Should I repitch more yeast?

Ok, I've been brewing for about two years now but I've never come across this problem. I ordered a kit from Williams and had it shipped from California to me in north Texas. It's over a hundred degrees here every day and when the kit arrived the Wyeast Activator pack was warm to the touch, they didn't include a cold pack! At first I thought it was trash but I had to try to activate it and wait at least 7 days for it to swell if I was to get a warranty replacement. Needless to say it didn't swell at all for the first few days. 4 days later it had swollen enough to not be covered by their warranty (at least 1 1/2' thick). I called them and they said that it should be fine so I brewed and pitched it. It has now been about 8 hours shy of 3 days and there is no activity in the fermenter. I raised the lid this morning and there is no bubbles, foam, or ring around the bucket, just perfectly calm wort. I have an extra pack of wyeast in the fridge, should I repitch or be more patient?

Ronnie

SO what does a hydrometer say??????

I would hope if you called them and told them the situation, they would say make a starter before pitching. 4 days on a smack pack to only rise up 1 1/2" is not a good sign, since the little pouch is there to test viability.

Like Revvy said, what is your current gravity reading. But my guess is a repitch is in order.

Well, you see....what happened was.....I broke my hydrometer after my initial reading and the closest store is over an hour away. I DID call them when it didn't rise after the first 24 hours and they DID tell me to do a starter BUT....I don't have the equipment or supplies to do a starter (I've never done one before). My hands are tied here. I wanted this beer to be ready to drink by mid Oct. so I didn't have time to get the equipment to do a starter.

And the moral of the story is... ...always keep a few packets of dry yeast in the fridge for an emergency.

But in all seriousness, unless you take a reading with a hydrometer you won't know if you're fermenting or not. Suck it up, take a drive to the LHBS, pick up a few packets of Notty/US-05 and maybe some S-04 as well as a hydrometer. Go home, take a reading and if you've not had any fermentation then I'd go ahead and pitch a dry packet of yeast.

I have an extra pack of Wyeast in the fridge that I ordered from a local shop when the one that came in the kit didn't rise. If I go ahead and repitch today, would it hurt anything? The fastest I could get a new hydrometer would be Monday.

And I DID have an extra dry pack in the fridge, my wife used it for bread....

If it's the same yeast it won't hurt anything, if it's different you should expect a different beer. But, you could be possibly wasting a packet of yeast. Know anyone nearby that brews? Maybe someone has a hydrometer you could borrow?

It is the same yeast as what came in the kit (Wyeast 1099-Whitbread Ale). I did find someone with a hydrometer and I'll borrow it this evening. Do you think that it's safe to say that if the gravity hasn't moved at all I should repitch? It will have been 72 hours since I originally pitched.

If the gravity hasn't moved in 72 hours then I'd probably think about repitching at that point. However, if you're confident in your sanitation then you could probably let it sit without any detrimental effects.

I'll bet it's fermented out, I've seen the Whitbread Strain ferment out very quickly in the past. You'll have to let me know whether the gravity has dropped or not.

If it has fermented out don't you think it's strange not to have a trub ring in the fermenting bucket? I will test it in a little while (when my friend gets home from work so I can get his hydrometer) but I just don't see how it could possibly be finished. I am fairly confident in my sanitation but I always worry about my beer being contaminated. I DID have water from my airlock suck back into the bucket but that almost always happens.

You don't necessarily have to see fermentation for it to have happened. While it may be slightly odd to not see a krauesen ring in your fermenter, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Fill your airlock with cheap vodka or star san, then you don't have to worry if it sucks back. I personally use vodka.

Update! I got ahold of my friends hydrometer and when I opened up the lid on the fermenter and....wait for it.....WE HAVE FERMENTATION!! I went ahead and took a reading and it must have just started because it was at 1.072, exactly where we began. As usual I was all worried about nothing. It DID take over 70 hours to start though. I'm going to invest in a yeast starting kit.

Thanks for the help!