Help! Yeast is not active

[suzuki98]

This is my 2nd brew I'm making, the first one went well. Basically, I smacked the wyeast smakpack and nothing happened for a day. Then at the end of the day I put it on top of my bunn coffee pot which stays warm and the next morning the pack expanded as far as it could go. Well I had to go to work that morning for 24 hrs (I'm a firefighter) so I couldn't use it until the following day. It's now been 48 hrs and nothing is going on in the carboy or the airlock.

I'm wondering if the yeast was still good since it sat for 2 days after pack expanded and the expiration date was 6 months ago. I read in other forums that people had used past expiration and it was fine for them, so I tried.

I'm wondering if I can get another smackpack and add it in the carboy? Would that hurt anything or is there something else you guys recommend?

Thanks

 

[twistr25]

Is there any evidence of a krausen ring (foam) in the carboy? Airlock activity doesn't mean it's not fermenting. But if it looks like a still lake, you may have an issue.

 

[twistr25]

Also, if you read the smack packs, they do not have to fully expand before using them. It's best just to go ahead and pitch or make a starter beforehand. It may not seem like the coffee pot was too warm but the buildup in the pack may have had negative impacts on the yeast inside.

 

[kh54s10]

The amount of viable yeast in a 6 month expired Wyeast pack would be very low. How long since you pitched the yeast? It is commonly said that you should expect to wait between 24 to 72 hours for fermentation to begin. On an average beer it is best to pitch in the neighborhood of 200 billion cells. A fresh Wyeast pack contains about 100 billion cells. I would expect you had only around 10% viability so you had near 100 MILLION cells. IMO you underpitched by about 80%

If convenient I would pitch 2 more packs of yeast or be prepared to wait at least 72 hours for the yeast to propagate to cell counts necessary to ferment the beer.

Most of the people that use expired yeast make starters so that they are actually pitching fresh yeast in proper quantities.

 

[suzuki98]

it's been 48 hrs since I pitched the yeast.

there is a 1/4" krausen ring in carboy.

 

[twistr25]

Then you are probably ok. I would let it ride for 7 days from pitching and take a gravity reading. If you are near or at FG give it another 3-7 days to finish and cleanup. If not, you may try rousing the yeast a bit or supplementing.

I've had a few batches with really small krausen rings, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

[suzuki98]

Then you are probably ok. I would let it ride for 7 days from pitching and take a gravity reading. If you are near or at FG give it another 3-7 days to finish and cleanup. If not, you may try rousing the yeast a bit or supplementing.

I've had a few batches with really small krausen rings, so I wouldn't worry about that.

ok...............thx

 

[suzuki98]

thx for all the imput. The yeast is active and airlock is even working