Have I killed my yeast?

[Ryan11]

I pitched my yeast last night at 68 degrees. Woke up this morning and found out the temperature of my wort was at 35 degrees. Has this killed my yeast or will it wake back up once the wort warms back up to 65-68 degrees? Do I need to pitch more yeast? Will this change the taste of my beer once its done?

 

[fearwig]

You're fine, just let it come back up.

No cold short of freezing solid will kill yeast, but it will make them sleep.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Warm it back up, rouse the now flocc'd yeast from the bottom back into suspension and maybe give it some oxygen


...youll be fine

 

[BamaProud]

No problem just warm it back up. However, you need to keep your wort at a constant temperature from here on out. Was it outdoors or something.

Probably won't change the taste much since you just pitched, but if you don't maintain a stable temperature during fermentation you can get some off flavors.

 

[KTRyan]

I'll back up what everyone above said, though if I where in your spot I'd probably pitch some fresh yeast as well.

 

[fearwig]

Overpitched beer is better than underpitched beer... by a little. No reason to think this needs yeast unless it stalls, IMO.

 

[unionrdr]

Just put it someplace where you can keep the temp in the sweet spot for the yeast used.

 

[arbiadya]

Get the temp up between 65-70F, wait for 24-48 hrs to see signs of any activity. If you have checked the original gravity before pitching the yeast, then after 24-48 hrs check the gravity again to see if its dropped. If yes, then that would indicate the yeast is active and have started doing their job. If you don't observe any change, then pitch more yeast and make sure you have a stable temperature. Check the gravity again 24-48 hrs later.

 

[Croyzen]

Just like throwing a yeast starter in the fridge to later decant before pitching. Your yeast will need a little swirl to get back into suspension. The last Wyeast smack pack i used included storing instructions, 35-40F in the fridge.

Once you get the temp back up keep it stable to reduce the stress on the yeast.