Latest brew day emergency - advice needed:

[Andres Falconer]

Yesterday I brewed a Mosaic IPA - a recipe basically adapted from the Northern Brewer all grain kit, but the yeast seems to have failed.

I made a starter, over three days, from the Wyeast English Ale 2 yeast. I could tell that there wasn’t much going on in the starter, but I pitched it anyway. 24 hours later, nothing is happening in the fermenter. I can wait a little longer, but I’m not optimistic. I want to pitch another yeast pack, but my options are limited/inadequate. Please help me choose which one will work best (it doesn’t have to be true to style, but I need to get something good to drink!):

1) Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey
2) Wyeast 3068 weihenstephan weizen
3) Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest lager
or…
4) Redstar premier cuvée (dry yeast I use for mead)
or even…
5) some harvested and reliable Lutra kveik.

I don’t have any emergency dry ale yeast and I’m not able to make a run to the store now. Which one to pitch?

 

[BrewChem]

What temperature is your fermentor sitting at? I’ve had yeasts take up to 36 hours before they really start to rock.
Go with the kveik if you must

 

[Andres Falconer]

Sitting at room temperature of 21C/70F, which should be enough.

I could wait I little longer but I got a bad feeling from the starter. If it wasn’t rocking after three days, there may not have been enough viable yeast to begin with. And I know if I wait long enough something will happen: Fermentation with the wrong stuff.

So your vote is for the kveik? I could turn on the heat pad and watch this take off!

 

[BrewChem]

Sounds like a viable Plan B.

 

[palmtrees]

Of those options, absolutely do the lutra.

 

[Andres Falconer]

Lutra wins. Done. Let’s see what happens

 

[BrewChem]

And name the beer “Up the Kveik”

 

[Andres Falconer]

This Lutra is the gift that keeps on giving. Brewed three batches with yeast harvested from the original pack and now it’s saved my brew day. I may call this the Hail Mary IPA.