1214 and an OG question

[jasondominy]

I brewed the Delerium Tremens clone from Maltose Express yesterday, using the Wyeast 1214 smack pack. Smacked it, waited about three hours for it to swell, and nothing. I waited about an hour longer, nothing. So, I pitched it anyway. Woke up this morning, and nothing. I've read that the 1214 can be slow to start anyway, so i'm not worried about that. I'm trying to make sure I keep it in the correct temp range, so I'll pay close attention to that. Anything else I need to remember?

The other thing is that the sheet says the OG should have been between 1.084-85, and I measured it around 1.07. Should I be worried? What could I have goofed, or should I pay attention to next time to make sure it's in the range the recipe says, or does it even matter what the sheet says? This is only my third batch, and I want to learn as much as possible.

 

[beergolf]

A couple of things.

First, yes. 1214 is extremely slow to start. That is normal. However, you really needed to make a starter. You have underpitched e yeast.

Second. What was the recipe? If it was a partial boil with top off water, then the OG stated is probably correct unless you really missed the volumes of water. If you did top off then the reading you got was from the wort not being fully mixed.

 

[jasondominy]

A couple of things.

First, yes. 1214 is extremely slow to start. That is normal. However, you really needed to make a starter. You have underpitched e yeast.

Second. What was the recipe? If it was a partial boil with top off water, then the OG stated is probably correct unless you really missed the volumes of water. If you did top off then the reading you got was from the wort not being fully mixed.

Came home tonight to bubbles in the airlock, so we're good there. When you say make a starter, I just learned about making a starter, and this one's already done. There's nothing I can do with this one, right? The recipe does call for a second pitch in a week before bottling of the same 1214 yeast. And yes, I did top it off with water, although I did try the make sure the wort was mixed after pitching the yeast.

 

[jasondominy]

Also, I bought a Dyson Hot and Cold fan that I can set at 75 degrees and blow directly on the carboy to help keep the temp stable. Any downside to this?