No fermentation help?

[Zrab11]

Alright..

Been brewing for about 4 years.. Have 40+ brews under my belt..

This is the first problem I may have incurred with fermentation during brewing.

I have not checked the OG yet since brew day (been 5 days) so I am sure that is something I need to do..

But with all my other 40 plus brews I've had a big krasen and bubbling.... Or at least some krasen but I have absolutely nothing.. It looks like it's just all dropped down to the bottom.

So here is the process.. I had a friend helping me.. So not under my watch the first step was done.

-he only heated the water to about 130F(did not boil it like I always do)

- let it cool to 95F

- I slowly pored the yeast on top of the water. Used 2x SO-4

- covered container and set aside.

- after about an hr it has puffed up an inch or 2.

- poured the yeast into the fermenter

-aeratored the wort for 2 min

-placed the caboy into the ferment Chamber at 70f

Brewed a breakfast stout

So what should I do? Go by 2x dry yeast and try to repitch??
Thanks for any help on what went wrong or what to do.

 

[khannon]

I think I would re-pitch yeast..?
Boiling is important to isomerize hops and to kill any nasties in the wort.
I think the real problem was pitching yeast at ~95 degrees might kill them. unless you let it drop to ~70 before pitching? Also was there a date on the yeast? You can check the yeast package, but I think the 04 likes 62-70F, and may not tolerate much above that, and even up close to that you may get off flavors as the yeast may have to work too hard.
Did you take an OG reading? If not another reading might not give you too much information, or it may be the baseline you use as the OG?

 

[Transamguy77]

Was this a prehoped can kit? If so is that why only heated water? I would think 2 packs should have taken off even if you had 1 old pack. And possibly pitching at 95 may have killed them. I would check your gravity and try re pitching if your gravity is still high.

 

[NTexBrewer]

I think they are talking about rehydrating the yeast. They usually boil the water to sterilize and then cool the water down to proof the yeast. Below are the instructions from the Fermentis website for s04. Looks like 95 degrees may be a little too hot. I would still take a gravity reading, there may be activity that is not completely visible. For some reason with my dark beers, I don't get big krausens compared to my lighter beers using the same yeast.

http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf
Sprinkle the yeast in minimum 10 times its weight of sterile water or wort at 27°c ± 3°C (80°F ± 6°F). Leave to rest 15 to 30 minutes.
Gently stir for 30 minutes, and pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.
Alternatively, pitch the yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20°C (68°F). Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes, then mix the wort using aeration or by wort addition

 

[Zrab11]

Re-hydrating Dry Yeast
1. Put 1 cup of warm (95-105F, 35-40C) boiled water into a sanitized jar and stir in the yeast. Cover with Saran Wrap and wait 15 minutes.
2. "Proof" the yeast by adding one teaspoon of extract or sugar that has been boiled in a small amount of water. Allow the sugar solution to cool before adding it to the jar.
3. Cover and place in a warm area out of direct sunlight.
4. After 30 minutes or so the yeast should be visibly churning and/or foaming, and is ready to pitch.

This is from how to brew

I rehydrated the yeast at 95F

I poured into the cooled down wort at 70F

Am I missing something here?

 

[Zrab11]

Was this a prehoped can kit? If so is that why only heated water? I would think 2 packs should have taken off even if you had 1 old pack. And possibly pitching at 95 may have killed them. I would check your gravity and try re pitching if your gravity is still high.

No.. All grain stout that I have brewed before.. My friend just didn't understand I needed water boiled and then cooled down to 95 F

 

[Zrab11]

.

 

[bucketnative]

What is it that makes you believe that fermentation has not started? Have you measured your SG yet? The SG value (compared against your OG) will let you know if fermentation has started.

NOTE: OG is the original specific gravity of the wort prior to fermentation.

 

[Zrab11]

What is it that makes you believe that fermentation has not started? Have you measured your SG yet? The SG value (compared against your OG) will let you know if fermentation has started.

NOTE: OG is the original specific gravity of the wort prior to fermentation.

Just basically that there is no krasen...
And with my other 40+ beers there has been.. And when I brewed this beer last year it went crazy.. So it's just totally unlike any beer I've done before..

But I will check the SG against the OG today..

 

[Zrab11]

Took a gravity reading today.. It's at 1.030 and it started at 1.082
So I can assume the yeast is working correct?

 

[Revvy]

Took a gravity reading today.. It's at 1.030 and it started at 1.082
So I can assume the yeast is working correct?

Yes. All you EVER need to do when in doubt is to take a hydrometer reading, that's exactly what it is for, to tell you what's going on... Not going airlock bubbling, not what a beer looks like in a fermenter.

A hydrometer is the only diagnostic tool we have to accurately tell you what the yeast is or isn't doing.

 

[mongoose33]

Did you use FermCap whereas you never have before?

 

[Zrab11]

Did you use FermCap whereas you never have before?

Never heard of the product.. Did not use it