stuck fermentation

[sdent]

Ok, I admit I'm a little new at this game and ask a lot of questions, but hey this is a great resource. A friend and I just brewed a batch last night and I was pretty excited with the OG we got (shooting for 1.052 to 1.054 but got 1.058). It was our first time using liquid yeast and didn't read the directions so close. When it came time to pitch the yeast we brought it up to 70 degrees and added it (without waiting the prescribed 3+ hours to activate the yeast). We relized our blunder too late, but we figured we'd see what happened. Well, this morning we got a bubble or two, but no steady poppin'. Now the question is, "How do we rescue our beer?"! Do we add more yeast? Do we just wait? Do we shake it up? The wort tastes and smell too good to let it fail.

help!

 

[El Pistolero]

Your beer is fine...just give it some time for the yeast to kick in. In the meantime relax and have a brew.

 

[david_42]

Since you didn't activate, it will take longer for the initial growth stage. Yeasts multiple in the wort & use up the O2, protein and some of the sugars. They double in numbers every two hours or so. Once the O2 is gone, they'll shift to making CO2 and alcohol. 12-48 hours is typical.

 

[Rhoobarb]

You're getting a bubble or two through your airlock, so you're fine! Speaking from experience using While Labs liquid yeast, just pitching the vial into the fermenter, you can expect to wait anywhere from 24-36, sometimes even 48 hours. Trust us, it'll take off.

 

[Cheesefood]

Keep your top on! Literally. If you have a small amount of yeast in a big batch of Bacteria-Feed (aka "wort"), you're inviting Nasties in for some all-you-can-eat. I made the mistake of constantly checking on my brew when I made my Wounded Thumb Wheat, and the only reason it hasn't been dumped is because I'm filled with hope.

Funny, every time I sample one, I say "I need to dump this" and SWMBO thinks it's yet another batch. Last night she asked me how much I've wasted in beers down the drain and I reminded her that it's the same batch. She laughed.

 

[cowain]

I'd give it 2 days and if you're not bubbling fairly vigorously, swirl your fermenter a bit. I had a stuck fermentation once due to a low yeast cell number (package sat outside my house in 100 degree temps for a few hours before I got home) and after 5 days it just hadn't taken off yet. I did a little research and gave it a swirl for a minute or so and the next day it was bubbling like the rest of the brews.

 

[sdent]

Thanks everybody. It's bubbling nicely now. And yes, I relaxed and had a home brew.