Stored US05 not going off

[urg8rb8]

Two months ago I took one packet of yeast and made a mutlistep starter so that I could use it for four beers I about to make.

I stored the multiplied yeast in mason jars in the fridge. Last night I took one of the mason jars, decanted it, and then swirled it up before throwing it all into the wort. It's been like 20 hours now and there is no activity at all. I just opened the lid and roused the yeast hoping to encourage them a bit. Do I need to be concerned? I expected the yeast to have started fermenting by now.

 

[cswis86]

No need to worry yet. I'd leave it alone for another day before I'd be concerned. You probably lost some viability during the 2 months of storage and since you didn't build up another starter you likely under pitched slightly. Next time build a fresh starter from your stored mason jar before pitching and you'll have a much shorter lag time.

 

[urg8rb8]

Ok. Not sure if it matters but my starting gravity is 1.056.

 

[cswis86]

That's a normal strength beer. You'll be ok.

 

[jerbrew]

I'm not sure how big your stepped up starter was that you split so you could have under pitched and it's just taking a bit. 20 hours isn't abnormal. There are a lot of variable that determine yeast activity early on. Most notably the number of viable cells. I agree with a fresh starter. If you're going to go this route try to weigh it out into 4 equal bits and make a starter for each beer a few days before each brew.

 

[mrgoodlife]

Just pitched some harvested US05 in a Dead Ringer IPA and it took more than 20 hours for any activity but then it went crazy. Next time I would do a fresh starter just to make sure there were enough cells.

 

[Pkrd]

A slow start doesn't mean bad beer.
RDWHAHB

 

[urg8rb8]

How long until I give up?

 

[cswis86]

Never give up! Worst case... pitch fresh yeast!

 

[Pkrd]

How long until I give up?

This used to be a Sticky... 3 days, thats another day and a half of RDWHAHBing!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=43635

 

[urg8rb8]

So about 48 hours now.... Nothing. And I am going away on a trip in about 12 hours until Sunday. What do I do? Should I wait until the last moment before trip to check again and if it hasn't started to just drop the temp of the wort to low 30s and deal with this until I come back?

 

[Pkrd]

Anything visible on the surface? Chuck a pack of US05 in as you head out the door and enjoy the weekend.

 

[kh54s10]

I agree with Pkrd. If you have a pack of dry yeast, rehydrate it or just sprinkle it on the wort and have a great trip.

BTW, how big a starter did you make with the dry yeast? I have read that if you make a starter with dry yeast, up to 1/2 of the yeast die off in the process, (shock of being pitched in wort instead of rehydrated with water) so if you make a normal sized starter, you probably start with the same cell count as you would have if you just rehydrated the yeast.

 

[urg8rb8]

I don't have a packet of US05 unfortunately. I have two more jars of stored yeast. Maybe I should just decant them and pitch them in just in case. My starter was three liters in two steps.

 

[urg8rb8]

So the jars are in the fridge. How do I maximize vitality? Leave the jars at room temperature for a while then throw them in?

 

[Pkrd]

Do a vitality starter. Pitch the jar into a quart of 1.040 DME solution to get it up and going.

 

[urg8rb8]

I only have like six hours left. Put it on a stir plate?

 

[Pkrd]

Yeah, get to it!

 

[urg8rb8]

How am I going to cold crash it in time? Lol

 

[urg8rb8]

So I decided not to mess with new yeast until I got back from my trip. Before I went to sleep I looked under the lid and there was no signs at all of fermentation. This morning just before leaving for my trip, I peeked again and found a very thin layer of swirly bubbles. So it looks like it will start to take off. I've asked someone to take a look at the airlock late tonight or tomorrow morning to see if there is any activity.

Hopefully this works. Next time I will do another starter for the stored yeast before I use it

 

[urg8rb8]

Wanted to give an update. The yeast took off and are munching through the wort!

 

[urg8rb8]

Less than a week into fermentation and it has hit a gravity of 1.008. I hope it stops here.

 

[Morrey]

Great. It took its sweet time and had you concerned for sure. When things like that happen to me, I typically avoid doing it that way again. US-05 is a fine yeast and glad it is not crazy expensive. Fresh sachet, rehydrate, pitch and all good.

You may have had activity all along and didn't realize it....may a crack in your fermenter lid, bad grommet seal for the airlock or else.

 

[IslandLizard]

Less than a week into fermentation and it has hit a gravity of 1.008. I hope it stops here.

Good to hear the yeast worked as it was supposed to.

Out of curiosity, how many ml or oz of yeast slurry did you actually pitch?

 

[urg8rb8]

Good to hear the yeast worked as it was supposed to.

Out of curiosity, how many ml or oz of yeast slurry did you actually pitch?

Not sure how much volume or weight but here is a picture of how much of it is at the bottom of a one pint mason jar.

View attachment 1490670036621.jpg