Help with AHB Cherry Stout

[kuelhof]

Hey guys, I brewed Austin Homebrew's Cherry Stout on Sunday evening (about 48 hrs ago), and I failed to aerate the wort once it was cooled with the yeast pitched. I did so after noticing no airlock activity after 24-36 hrs, and peaking through the airlock hole and seeing no krausen forming. I used the Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast and pitched into 78 degree wort...We have had a cold snap the last few days, and the house got down to 64 this morning, so I wrapped the fermenter in blankets, and it is now sitting at 70 degrees.

I have a couple of worries....

1) While the directions said to pitch the yeast at 80 degrees, the yeast states that it ferments best between 64-72 degrees. Could I have shocked the yeast?

2) Could the lack of oxygen due to my forgetting to aerate have harmed the oxygen?

Any other possibilities that I am not seeing?

Thanks for the help!

Kevin

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

First off, you're being WAAAY too paranoid. No problem though, I was the same way in the beginning. Eventually you'll learn that it's extremely hard to screw up a beer.

As for your questions..

1. No, you won't shock the yeast by pitching at 80F. I would get in the habit of cooling your beer to the temp that you'll be fermenting at though. Or at least within a few degrees.

2. No. I've NEVER aerated my wort other than stirring it before adding yeast.

Don't rely on your airlock to tell you whether or not your beer is fermenting. Even before it starts bubbling, there's work being done by the yeast. The only reason it bubbles is because it's letting gas out. If there's not a ton of gas to be pushed out, it won't bubble. That doesn't mean it's not fermenting. I bet if you would have taken a gravity reading, you would have seen that the SG had dropped since pitching yeast.

 

[kuelhof]

Thanks for the advice! I'm not worried, more curious...This is the "smallest" beer I've made with an expected OG of 1.050 and I hit 1.047...This is only my third beer, so I am definitely still learning! So, I didn't know if I should expect as much airlock activity as my previous two beers, both of which were over 1.065 OG...Again, thanks for your help!

 

[scrambledegg81]

Yep-if it dropped below, say, 20 degrees, I'd start to worry, but as I've said before, yeasties are hearty little bastards. Give em food, and they will party.

As for aerating the wort, it's 50/50 for people on here. Personally, I do a double aeration without any equipment involved-only my scrawny arms and a helluva lot of shaking. I do it once after topping off (prior to taking OG), and again after pitching. Some folk on here don't aerate at all, and they still wind up with beer.

 

[kuelhof]

I am just going to let it sit and I will check it this weekend...Supposed to sit for 5-7 days and then transfer, so I will check the gravity and see whats going on! Thanks for the opinions guys!