So I just brewed for the first time last weekend. I went with a stout recipe, as those are my favorite and I thought would be the easiest with the equipment and ingredients I had access to, as well as the ambient temps I was seeing in my house.
I set a thermometer in several areas of my house to see where I would be able to keep a fairly consistent ambient temp. I can go anywhere from about 63F to 68F, depending on location, hoping that would be sufficient for a good stout using Wyeast 1084.
I was figuring if I could keep the ambient temp around 64-65F, when good fermentation starts happening, the wort would be around 68-70F.
But, my Wyeast was about 8 months old. I pitched at about 72F. The first night, it cooled down to about 63F. I moved it and got it back up to around 67F. At about 40 hours, there was still very little activity. My bucket seems to be sealed good, and it has been back-sucking on the airlock as it pressurizes, but I've only seen a couple bubbles.
Do I have anything to worry about, or is it just a combo of older yeast with cooler temps than expected? I haven't checked it since this morning, so it's entirely possible it has taken off today. I'll find out soon!
My question: Are my expectations with the ambient temp solid? What do you guys usually shoot for with Wyeast 1084 to keep it in that 68-70 range?
I set a thermometer in several areas of my house to see where I would be able to keep a fairly consistent ambient temp. I can go anywhere from about 63F to 68F, depending on location, hoping that would be sufficient for a good stout using Wyeast 1084.
I was figuring if I could keep the ambient temp around 64-65F, when good fermentation starts happening, the wort would be around 68-70F.
But, my Wyeast was about 8 months old. I pitched at about 72F. The first night, it cooled down to about 63F. I moved it and got it back up to around 67F. At about 40 hours, there was still very little activity. My bucket seems to be sealed good, and it has been back-sucking on the airlock as it pressurizes, but I've only seen a couple bubbles.
Do I have anything to worry about, or is it just a combo of older yeast with cooler temps than expected? I haven't checked it since this morning, so it's entirely possible it has taken off today. I'll find out soon!
My question: Are my expectations with the ambient temp solid? What do you guys usually shoot for with Wyeast 1084 to keep it in that 68-70 range?