added dry yeast at 82F...stupid I know

[BrewKepf]

Making a Stout from an extract kit.

I did everything fine until the last step. I did a full boil instead of a partial and got impatient.

On Tuesday night, I added the dry yeast to the ferment bucket at 82F.

On Wednesday, the bucket temp was down to 75F.

On Thursday it is down to 68F which is room temp.

Still no action on the carboy, even when I press down on the lid. The othe 2 extracts I have done showed activity withing 12 hours.

My question is, should I just open it up and add more dry yeast? Did I kill the other dry yeast? Or should I give the yeast more time?

 

[scinerd3000]

probably not...Most yeasts should be added below 80 but its just a baseline...you still should have been fine. Give it atleast a few days before you worry. Occasionaly i have had yeasts take up to 5 days to really show activity (bubbles) but gas production isnt an accurate display of fermentation...for all you know its fermenting away. Look in and see if there is any krausen, if not i would wait one more day and pitch fresh yeast.

 

[brian_g]

82 F isn't hot enough to kill the yeast. The reason for letting the wort cool down is so you don't ferment to hot. If it ferments too hot you can get off flavors in your beer. The yeast that comes with extract kits is usually pretty forgiving.

You said when you push on the lid you get no airlock activity? Are you using a carboy or a bucket? If it's a bucket you may have an air leak somewhere.

Check your gravity. Your beer may be done already. Yeast can ferment pretty fast at 82 F. I had batches finish in a couple of days. (I still like to wait a few more days just to be sure.)

 

[phatuna]

I did the same thing the other day and everything turned out fine. although I had a pretty strong ferment with the higher temp - and it has a slight banana smell... I bet Brian is right, you may have an airleak.

 

[syd138]

If it was closer to 90-100 I would be worried.

80 shouldn't kill it. Maybe just shake it around a bit.

See, thats why I use a glass carboy as my primary.. then you can see how everything is doing.

 

[BrewKepf]

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

I'll pop it open today, take a hydro reading, then do the same in a day or two.

That should let me know if I need to add yeast again.

Thank you all again.

 

[david_42]

I would not be surprised if the fermentation was done the first night. 82F would make for explosive growth and a very fast ferment. Probably some fruity aromas as well.

 

[malenkylizards]

Hmmm...

Semi-related question for y'all. I'm a newbie mazer who was fixing up a 1-quart yeast starter last night to start a batch tonight. Three cups of water were heated in a saucepan, then removed and a cup of honey, a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient and a couple of pieces of mango [the fruit used in the mead]. The technique I was following said to let this cool to room temperature, then aerate and pitch the yeast, wet champagne yeast in my case. Trouble is, I started way too late, and by 2 AM the sterilized glass 5-pound honey jar I had it in was still warm to the touch, even after putting it in the fridge for a half hour. I hadn't been sleeping well and was way, way tired, and just decided to pitch the yeast so I could get four hours of sleep. I didn't take the temperature of the stuff, but the touch of the glass on the outside was like a mug of coffee after it's been out for an hour or so; above room temperature but still warm [there's scientific rigor for ya!]

There were a *few* bubbles this morning, but not a lot. Should I be concerned? If the yeast starter ain't up to snuff when I get home, anything I can do to encourage it? As I live in a crowded house, tonight is really the only time I'll be able to do it soon, so if it can't happen then, it'll be postponed for quite some time.

 

[peepfoot]

Im not an expert, and I dont know much about mead, but it should be fine. Actually, most answers you get her is "youshould be just fine". Because this is a hobby that will work on itself. you shouldnt have to do too much to make a great product. Enjoy!

 

[malenkylizards]

Im not an expert, and I dont know much about mead, but it should be fine. Actually, most answers you get her is "youshould be just fine". Because this is a hobby that will work on itself. you shouldnt have to do too much to make a great product. Enjoy!

*sigh* Yeaahhh, you're right. I kinda keep forgetting that this is what yeast like to do. Thanks for the pep talk!

 

[Cugel]

What mead yeast are you using? The wyeast sweet mead has not received great reviews FWIW. Give it time, it'll be just fine

I use dry wine yeasts. Rehydrate the yeast using GoFerm and use DAP and Fermaind K for staggered nutrient additions.

Have a look at the FAQs in the Mead forum here.

 

[TheFlatline]

Making a Stout from an extract kit.

I did everything fine until the last step. I did a full boil instead of a partial and got impatient.

On Tuesday night, I added the dry yeast to the ferment bucket at 82F.

On Wednesday, the bucket temp was down to 75F.

On Thursday it is down to 68F which is room temp.

Still no action on the carboy, even when I press down on the lid. The othe 2 extracts I have done showed activity withing 12 hours.

My question is, should I just open it up and add more dry yeast? Did I kill the other dry yeast? Or should I give the yeast more time?

Your pitching temp is not the problem unless you went straight from the fridge to 80-odd degrees. That can shock the yeast and give you a lag time. I always take my yeast out, dry or liquid, to warm up when I start brewing. Within a few hours when I pitch, it's gently, slowly warmed up.

My suggestion is to check in a day or so. Airlock activity is not a proper indication of fermentation, and it can take upwards of 2-3 days before fermentation really starts.

 

[malenkylizards]

What mead yeast are you using? The wyeast sweet mead has not received great reviews FWIW. Give it time, it'll be just fine

I use dry wine yeasts. Rehydrate the yeast using GoFerm and use DAP and Fermaind K for staggered nutrient additions.

Have a look at the FAQs in the Mead forum here.

I used champagne yeast, that's worked pretty well for me so far.

Unfortunately, it died. Or something. It also occurred to me that it wasn't anywhere *near* 80 degrees; as my dad pointed out to me, if it felt warm, it was warmer than my hand. Given that, I would guess it was 100 degrees when I pitched the yeast.

Lesson learned, it would've been much better to just let it cool until morning, and aerate and pitch right before leaving for work. The batch is gonna have to wait, as this was one of the few times I'd be able to make mead these days, but spring break is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I may even be able to do it some morning before school.

Now, I'm curious as to what y'all think may have happened, because by this morning, 30 hours or so into the endeavor, *something* happened. Floating on the top was a foul-smelling brown sludge...pictures will come, but I've got a wedding to get to, so it'll have to wait. It's possible that this was perfectly healthy yeast, but I wasn't about to waste some $50 of ingredients on the chance.

I've also decided to stop using wet yeast, because $7 for something I can't really purchase in bulk doesn't make a lot of economic sense. I make a yeast starter before pitching, so dry yeast should suit me just fine, and this way I'll be able to get lots at once so in case a packet fails, I'm not totally screwed.

Still bummin'. :'(

 

[brian_g]

I don't think 100 is hot enough to kill yeast. Nottingham suggests rehydrating their yeast at 86° - 95°F. I'm not sure what the upper limit is.

It sounds like it may have fermented or be in the process of fermenting. Have you checked the gravity?

 

[cushdan]

If you'd like to cut down on cost of yeast you can try reusing the previous batch's. Lots of info here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

Although, I don't know if its recommended to do this for mead since that may stress out the yeast too much...