First lager concern

[bmantzey]

I've done about 5 or 6 brews now. Each of them had minor issues, which I learned from but the last one turned out wonderful! I got a big used fridge from an old lady for free and I have a pretty smooth operation now.

So, I got my lager all brewed with no trouble. It started out as a Grolsh clone but I ordered the wrong crystal malt. I ended up subbing a 2.5L with a 40L because it was the lightest stuff I had on hand. That shouldn't be an issue.

The problem is, I have had it sitting in the fermenter at about 50° for over a week now and I haven't seen any sign of it beginning to ferment. In fact, I've noticed that on occasion the water in my airlock seemed to indicate that the air pressure was higher outside the fermenter. (I'm guessing that has something to do with the way I'm warming the air in my fridge.

The yeast I'm using is Danish Lager Activator Wyeast ACT2042- 4.25 oz. On the package it says to break the activator and pitch the yeast into the wort immediately. The wort was at about 62° when I pitched it. The instructions on the recipe said that the wort had to be less than 80°.

I did some research and saw some stuff that indicated it could take up to 3 weeks for a lager and that there's some process of activating the yeast a few days before you begin the brew. Unfortunately I read that after I pitched the yeast.

What I'm concerned about is, if the yeast doesn't become active very soon, will my beer start to mold or become nasty? What could be causing the yeast to take so long to begin? If I screwed up, that's one thing but not knowing how I screwed up sucks!

The only one thing I can think of that could have had an effect is the type of sanitizer I used. It's some powdered stuff that was meant for food contact surfaces. (I snagged a couple from where I work.) It's a chlorine based sanitizer. I used it exactly as directed on the package and I was careful to rinse it carefully. If somehow a small amount of highly diluted sanitizer solution made its way into the wort, could that be devastating to the brew? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[smizak]

Your ideally supposed to be making a starter. A starter is a mini-batch of wort that you let the yeast ferment and grow in to increase the cell count of your pitch. Lagers typically call for 2x as much cell count as an ale, so you possibly underpitched by a considerable amount.

Do you have a hydrometer? That's the only real way to know if your beer is fermenting/fermented. Also, because of the colder temperature, lagers typically appear to take longer because the beer absorbs more CO2 and it doesn't come out of solution as soon as an ale at warmer temps.

 

[bmantzey]

I have a hydrometer but not a wine thief. My OG reading before I poured it into my primary was 1.050, which was just a tad lower than the target OG. I also ended up with more than 4.5 gallons yield but was trying for 5. The low gravity is why I didn't top off. Since the gravity was low and the volume was also low, I'm hoping maybe I didn't underpitch.

If I did underpitch, what's that mean should happen? Does that mean it will not ferment at all or that it will take a lot longer?

Can I still try to get another pack of yeast and pitch again or is it too late to repair it? Also, if it takes another week to get started, will the beer be preserved well enough at around 45°? Thanks.

 

[smizak]

I would get a wine thief and check your gravity first before re-pitching. If it's fermenting already, no use in re-pitching. If your sanitation is good, you will prolly be ok.