WLP029 @66 Degrees. Two Days Later - No Fermentation. Why?

Hi,

I brewed an amber ale with an OG of 1.050 on Monday afternoon. I used an 8" air stone to add oxygen to the wort, the exact same way I did on a prior batch (not using this yeast). I have it fermenting around 66 degrees, but have noticed no activity in the airlock.

So, 43 hours into this, I drew a sample and checked the gravity. No change at all. Still right at 1.050!

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

Well, since your gravity hasn't dropped, that rules out a bad lid seal...

I actually used this yeast last year on a Kolsch and had some... "interesting" results. I did notice that it was an extremely SLOW starter - I think I was almost 72 hours in before I started to see action.

I'm pretty sure that with mine, I didn't pitch enough yeast. I think the yeast struggled quite a bit to get going and threw out some nasty by-products as a result. The beer never did lose its acrid, sulphury smell. This yeast will have some sulphur hints, but usually cleans up.

Do you know what the date was on your yeast? Did you use a starter or just chuck the vial in? How many did you use? I use smack packs without starters, but have pretty much given up on anything in a vial without a starter... the yeasts are good, but just don't seem to have the same amount of "oomph" to them as even some dry yeasts.

Since what's done is done, you could give it a healthy swirl to try to get the yeast more active in the suspension and see what happens...

 

Yeah, the first thing I thought after reading these posts was that I had a bad seal, so I checked the gravity. The yeast vial was showing good until the end of this month. I got it from my LHBS, and when I called him today to let him know what was going on, he had me come in to get a replacement vial. So, I will pitch this one later today.

Question - Can I still aerate the wort before doing so? Since fermentation has not yet started, would this be OK to do?

Thanks,

- Joe

 

Yes. Definitely oxygenate. My typical approach is oxygenate, wait 12-24 hours. If no sign of activity, I oxygenate again. You're still in the growth phase. Oxygenation is needed at this point.

If your yeast is expiring this month, that means its 3-4 month old yeast. I would've used a starter.

I use WLP029 for my House Pale Ale all the time. I pitch a 1.5L starter and it takes off fairly quickly.

Hope that helps,
Tim

 

OK, I added a fresher vial of yeast to the wort, after inserting a sanitized air tube into the bucket for a few minutes. I also swirled the bucket around to make sure things got mixed up a bit. 16 hours later, no activity in the airlock. Not even any "pressure" on the lid, like I had experienced with my prior batch in that same bucket.

The only thing I see is a slight off-level of the liquid in the s-type airlock, with the liquid being "pushed" about a couple of millimeters higher on the other chamber. My thermowell is toward the edge of the bucket, and not in the center, and it is reading 66 degrees.

At what point do I start to worry about the viability of the wort? I can't imagine that I can have two bad yeast vials, especially since the second one has a "use by" date of March 2014.

Has anyone else ever run into something like this before? This is the 4th batch I have made using the exact same method (full boil, immersion chiller to below 80 degrees, aerate for a few minutes with a large air stone, pitch liquid yeast, put in my dual-stage temp controlled fridge at around 66 degrees), but the first time I got my liquid malt extract from my LHBS.

I will give a status update after a full 24 hours with the new yeast.

 

Give an update after 3 days. I suspect you will see activity soon. But in less than a day is too soon to get worried.

Unless something is VERY strange the wort will ferment. AFAIK there is no such thing as wort viability. Just varying amounts of un-fermentable sugars which would change the sweetness.

 

OK, good to know. I am seeing the pressure level change a bit, as the water level delta is growing. That is a good sign!

Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

 

I agree. You're going to be fine. For a 1.050 beer, try about a 1.5L starter and oxygenate well. You'll get a great take off.

If you want to be specific with starters, check out the yeast calculator at mrmalty.com

Good luck!