aeration after yeast fails?

[mboardman]

brewed partial mash pilsner yesterday about 7pm, yeast smack packet never did really bloat up, but I added it anyway.

Today I look and its obvious there is no activity in the fermentor. Usually I froth and aerate the wort as it goes into the fermentor, but now that it has sat overnight and calmed down, Id like to aerate the batch before pitching a fresh packet of dry yeast.

The flavor so far is good, tasted the gravity sample. Dont want to change that. Can I aerate without worries?

 

[h22lude]

Those don't always swell. How old was the pack?

If it was a newer pack it is most likely fine. It has been less than 24 hours. With just shaking to aerate, I typically didn't see signs of fermentation until after 24 hours.

 

[mboardman]

Well, I might have left it out at room temp of 65 or so for a few days before realizing it was in the box. I usually get dry yeast, so I just grabbed the box of kits from postman and took it downstairs for wkend brewing.

Once I realized my error, I put it in the fridge, then pulled back out a day before brewing and broke the capsule inside. It did actually get slightly bigger, but nothing like I remember from past experience.

Just to be sure I went ahead and added a packet of S23. Decided not to mess with aeration.

 

[kh54s10]

Too late but you probably had no reason to add any yeast. Assuming a 5 gallon batch and that you underpitched by not making a starter, it could easily take as long as 72 hours to get started. Certainly less than 24 hours is way too soon to get worried even if you did make a properly sized starter.

Leaving the pack out at that temperature did not harm it.

Some packs will swell a lot, others not much at all. It only means that one produced more co2 than another.

 

[mboardman]

You're probably right, but wanted to give it a kick in the butt. Waiting 3 days to know it wont tick over seems a waste of time. $4 packet of yeast is cheap insurance.

 

[65C]

I had a slow starting 1187 Ringwood which was a smack pack I didn't do long before pitching, I gave it a swish over a couple of days and it got going in the end