Made the Brewer's best witbier...a bit more complex for my third batch but what the hell...pitched yeast at about 80° F or so...my home is very stable at 70°...nothing...opened the top...I don't see the krem? that I am assuming I usually should...I can't IMAGINE that it finished fermentation when I wasn't looking...sanitized everything pretty well in my opinion...any thoughts? Even if by some miracle it does start to ferment...doesn't that mean this late in the game something is wrong? When should I think to repitch the yeast? Kit came with wb-6 yeast FYI.
Beer not bubbling 48 hours later!!
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kombat
Well-Known Member
To check to ensure that fermentation hasn't already finished and you just missed it, you can check the gravity.
What was the original gravity of the beer? What kind of yeast did you pitch? If liquid, did you make a starter? If so, how big? If you used dry yeast, how many packets did you pitch? Did you rehydrate or sprinkle dry? If you rehydrated, describe your procedure. How much water did you rehydrate with, and at what temperature?
What was the original gravity of the beer? What kind of yeast did you pitch? If liquid, did you make a starter? If so, how big? If you used dry yeast, how many packets did you pitch? Did you rehydrate or sprinkle dry? If you rehydrated, describe your procedure. How much water did you rehydrate with, and at what temperature?
At 48 hours it could be finished or have not started. Is there a ring of residue around the sides of the bucket?
To be sure what is happening take a gravity reading.
BTW 70 degree ambient could allow the wort to get up to 80 degrees which is too warm for most ales. Look into temperature control.
To be sure what is happening take a gravity reading.
BTW 70 degree ambient could allow the wort to get up to 80 degrees which is too warm for most ales. Look into temperature control.
brewcephus
Well-Known Member
Give it time.
I had a double brew day this weekend and brewed a Saison and a Pale. Did a yeast starter for the saison(only have one stirplate and one flask); just tossed in 2 vials of liquid yeast for the Pale. Saison was fermenting within 6 hours; took the Pale about 36 hours to get started. This hobby really is about patience.
EDIT:
to reiterate what kh54s10 says, 70 degree ambient is kinda warm and will allow the temp of the wort to rise quite high once fermentation actually takes place. Swamp coolers are a glorious thing and can be made for about $5 with a tub from Wally world.
I had a double brew day this weekend and brewed a Saison and a Pale. Did a yeast starter for the saison(only have one stirplate and one flask); just tossed in 2 vials of liquid yeast for the Pale. Saison was fermenting within 6 hours; took the Pale about 36 hours to get started. This hobby really is about patience.
EDIT:
to reiterate what kh54s10 says, 70 degree ambient is kinda warm and will allow the temp of the wort to rise quite high once fermentation actually takes place. Swamp coolers are a glorious thing and can be made for about $5 with a tub from Wally world.
kombat
Well-Known Member
OK, that's what I thought. It's likely that your beer is just taking some time to get going because of the suboptimal yeast pitch. They're just ramping up their numbers to dine on the delicious meal you gave them. Once they get going, they'll likely work pretty quickly, given the warmer temperatures you're fermenting at. As suggested above, it's recommended that you get the temperature of the beer down a little, if possible. 65°F (beer temp, not room temp) is ideal. A cheap and easy way to do this is with something called a "swamp cooler," which is basically just a plastic tub of water (I use the laundry tubs from Wal Mart, they're $8), and draping a wet t-shirt over the carboy and into the water, to wick water up and evaporate away, keeping the temperature of the beer cool. Monitor the temperature of the water bath. If it gets too warm, add a couple frozen water bottles to get it back down to 65° F. It will make a big difference in the flavour of the resulting beer.
As you progress with this hobby, you may become interested in other ways to improve your beer. Another factor that makes a big difference is your yeast pitching rate. You underpitched a little bit, which can stress the yeast and produce some off flavours, but it'll still be fine for one of your first beers. In the future, look into rehydrating your yeast, or making something called a "starter" if you decide to try some of the liquid yeast strains. It's a way to build up the number of yeast cells to an amount appropriate for the wort. Sprinkling dry damages yeast cells and impedes their ability to make the best beer possible for you. You could correct this by either pitching more yeast (i.e., another packet of dry yeast), or rehydrating it according to the manufacturer's recommendations (instructions can be found on their web site, or by Googling around HBT).
As you progress with this hobby, you may become interested in other ways to improve your beer. Another factor that makes a big difference is your yeast pitching rate. You underpitched a little bit, which can stress the yeast and produce some off flavours, but it'll still be fine for one of your first beers. In the future, look into rehydrating your yeast, or making something called a "starter" if you decide to try some of the liquid yeast strains. It's a way to build up the number of yeast cells to an amount appropriate for the wort. Sprinkling dry damages yeast cells and impedes their ability to make the best beer possible for you. You could correct this by either pitching more yeast (i.e., another packet of dry yeast), or rehydrating it according to the manufacturer's recommendations (instructions can be found on their web site, or by Googling around HBT).
Agreed. In a recent batch with my dad, we used a bucket and lid that didn't form a good seal. It's not that fermentation didn't start because of the poor seal. Fermentation was proceeding normally, but the airlock didn't bubble because the excess gasses escaped through the crack between the lid and the bucket. If this is the case, you most likely won't have any adverse affects. You just can't gauge the stage of fermentation by the airlock.
I did reseal the lid...still no bubbling...there is a layer of hops on the side of the bucket, but that's it...i'm just surprised because my last beer was a wheat bear and it had a VIOLENT fermentation...the airlock itself was gunked with hops and krem...I was lucky I didn't have a blow off...and now? I haven't seen the airlock bubble yet...I guess I will take a SG reading and maybe lower the temperature...but how long should I wait until I worry the yeast is dead?
davygoat2
Well-Known Member
I've been lucky with the lids, I did foul up with the three piece airlock,
Not enough liquid and it looked good but wouldn't bubble,
tweaked me for a day or two then
added more vodka and a bubbling away it went.
DUH!
Not enough liquid and it looked good but wouldn't bubble,
tweaked me for a day or two then
added more vodka and a bubbling away it went.
DUH!
It takes yeast a long time to die. They go dormant somewhat quickly in certain conditions, but they can usually be "woken up".
Take the SG reading. If it's not in your target, I recommend working through the possible causes listed in John Palmer's book:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-1.html
Take the SG reading. If it's not in your target, I recommend working through the possible causes listed in John Palmer's book:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-1.html
Not really...
Your fermentation started when the yeast started converting the sugars to alcohol and co2.
When you set the seal on the bucket the only thing that happened was that the excess co2 started going through the airlock instead of leaking out of the bucket lid.
MarathonMurse
Well-Known Member
THIS.
Just as an experiment to feed my curiosity, I scraped some discolored funk off the patio that was once upon a time (3 months ago) the trub at the bottom of a batch on bottling day. A little warm sugar water, and a few days later the microscope confirmed living yeast.
It's been as cold as 4 degrees Fahrenheit, as warm as 55, has rained, snowed, and thawed/refrozen several times. You have to go to extremes to actually kill yeast.
Wow. Props for actually following through on your curiosity!
took a specific gravity reading today...sure enough...it was 1.012, just about on target...I am assuming I just missed the action, or I had a leaky lid which released the co2...either way I'll give it a bit more time then bottle it...see where we go!
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