 (morning & evening readings).

I'm starting to think the mail order house gives this kit away because it's old. They don't sell it separately and googling the kit's name shows posts from 1-3 years ago. Could the LME and/or the yeast be old? Maybe, probably. At this point my only thought is when do I throw in the towel and accept the loss? Is there any use for unfermented wort?

 

[RM-MN]

Dry yeast contains the nutrients it needs for propagation so it needs no aeration to get going and being dry it has great shelf life. Take another hydrometer sample to see if there is any change yet. Make sure your sample tube has enough liquid that the hydrometer floats high and free, Taste the sample. I find that unfermented wort tastes awful, sickeningly sweet with bad bitterness but once fermented it tastes more like flat beer. If your beer sample doesn't taste bad it probably fermented. If not, add more yeast.

 

[zycki]

Dry yeast contains the nutrients it needs for propagation so it needs no aeration to get going and being dry it has great shelf life. Take another hydrometer sample to see if there is any change yet. Make sure your sample tube has enough liquid that the hydrometer floats high and free, Taste the sample. I find that unfermented wort tastes awful, sickeningly sweet with bad bitterness but once fermented it tastes more like flat beer. If your beer sample doesn't taste bad it probably fermented. If not, add more yeast.

I should've included in last night's post that I tested again last night with my hydrometer and refractometer. Both still reading 1053. There is literally nothing going on with sediment and (probably) yeast dropping out. I'm new to the refractometer, which is why I'm also using the hydrometer. Both result in the same reading.

I tasted the wort when I brewed, before pitching new yeast, when I transferred to the carboy, and last night. As sweet as you would expect with no perceived change in taste.

At this point I'm ready to pour it down the drain and move on. It was a freebie kit with the equipment I bought anyway (as mentioned previously, I upsized from all-grain small batch).

 

[RM-MN]

As long as there is no off taste or evidence of infection why not put in more yeast. I've never had a failure with dry yeast but there is a possibility.

 

[zycki]

As long as there is no off taste or evidence of infection why not put in more yeast. I've never had a failure with dry yeast but there is a possibility.

I hear you about pitching more yeast except (1) I have no yeast packets on hand (I would need to buy), and (2) when do I stop throwing good money after bad?