This may not be good- advice?

[Scalliwag]

Merry Christmas guys. I am a newby and I did a search and found one thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18200 but none that specifically considered a few additional circumstances I have.

I bought a Home Brewery American Ale kit http://www.homebrewerysupply.com/homebrew/home_brewery_ingredient_kits.htm I followed the instructions verbatim, even though I read in books and forums about other ways of starting the yeast. It came with an 11g pack of Doric dry yeast. The expiration date is June 2006.
The instructions with the kit said that once the wort was cooled to 75 degrees to pitch the yeast and once it saturated to stir it in with a spoon. I did that and put an airlock on it.
The instructions said that it would be bubbling in 3 hours or so. I checked the forum and found that thread I linked to and seen where it has taken longer for some. I have been waiting about 19 hours.

I splashed the wort to aeriate it when I moved it to the fermenting bucket so I think I got enough air in before I threw the yeast. Is it just newby paranoia or is there a good chance this batch is going to be a bust?
How long should I give it before I give up?

 

[Orfy]

What temperature do you have it at?
What temperature was it when you pitched the yeast?
Is the lid on your fermenter air tight.

The guys who do the kit instructions a being very optimistic to say it should be bubbling in 3 hours.

19 hours is not long enough for it to be concerning you.
Start worrying in 2 days.

 

[david_42]

The main questions are how long have you had this kit & the yeast was stored. Dried yeast is tough and can handle being frozen or sitting in a garage in a Tucson summer, but it does have limits. For fermentation to start in 3 hours is unlikely.

Give it 48 hours. Worst case would be having to buy some fresher yeast & re-pitch. If your sanitation was good, you have a week or so to get new yeast.

 

[Scalliwag]

What temperature do you have it at?
What temperature was it when you pitched the yeast?
Is the lid on your fermenter air tight.

The guys who do the kit instructions a being very optimistic to say it should be bubbling in 3 hours.

19 hours is not long enough for it to be concerning you.
Start worrying in 2 days.

It is at 74 right now.
It was maybe 76 when I pitched it.
The lid is definately air tight.

thanks!

 

[Orfy]

Then I'd say sit back, relax and have a hombrew.
Give it another 30 hours.

 

[treehouse]

The first thing I would do is call the kit supplier and complain that you received a kit with an expired packet of yeast in it. Ask for a replacement which I'm sure they will be more than happy to do. By the time that arrives, your beer will probably be fermenting away happily and you will have an extra packet of backup yeast.

 

[Scalliwag]

Thanks for the advice guys. I bought the kit last weekend from Foreman's http://www.homebrewerysupply.com/homebrew/index.htm They are very close by. I would not complain to them mainly because I accidently broke a hydrometer when I was there and offered to pay for it and the owner would not let me because it fell out of the carton. I was buying another. They have a great reputation as well.
Most likely this will be the last kit I use anyways since I can get fresher stuff from them cheaper.
They crush grain for free as well.

What I was hoping for is with a ready-made kit that I would be able to get a feel for brewing and any funky results would not be me just getting something wrong in the recipe. I've got a lot of equipment for someone that has not even successfully made their first batch yet so I am in for the long haul regardless of how this batch goes. Thanks for the help guys. I have been lurking here mostly, reading and learning and lots of searching and you guys have helped get me jumpstarted on this. It is great to know that when I do have questions or run into trouble that you guys are here.

Maybe one day I will know enough to help somebody else out.

 

[Scalliwag]

at the 36 hour point this morning there was still nothing. I called up Foreman's and they told me to look in and see if there was a ring of foam, if not they told me to come in and they will give me another yeast packet.
I will check it when I go home and go from there.

 

[Orfy]

If it's at ideal temp then it's not likely to take >48hrs to get going. It sounds maybe like it's failed.

2 ways to get rid of the uncertaincy is make a mini starter before you pitch it and take gravity readings.

 

[SteveM]

I'm going to say also that in my experience stirring helps nothing and may hurt the process. Dry yeast, if used without a starter, can simply be shaken onto the top of everything and left to its own devices.

I think the out of date yeast was the problem here. Get the fresh yeast.

 

[Scalliwag]

I went home at lunch and there was no ring of any kind. Just dark brown liquid. So I went to the brew store and they gave me a packet that does not expire until July 07.
I pitched it and put on the airlock. Now I am crossing fingers. That was at 11:45 (central time) Hopefully when I get home there will be signs to put me at ease.

 

[Scalliwag]

51 hours since I pitched the first, 11 hours since the second..... no activity in the airlock. Temp is right at 75 degrees.

 

[Scalliwag]

Well I slept while the fermentation fairies visited last night it appears. I checked on it and did not see any bubbles but I noticed the water level in the chambers of the airlock went from being even to uneven. So I pulled the lid to take a peek and it is foamy.... so I guess I did not watch long enough.
Can I move it to the secondary yet or should I wait?

 

[Wolf]

at the 36 hour point this morning there was still nothing. I called up Foreman's and they told me to look in and see if there was a ring of foam, if not they told me to come in and they will give me another yeast packet.
I will check it when I go home and go from there.

Well, the good thing about all this is that you know you have a good LHBS. This is exactly the answer they should have given, in addition to not charging you for that hydrometer.
In fact, they helped jump start your brewing career. It takes most of us longer to break our first hydrometer

 

[Yooper]

Well I slept while the fermentation fairies visited last night it appears. I checked on it and did not see any bubbles but I noticed the water level in the chambers of the airlock went from being even to uneven. So I pulled the lid to take a peek and it is foamy.... so I guess I did not watch long enough.
Can I move it to the secondary yet or should I wait?

Now you wait, and then wait some more. I leave mine in primary (after fermentation starts) for one week or so. The fermentation should be about done, the krausen fallen (the foamy), the airlock pretty quiet, and very little signs of activity. THEN you can move it to secondary (otherwise known as the clearing vessel).

Sounds like you're making beer- all you need to do now is wait!
Lorena

 

[Scalliwag]

Cool! I will give it a week or so and move it to the primary. Should I use a strainer for that?
Dang I wish I would have got to see it when it was really bubbling But I am just happy it did the dirty deed I guess

 

[Yooper]

It's in the primary now. You could have strained it when you poured it in the bucket, but after you started fermentation you must not oxygenate it anymore. When you move it to secondary, you "rack" it. That is, siphon it into the carboy with no splashing. You siphon it off above the crud (trub) and leave the crud in the primary bucket. Put the end of the tube at the very bottom of the receiving vessel, as to not splash it. You can use an autosiphon to start your siphon, or do what I do- I fill the tubing with water, pinch the ends and start my siphon. This takes much practice to learn. Most people recommend the auto siphon, but I'm too cheap. Don't suck on the tube because then you'll contaminate your beer. (If you do a search on this, you'll find all three methods are used by members of this forum, and we agree to disagree).

By the way, it's probably just getting going now, so you'll have more action going on later.

Lorena

 

[FrewBrew]

Congratulations, you've officially made beer now (although you won't be able to drink it for quite some time). My number one recommendation: Get real yeast next time. Not to say that dried yeast isn't "real" per-say, but it's just not good. For best results, get either liquid yeast (wyeast labs) or one of the smack packs. The smack packs work much like an ice pack, where you smack it and it gets cold... less the cold part + 24 hours + active yeast. I've had the best luck so far with the smack packs, followed by a starter.

 

[Scalliwag]

Congratulations, you've officially made beer now (although you won't be able to drink it for quite some time). My number one recommendation: Get real yeast next time. Not to say that dried yeast isn't "real" per-say, but it's just not good. For best results, get either liquid yeast (wyeast labs) or one of the smack packs. The smack packs work much like an ice pack, where you smack it and it gets cold... less the cold part + 24 hours + active yeast. I've had the best luck so far with the smack packs, followed by a starter.

Yep, after reading a lot on the forum and talking to homebrewers I have come to that conclusion. No more kits. I will take my recipe to the LHBS and get the orders filled that way. I have a good set of digital scales to weigh off and make sure I get everything deadnutz on.

On a side note I was at the local metal scrapyard and they had 4 or 5 BIG stainless vessels that have bottoms that look like conical fermentors and the way the top is made with pressure connectors and stuff they look like you could brew in them.
What sucks it that they are enormous so for homebrew it would not be practical. If I get a chance I will swing by and take pics of these monsters.
Anybody hardcore enough for these you think?

 

[knipknup]

On a side note I was at the local metal scrapyard and they had 4 or 5 BIG stainless vessels that have bottoms that look like conical fermentors and the way the top is made with pressure connectors and stuff they look like you could brew in them.
What sucks it that they are enormous so for homebrew it would not be practical. If I get a chance I will swing by and take pics of these monsters.
Anybody hardcore enough for these you think?

Sounds like someone scrapped a brewhouse...

 

[Scalliwag]

well. I got pics of these bad boys https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18398

 

[Scalliwag]

I watched the airlock for probably 5 minutes straight last night and not one bubble? I took another peek in the bucket and it is a nasty looking kinda funky foam with nasty looking stuff in it. Is that normal. Oh, it smells like Shiner bock, only stronger That part I liked!

 

[Scalliwag]

Cool!!!! I got big belching bubbles!!!! Thanks guys!!!