Cant get Fermintation to start..

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I am on my 2nd homebrew and I can not get my beer to ferment.
I am working on a Kolsch beer
FERMENTABLES
3.3 lb. Pilsen LME
2.0 lb. Wheat DME

SPECIALTY GRAINS
12 oz. Carapils®

HOPS
1 oz. Mt. Rainier Bittering
1 oz. Willamette Aroma

YEAST
1 Sachet

its been a little over 30 hours and have 0 bubbles coming through my airlock,
to get my yeast started i added it to 4oz of water and stirred for 15 minutes before adding it to my bucket and stirring that into the wort (i believe it is called) and putting the lid on and putting it into storage (dark closet) to ferminate. Please help!

O.G.: 1.042
 
It can take 72 hours for active visible fermentation to begin. And you shouldn't rely on bubbles in the airlock as an indicator of yeast activity. I bet they're working away in the replication phase (which doesn't create bubbles) and that everything's fine.
 
Bucket lids are notorious for leaking, you might get perfect fermentation without seeing any bubbling in your airlock.

How warm is it in that closet. You should control the fermentation temperature (the temperature of the wort itself) in the mid sixties.
 
Buckets are notorious for not tight fitting lids, leaking gas (air and CO2) around the rim area. You can shine a strong flashlight through the sides and peak through the airlock hole to see if there's a (foamy) krausen ring developing.

Of course, keep good sanitation standards to prevent infecting the batch. Don't lift the lid until you're ready to package into bottles or keg. Regardless of the instructions, do NOT use a secondary. Let the batch be for 2-3 weeks.
 
In an odd way, I think using a yeast starter could eliminate one possible problem and bring clarity to finding fail points.
I use dry Fermentis/Saflager yeasts and White Labs packets in wort-based starters more often than not to get a gauge on the yeast's vigor at room temps before pitching. I am using glass carboys and am using the original beer kit plastic pails as cleaning and bottling buckets.
 
Another way to check for kraeusen is to darken the room and set a flashlight on the lid shining down. You can see an indication of kraeusen or the ring on the side. I don't get a visible indication this way until it's been actively fermenting for a few hours.
 
Don't lift the lid until you're ready to package into bottles or keg.

I agree with the concept of leaving it undisturbed as much as possible, but I do get a gravity sample two days before bottling day to be sure the gravity is stable. I just tilt the lid back enough to get the sample and then put it right back. For me this is a safety precaution to minimize the chance of getting bottle bombs. This hasn't caused problems for me, but I realize that it could result in oxidation or contamination. It's one of those compromises that each brewer has to make one way or the other.
 
I agree with the concept of leaving it undisturbed as much as possible, but I do get a gravity sample two days before bottling day to be sure the gravity is stable. I just tilt the lid back enough to get the sample and then put it right back. For me this is a safety precaution to minimize the chance of getting bottle bombs. This hasn't caused problems for me, but I realize that it could result in oxidation or contamination. It's one of those compromises that each brewer has to make one way or the other.

Agreed, a gravity/taste sample (or 2 or 3) at the end, to ascertain the fermentation has finished, is needed when you bottle your beer. When kegging it's not as important unless you have reason to believe it has stalled midway.

To take a sample, and to be the least invasive as possible, I remove the airlock and snake a 1/4" OD hose down the grommet hole and suck/siphon out enough beer for a hydro/taste sample.

If I'm really paranoid about possible oxidation, I either slowly stream CO2 in through a second hole in the lid, while working, or flush the headspace with CO2 right after I remove the skinny tube. Then replace the airlock.
 
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I think we worry too much about oxidation when taking FG samples. I take up to 3 prior to bottling by popping the bucket lid and drawing off a sample and have never had an apparent oxidation problem. The small amount of fresh air that enters the fermenter by popping the lid is not going to magically cause the 21% oxygen in it to suddenly dissolve into the beer. At any point in the process, it takes some intentionally vigorous aeration to cause enough oxygen to dissolve and adversely affect the beer.
 
In an odd way, I think using a yeast starter could eliminate one possible problem and bring clarity to finding fail points.
I use dry Fermentis/Saflager yeasts and White Labs packets in wort-based starters more often than not to get a gauge on the yeast's vigor at room temps before pitching. I am using glass carboys and am using the original beer kit plastic pails as cleaning and bottling buckets.

Making a starter when using liquid yeast is highly recommended, and usually necessary to ramp up the meager cell count to obtain a healthy fermentation.

When using dry yeast the jury is still out whether a starter is beneficial or not. But correctly rehydrating dry yeast is definitely recommended following manufacturers' instructions to a T, even as nebulous as they can be sometimes. ;) Oh, Safale, hire a knowledgeable translator and proofreader for those few sentences!

Nothing wrong with carboys, but for routine fermentations, I've gone "back" to using plastic fermentor buckets. Easier to clean and handle (literally, they have a handle), and surely not as dangerous or near deadly when (inadvertently) dropped. I only dread the handle snapping off some day when carrying one up or down the steps...

I now only use carboys for long term fermentations, mostly sours. In the rare cases a secondary is needed, I use kegs. Easy to purge with CO2 and they can withstand some pressure.
 
It can take 72 hours for active visible fermentation to begin. And you shouldn't rely on bubbles in the airlock as an indicator of yeast activity. I bet they're working away in the replication phase (which doesn't create bubbles) and that everything's fine.

The last time I had a batch take longer than 12-24hrs? It sucked. 72hrs... whaaaat?

Even my beer thats a pretty high gravity at ~1.076... I had activity in SIX hours..

72hrs? no frigging way. granted my experience is not comprehensive. So possible... id call that not probable.
 
okay so i took a Gravity Reading
My O.G. was 1.042 that was on Nov. 11th
today Nov. 16th the reading was 1.003

and i could see the kraeusen on the sides. so i think everything is :rockin:
 
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