liquid yeast vs dry yeast

[louderthanu]

does liquid yeast take longer to start fermenting than dry yeast?
I am using it for the first time and 48hrs later no airlock action I know it can take up to and beyond 72hrs but I have yet had to wait this long.

Recipe:
3.5lbs plain extra light DME
3.0 lbs clover honey
1.5 ozs cascade hops for boil
1.5 ozs cascade hops for finish final 5mins of boil

O.G 1.050

whitelabs San Francisco Lager yeast.

I only shook around the bucket for about 10 minutes before and after pitching and the temp was 70 when I pitched however ambient temp was about 62-65.
Today I am bringing up the room temp and have put a heating pad on the outside of the fermenting bucket should this help?

 

[olz431]

The site lists that yeast as 65 being the max for optimum temp. I am a noob and have only used three kinds of dry yeast, but it seems you maybe are too warm for that strain.

 

[Homercidal]

does liquid yeast take longer to start fermenting than dry yeast?
I am using it for the first time and 48hrs later no airlock action I know it can take up to and beyond 72hrs but I have yet had to wait this long.

Recipe:
3.5lbs plain extra light DME
3.0 lbs clover honey
1.5 ozs cascade hops for boil
1.5 ozs cascade hops for finish final 5mins of boil

O.G 1.050

whitelabs San Francisco Lager yeast.

I only shook around the bucket for about 10 minutes before and after pitching and the temp was 70 when I pitched however ambient temp was about 62-65.
Today I am bringing up the room temp and have put a heating pad on the outside of the fermenting bucket should this help?

Don't bring the temp up! There are a few reasons why your airlock might not be bubbling. And yes, liquid yeast *can* take longer to get started, but not to worry.

What is the temp range of that yeast? That's what you need to know and set the temp to the lower end of that range for a cleaner tasting beer.

You need to check the fermenter to see if there is actually any activity going on. The airlock can lie. Is this a bucket or a carboy? if it's a bucket there is a fair chance the lid is not sealing completely and the excess CO2 is escaping there.

The worst thing you can do is to warm it up to, or past, the recommended temperature range for that yeas strain.

 

[louderthanu]

it tells me to pitch at 70 and keep at this temp until fermentation begins however I was not able to keep this temp due to a cold snap.
So I should be a little more patient then and leave it alone?

 

[louderthanu]

I am using a bucket and the seal seems tight if I push on the lid the airlock moves.

 

[peterj]

Don't bring the temp up!

+1! That yeast's range is 58-65 so you should be fermenting in the low 60's. If you raise the temperature above the recommended range you will get off flavors and hot alcohols.

I'm guessing it's a 5 gallon batch, and if you didn't make a starter for the yeast it's going to take longer to start fermenting. The time before the active fermentation begins is called the lag time, and it is when the yeast is reproducing to increase its cell count in order to consume the sugars in the wort. Dry yeast has about twice as many cells as a tube of liquid yeast which is why you need to make a starter with liquid yeast to bring the cell count up to the proper pitching rate. This calculator will tell you how big of a starter to make: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html.

I would just leave it alone and leave the temperature in the low 60s. It'll start going.

 

[louderthanu]

Thanks newbie panic here!

 

[Homercidal]

Is this a kit? The best practice is to forget the kit instructions and read up on the yeast. Even if you pitch at 70, you really ought to drop the temp down to the lower end of the optimun range.

That's also a fair amount of honey. I wonder if that is helping to create more lag.

 

[louderthanu]

I kinda thought the honey might cause a lag, No it's not a kit it's a recipe from the joy of home brewing.
only my second non kit brew first one was a day earlier and it's perking like a champ!

P.S the other one was pitched with dry yeast.

 

[Homercidal]

Have you checked inside to see if there is any sign of fermentation, like bubbling in the wort, or some krausen? Take a gravity reading?

 

[BxBrewer]

does liquid yeast take longer to start fermenting than dry yeast?
I am using it for the first time and 48hrs later no airlock action I know it can take up to and beyond 72hrs but I have yet had to wait this long.

Recipe:
3.5lbs plain extra light DME
3.0 lbs clover honey
1.5 ozs cascade hops for boil
1.5 ozs cascade hops for finish final 5mins of boil

O.G 1.050

whitelabs San Francisco Lager yeast.

I only shook around the bucket for about 10 minutes before and after pitching and the temp was 70 when I pitched however ambient temp was about 62-65.
Today I am bringing up the room temp and have put a heating pad on the outside of the fermenting bucket should this help?

Were you supposed to use Lager yeast and not ale yeast ?

 

[peterj]

Were you supposed to use Lager yeast and not ale yeast ?

That's the Steam Beer/California Common yeast. It's kind of a hybrid lager/ale yeast.

 

[louderthanu]

Update: We got bubbles :rockin:

 

[midfielder5]

YES- Liquid yeast used without a starter will take longer than dry yeast --because there are much less yeast cells.

Which is why WL and WY give the lame a$$ instructions to keep wort at 70* until fermentation starts.. you will be waiting 24- 72 hours depending on yeast freshness, aeration etc for yeast to build up enough soldiers to fight a 5 gall batch.
So make a starter! or use dry yeast if there is an equivalent!
(I have heard S 23?) makes a good steam beer if you can keep ferment temps low but I have never tried it).

 

[RIC0]

I can get rehydrated dry yeast to get active within 12 hours. I've done two batches with liquid wyeast and one took 2+ days and the other was around 3+ days. Not a fan of liquid yeast but do know if your going to use it, might as well get a starter going for it to come to life before you die of old age waiting.