Dead yeast

[Cowher]

Hey guys!

I think I made a rookie mistake last night and I hope I didn't ruin my batch. I'm brewing a extract kit ipa. It's my second brew.
So I had a packet of wyeast and the bag didn't swell up a ton. It did a little but I read the package and it says I don't have to wait for the bag to swell. So I pitched the yeast. Well this morning I look at my airlock and there is NO activity. It's not bubbling at all. My last beer was wild it started bubbling hours after I pitched the yeast.

What should I do? Should I go get yeast at my local home brew supply? Am I screwed?

Thanks!

 

[hercher]

No, you are likely fine. Just because you don't see any bubbling in your airlock doesn't mean nothing is happening. First, I would wait at least another 24 hours. Then take a gravity reading if you still don't see any activity. Then wait another 24 hours and take another reading. If after 3 days, your gravity has not dropped at all, then you may need to pitch some new yeast.

In either case, you are not screwed at all.

 

[Revvy]

It is too soon to even begin to worry....after 72 hours is when you take a gravity reading and see what's going on. It's quite common for yeast to take 2-3 days to get going, it's called lag time.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/, and by visible signs we don't necessarily mean a bubbling airlock. it means gravity reading

It IS a sticky at the top of the beginners forum for a reason, afterall.

"Activity is irrevelent." Just gravity points on a hydrometer.
Airlock bubbling (or lack) and fermentation are not the same thing. You have to separate that from your mindset. Airlock bubbling can be a sign of fermentation, but not a good one, because the airlock will often blip or not blip for various other reasons...so it is a tenuous connection at best.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years.

The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

So wait til you hit the 72 hour mark THEN take a gravity reading. I predict that like 99.5% of ALL the threads like this, you will have a drop in gravity indicating fermentation is happening.



I've been brewing for years and I've never had to repitch......and I doubt you will either....Modern yeast doesn't really not work anymore.....But you have to not equate airlock bubbling with anything other than......airlock bubbling.

 

[Cowher]

Ya know when I first started to learn about brewing beer/wine it was from a man who was like a adopted father to me. He told me what he was told and what worked for him. But now that I am learning the truth about brewing I have to discard some of the information he told me and replace it with the correct answers.
I know it's hard to answer the same questions over and over on a forum but thanks for being kind and helping me not to panic.

One thing I need to get into my fat head is that they were brewing beer in ancient Egypt. I most likely have more knowledge of brew science than they did but they brewed beer and it came out fine. They didn't have iodophor. They didn't have all the technology we do. but they still made beer.
Thanks for your help guys.

 

[StittsvilleJames]

I did this exact same thing yesterday, and was worried when I checked this morning (I don't have an airlock though, I just lifted the lid and peeked inside).
Smacked the pack, waited 4 hours before I pitched it, and dumped it in, even though it didn't really expand much at all (maybe just a tiny bit, if at all).

I figured I would wait it out a couple days (as hard as that is) to see if it starts fermenting or not, after reading the sticky in the beginner forum.

If it doesn't start after 72 hours (hypothetically speaking of course), should I just throw more yeast in it, or is there a special way to do that?

EDIT: Came home from work, now at about pitching time + 30 hours, and I don't think I have ever seen as much krausen before with dry yeast. Thank God my fermenter isn't sealed with an airlock (it's one with a lid sitting on top,not snapped on or anything), or I'm sure it would have exploded by now.

 

[hercher]

I did this exact same thing yesterday, and was worried when I checked this morning (I don't have an airlock though, I just lifted the lid and peeked inside).
Smacked the pack, waited 4 hours before I pitched it, and dumped it in, even though it didn't really expand much at all (maybe just a tiny bit, if at all).

I figured I would wait it out a couple days (as hard as that is) to see if it starts fermenting or not, after reading the sticky in the beginner forum.

If it doesn't start after 72 hours (hypothetically speaking of course), should I just throw more yeast in it, or is there a special way to do that?

1. If, after 72 hours, and only IF your gravity has not dropped at all, then yes, you may need to add more yeast. It is as easy as that. Prepare your yeast as usual (a starter might be a good idea), then just dump it in.

2. You've possibly got another issue. I'm concerned you don't have airlock. As your beer ferments, the yeast converts sugars into ethanol and gives of CO2 as a by-product. If your lid is tightly sealed, and that CO2 has no way to escape, you can build up a lot of pressure in your container. This can create, at best, a sticky mess when you remove your lid. At worst, it can burst and injure someone. If your lid isn't tight, how are you ensuring no bacteria gets into your beer?

 

[Revvy]

2. You've possibly got another issue. I'm concerned you don't have airlock. As your beer ferments, the yeast converts sugars into ethanol and gives of CO2 as a by-product. If your lid is tightly sealed, and that CO2 has no way to escape, you can build up a lot of pressure in your container. This can create, at best, a sticky mess when you remove your lid. At worst, it can burst and injure someone. If your lid isn't tight, how are you ensuring no bacteria gets into your beer?

More than likely he has one of those fermenters that you aren't supposed to tighten a lid down...just putting it in places does all you need in terms of keeping bad stuff out while releasing co2.

There are several fermenters out there that don't have airlock bungholes added, and don't need airlocks on them.

And are perfectly fine.

Some you do need to drill, while others don't and the lids don't sit all that tight on them.

There's nothing wrong with that at all, And the mr beer fermenter doesn't even have an airlock, and SOMEHOW beer manages to still ferment in those things.

An airlock is nothing more than a valve to keep the lid from blowing off and painting your ceiling with your beer.

The bad stuff are not ninja acrobats, they really can't get into stuff. The co2 coming out will prevent anything getting in.

The airlock is one of the most superfluous things in brewing, that new brewers seem to put the most stock in.

You really don't need an airtight seal on your fermenter. The co2 coming out of there would protect your beer. In fact many folks with arthitis and other issues don't snap the lid down on their buckets anyway, and may folks just put tinfoil, plastic wrap, metal cookie sheets or even plexiglass sheets on top of the bucket instead. It's really not crucial to be tight.

In fact you don't want a "pressurized" bucket, if you have one, then at some point you will end up with a ceiling full of beer. I've had that happen when the vent (airlock) gets blocked by a freak hop cone, and it wasn't pretty.

Homercidal posted yesterday that he was just at a commercial brewery in Traverse City where they FERMENT their beer with plastic wrap on top of the fermentation vessels. And one of our mods posted recently that he just uses loose fitting lids on his fermenters.

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

I absolutely get a kick out of how Revy posts the same thing at least 5x per week.

 

[AmandaK]

I absolutely get a kick out of how Revy posts the same thing at least 5x per week.

Same here!

 

[day_trippr]

I absolutely get a kick out of how Revy posts the same thing at least 5x per week.

I think he has posting scripts bound to function keys.

"Hmmm....This thread needs an ALT-F7!"

Cheers!

 

[StittsvilleJames]

More than likely he has one of those fermenters that you aren't supposed to tighten a lid down...just putting it in places does all you need in terms of keeping bad stuff out while releasing co2.

There are several fermenters out there that don't have airlock bungholes added, and don't need airlocks on them.

And are perfectly fine.

Some you do need to drill, while others don't and the lids don't sit all that tight on them.

There's nothing wrong with that at all, And the mr beer fermenter doesn't even have an airlock, and SOMEHOW beer manages to still ferment in those things.

An airlock is nothing more than a valve to keep the lid from blowing off and painting your ceiling with your beer.

The bad stuff are not ninja acrobats, they really can't get into stuff. The co2 coming out will prevent anything getting in.

The airlock is one of the most superfluous things in brewing, that new brewers seem to put the most stock in.

You really don't need an airtight seal on your fermenter. The co2 coming out of there would protect your beer. In fact many folks with arthitis and other issues don't snap the lid down on their buckets anyway, and may folks just put tinfoil, plastic wrap, metal cookie sheets or even plexiglass sheets on top of the bucket instead. It's really not crucial to be tight.

In fact you don't want a "pressurized" bucket, if you have one, then at some point you will end up with a ceiling full of beer. I've had that happen when the vent (airlock) gets blocked by a freak hop cone, and it wasn't pretty.

Homercidal posted yesterday that he was just at a commercial brewery in Traverse City where they FERMENT their beer with plastic wrap on top of the fermentation vessels. And one of our mods posted recently that he just uses loose fitting lids on his fermenters.

My primary fermenter is exactly like revvy says. It is a big plastic bucket, with a lid that sits on top, but doesn't snap down. It has an o-ring around the inside of the lid, and gravity keeps the nasties from getting in.

I also have a carboy and an airlock, I just don't use them much for a primary fermenter, because the carboy is harder to clean.

 

[Cowher]

So Monday morning I woke up to foam and bubbles blasting out of the air lock. I put a sterilized hose into the bung and put the other end into sterilized water. About Wednesday it calmed down and is now bubbling away. I didn't bother taking a gravity reading because it started to ferment in a obvious way.

The smell of the bubbles is making me thirsty it smells fantastic.

 

[statseeker]

I think he has posting scripts bound to function keys.

"Hmmm....This thread needs an ALT-F7!"

Cheers!

If you think ALT-F7 is good, you should see what ALT-F4 does. It's a pretty neat trick.

Good stuff Cowher, hope it makes you a proud beer daddy.