Pumpkin Ale - No Fermentation

[mcurtis431]

Just attempted my first pumpkin ale this past weekend. Everything went well and smelled and tasted great when I transfered into my primary. When I went to pitch my yeast (Wyeast 1056 smack pack) I realized that one of the nutrient packs inside had not opened. Its been 36 hours and still no fermentation. Now I didnt make a starter and realize I should, however I have had no problem getting good fermenation on past brews without one. My question is should I be worried? Could I add more yeast later?

 

[waldoar15]

Did you check the OG when you pitched? If you did, check it again and see if it dropped at all. It's possible you had a dead smack pack, but you don't need that nutrient pack in order for it to work. Could just be lag time from not making a starter.

 

[Revvy]

From the horse's mouth.

From the Wyeast FAQ website:

3. Does the package need to be fully swollen before pitching?

No, The package can be pitched before activating, or at anytime during the activation process. The activation process "jump starts" the culture's metabolism, minimizing the lag phase.

Smacking though fun, is never really necessary.


It is too soon to even begin to worry....after 72 hours is when you take a gravity reading and see what's going on. It's quite common for yeast to take 2-3 days to get going, it's called lag time.

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.

"Activity is irrevelent." Just gravity points on a hydrometer.
Airlock bubbling (or lack) and fermentation are not the same thing. You have to separate that from your mindset. Airlock bubbling can be a sign of fermentation, but not a good one, because the airlock will often blip or not blip for various other reasons...so it is a tenuous connection at best.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years.

That's why you need to take a gravity reading to know how your fermentation is going, NOT go by airlocks, or size of krausen, or a calendar, the horoscope or the phases of the moon (those things in my mind are equally accurate).

The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

So wait til you hit the 72 hour mark THEN take a gravity reading. I predict that like 99.5% of ALL the threads like this, you will have a drop in gravity indicating fermentation is happening.



I've been brewing for years and I've never had to repitch......and I doubt you will either....Modern yeast doesn't really not work anymore.....

 

[mcurtis431]

Thanks for the good information. Still new to the AG game and get a little anxious at times.

 

[Rivenin]

what revvy said :thumbup:
i've had yeast take 72-96 hours to start the fermentation process

 

[Clementine]

For the OP, Revvy said the right things up to 72 hrs can be OK and I know you will still be concerned. Although 72hrs can be expected I would not consider this to be ideal and would indicate that something in your procedure needs attention. Note I'm not saying the beer isn't going to work just it could be better.

I'm a confessed Yeast nut and so I'm biased to pampering my yeast, but then again they do good work for me. IMO if you want to make better beer the most important thing after sanitation is looking after your yeast. This mean correct fermentation temp, correct pitch number and Correct O2/nutrient level.

To avoid this next time try making a yeast starter. The biggest reason people do this is to confirm yeast viability. When you get liquid yeast you don't know now it has been cared for from the supplier to you. When you make a starter you can see that it is all go and then you can also pitch the correct number of yeast cells for the beer you are making. Rarely is a smack pack considered to be "enough" (ie ideal pitching rates) for a 5 gallon brew.



Clem