Fermentation not started?

[Snaxx]

Hi All, if anyone can offer any insight/help it would be much appreciated:

We brewed a 5 gallon batch of dunkel in a 6 gallon brew bucket on Thursday, however we have seen almost no activity in the air lock since. We pitched WL wheat yeast on Thursday when the wort was in the low 70's, our yeast had been out at room temperature for about 3 to 4 hours before we pitched. We left for the weekend on Friday afternoon and saw no movement in the air lock/blow off tube. When we got back on Sunday evening we still saw nothing and our bung was out a bit, I think it was pulled out slightly because the tube is quite large and heavy. We pulled out the bung and had a quick peak inside and replaced the blow off tube with just a straight air lock, we also pitched a small pack of dry yeast (it was only a small amount, probably only 1 tsp worth of yeast, this yeast originally came with a brooklyn brew 1 gallon kit). However we still have no movement in the air lock.

The WL yeast was a tube we got back in March, could it be that the yeast was too old? We also didn't not come straight home when we bought it so it was not refridgerated for about 4 hours. Could either of these things have killed the yeast?

When we replaced the blow off we did see what appeared to be krausen however we had a lot of foam when we originally pitched the yeast so now we can't be sure.

We are kind of bummed about the whole thing as the wort tasted great Anyone have any ideas as to what to do to fix it? I will check it again when I get home today but so far we haven't seen any movement.

 

[Copbrew133]

Take a gravity reading. It is the only true way to get a handle on how well yeast are performing. It is possible that it fermented if you had krausen, but it is also possible that it did nothing. Without taking the initial and final gravities you have no baseline with which to work.

 

[Snaxx]

We had so many issues with getting this beer going on brew day that we forgot to take a gravity ready, we actually didn't remember until the lid went on . I know approximately where is should end up but unfortunately I don't have the initial reading.

I really shot myself in the foot with this one.

 

[rattyboh]

Is it extract? If so you should be able to calculate the OG fairly accurately using the ingredients assuming the water volumes were correct and all the extract was added.

Was low 70s beer temp or ambient? Could be a bit warm and definitely too warm if ambient. This could mean it fermented fast and was finished with active fermentation before you got back. Look into a swamp cooler to keep temps down if you don't already.

It's also possible that the lid just isn't sealed fully. Lack of bubbles doesn't mean it's not fermenting so definitely need a gravity reading to be sure. You shouldn't need the OG to tell if it has fermented, just see if it is in the range you would expect it to end at. I would think it went just fine and do a gravity check at around 2 weeks

 

[boydster]

Did you use extract for this batch, or is it all grain?

Either way, here is what I gather:
1) you saw what looked like krausen when you looked at it
2) you are fermenting in a bucket, and they are notorious for letting air escape through places other than the airlock

I would guess you have a fermented beverage sitting in that bucket. Take a hydrometer sample. Taste it. If the gravity is reasonably low and it tastes like flat beer instead of sweet wort, you made beer. If it looks clear, it is probably done. Give it a full 2 weeks in the fermenter and then bottle it up.

If you used extract, you don't really need to take an OG reading since the sugars are already present in the extract. As long as you used the correct amount of water, you can count on the OG being exactly what the recipe predicted.

 

[Snaxx]

Recipe I used:

6 lbs Wheat LME
1 lbs Dark DME
.5 lbs Brown Malt
.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
.5 lbs CaraPils
1 oz Saaz
1 oz Cascade

According to BrewR I should be finishing at about 1.014

I normally transfer to a secondary carboy at about 10 days. Should I just leave it in the primary for 2 weeks or transfer as I normally do? I am somewhat weary of opening up the bucket to take a gravity reading as I am afraid of possibly contaminating further.

 

[boydster]

What is your current gravity? Don't be scared. You won't hurt it.
And I wouldn't bother with secondary on this. There is no reason to transfer.

 

[dobe12]

Open it up and take a reading. If a primary got contaminated as easily/quickly as you fear, there would be a lot less home brewers out there or a lot more sour beers. Popping the top for a minute to take a sample wont infect it.

You most likely are losing pressure/gas from the bucket lid around the seal. It happens. No biggie. Your yeast was a bit old, but not so old it wouldn't ferment. And letting it warm up for a few hours is no big deal either.

RDWHAHB! You seem to be stressing over tiny little details that aren't problems at all. I'm willing to bet if/when you take a gravity reading, the beer will be at or very close to your estimated FG.

 

[rodwha]

That may depend on how hot it got in the vehicle. Down here in TX it's possible it got well beyond 120* inside.