Fermentation ?

[covered95]

OK so yesterday i brewed up my first batch with a friend (brewing with friends is great and yields twice the beer). He brewed an amber ale and I was making a honey porter with molasses added. His batch went quicker and he pitched dry yeast at around 72 degrees. Mine took quite a bit longer mostly because after adding the wort to the carboy it took a great deal of time to cool to 75 degrees. We used cold water bath to cool and because we had to leave pitched liquid yeast in mine at 75 degrees. We put both carboys next to each other in a dark closet that sits at about 70 degrees hoping that our yeast would make a little yeast love and that great fermetation would occur. Here's the rub. There are CLEAR signs that his carboy is very bubbly with bubble going through the tube and into his bucket. Mine on the other hand has only about a 1/2 inch of foam near the top and no other signs of fermentation. We have not taken a hydrometer reading yet, but I fear that my batch is not fermenting. I am concerned that I messed up in the following ways:

1) The carboy had to sit a long time while cooling and i fear that not enough oxygen remained to facilitate yeast reproduction

2) I pitched the yeast as soon as it cooled to 75 and am concerned that it truly was not cool enough and damaged the yeast.

3) I used hot water from the sink to help warm and activate the yeast in the liquid packet (advice from the local homebrew guy) and worry that the high temperature may have damaged the yeast

4)Somehow the presence of molasses is throwing a curve ball in the mix (it was added to the boil along with the honey and the malt extract and hops)

5)perhaps nothong is wrong and i am worrying too much, but I really would like this beer to turnout because my initial sample for my hydromoter reading was yummy.

Any help you could give would be fantastic. Thanks!

 

[newguy]

too early to tell mate. give it 24-48 hours and then let us know if you see any activity.

Good luck!

 

[david_42]

1/2 inch of foam near the top

Foam = fermentation

 

[covered95]

Thanks for the info. Will the activity increase in the next few days? Should it? If it does not do I have a problem?

 

[Orfy]

You have no problems. Have a beer, leave it be, check it in 3 days.
You have beer it'll be good.

 

[Torchiest]

If you've got foam, like david_42 said, it's fermenting, and you've got no worries. Just wait a week, and check the gravity.

 

[fatboy570]

As newguy said, give it a day or 2 then shake fermenter real good if you still have no activity. Sometimes yeast takes longer than expected to get going