24hrs= Zero fermentation activity

[pktshc]

Greetings-

I brewed a batch yesterday and all seemed to be going according to plan. I pitched the yeast (WLP001) at 74 degrees and expected fermentation to begin at somepoint over the night. This AM when I checked it, there was ZERO activity on the airlock. I then proceeded to open the primary (plastic) and noticed that there was nothing happening what so ever.

Could the yeast have been dead? I did not do a starter and obviously that would have told me for sure. Could I repitch with another vial after making a starter tonight? Do I need to rack it to another primary to get it off the dead yeast at the bottom?

The specific recipe, etc is below.

1.0 lbs flaked maize steeped at 150 degrees for 30 minutes then sparged
3.52 lbs John Bull Light LME at 60 min
1 lbs Muntons DME at 60 min
1 lbs of Muntons DME at 20 min
1 oz of Cascade at 60
.5 oz Willamette at 30
.05 oz Willamette at 10
1 tsp Irish Moss at 15

Ptiched one vial (not starter) of WLP 001 California Ale yeast at 74 degrees.


Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Soulive]

Thoughts?

RDWHAHB. I've had yeast take longer than that and just last week I had a lagtime around 20 hours. Its fine...

 

[Evan!]

No starter = bad news. Next time, make a starter. If you don't have time, then use dry yeast or just don't brew. One of the most important factors in making good beer is pitching enough cells...right up there with fermentation temps and sanitation. And a vial or smack pack of yeast is woefully inadequate for 5 gallons of wort. So if you don't have another option and you haven't made a starter, I'd postpone the brew before I'd force it with a single vial or smackpack. Better that than waste your ingredients on a possibly subpar brew.

You should be okay, your beer will take longer to start, but it will probably start. Give it more time. I've had 3 days of lag time before---coincidentally, that was the last time I used liquid yeast without a starter.

 

[sirsloop]

stop messin with it. Just leave it alone.

 

[EdWort]

Did you pull the tube from the fridge and pitch it or did you let it warm up to room temp first?

 

[pktshc]

Good advice all. While I would love to RDWHAHB, I don' think that my employer (The State of Ohio) would appreciate that quite this early.

Back to the question at hand. I did let the yeast warm to room temp, but I do now see the error of my ways (not making a starter). For some reason I thought that the vials contained more yeast cells than the dry packets. See you do learn something new every day.

I will wait and see what happens. As always, great feedback and I really appreciate the assistance.

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

I had a smack pak take 72 hours last month. I did not use a starter. Don't worry about it. It should start. If you see bubbles, it is starting. It may take a few days to get at full strength.

 

[Soulive]

Next time make the starter or use dry yeast. This time, let it do its thing and don't worry until 48+ hours...

 

[Freddy57]

My last batch, I pitched straight from the smack pack and it took about 48 hours to get going. I usually make a starter which gets it going a bit quicker but sometimes signs just don't show up until a day or two into the game anyway. Yeast are funny critters, sometimes they just seem to take their own sweet time to make it happen.

 

[scox80]

i have never used a starter and have never had any problems with fermentation. (knock on wood) I have used that particular yeast many times. I would say wait another day and see what happens....

 

[Soulive]

i have never used a starter and have never had any problems with fermentation. (knock on wood) I have used that particular yeast many times. I would say wait another day and see what happens....

It depends on what you consider "problems" though. Consistantly under-attenuating and consistantly long lagtimes are problems IMO. If you are never making starters, you're dealing with one or both of those issues more than I'd want to...

 

[sirsloop]

It may not seem like a problem until you try making a starter and notice much lower lag times and much better attenuation you get. I don't know what kinda beer you are making, but once you get past like 1.065 OG a starter or at least 1-2 big 11g dry yeast pack is required. I made a HUGE starter for my 9.5% Trois Pistoles... then used the cake from that one for my 10.5% Trois Pistoles. I got (at least) 80% attenuation on the 2nd batch, starting at 1.100. Its been in secondary with beano for a few months now and I don't doubt it dropped a few more points. You aren't gonna get that without a starter.

 

[Jamo99]

I brewed yesterday and was blowing off approximately 5 hrs after pitching. I used a starter though.

Like others have said, I'd leave it alone for now. If it's still got nothing after 48 - 60 hrs, pitch a packet of Nottingham, and next time MAKE A STARTER!!!

 

[friscobrewer]

As said before...RDWHAHB. I am speaking from recent experience. My current batch is a return from 2 1/2 years off of brewing. It forgot to make a starter and forgot to aerate. When my beer did not start fermenting I aerated 24 hours later. I did get fermentation to start, but man it smells/tastes funky.
I used the same WLP0001.