Max time before pitching

[TRColT]

Hi everyone,
I know this question have been asked in the past, but I can't seem to find a real answer based on experiences.

Last Saturday, I brewed, chilled the wort then put it in my carboy as my primary.

I then realised I made a big sanitation mistake in my yeast starter. I was scared to use it, so I dumped it and ordered a new vial of yeast. But I will only receive it tomorrow (Wednesday) So I'll only be albe too pitch on Thursday...

The wort is sitting in the carboy with an airlock since Saturday at 19 Celsius. Doesn't seems to "smell" or "look" weird. I never opened the airlock since then. As far as I remember, my sanitation along the process have been done properly.

Do I need to worry about loosing this beer?
What should I check before pitching to determine if it will be drinkable at the end?

Thanks a lot

 

[j1n]

its depends entirely on how good your sanitation processes are. i think you should be fine.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

A year... maybe two. Again, as long as your sanitation is good you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[TheMadKing]

As long as it was boiled properly and your sanitized the inside of your primary and airlock VERY well, it should keep indefinitely. That being said, I'd pitch your yeast as soon as you possibly can.

I have done rush starters in the past where I make 1L of starter wort, pitch my yeast into it, put it on the stir plate for about 18 hours and then pitch the entire starter at high krausen. I have had visible yeast activity in my beer in as little as 1 hour using this method and I've never observed any off flavors from it. You may not hit your cell count perfectly, but it will get the job done.

 

[TRColT]

Great to read all your comments.

Should I add more oxygen to the wort when pitching or just poor the starter gently to the carboy?

 

[TRColT]

It's great to read your comments.

Should I add more oxygen before pitch year or should I poor the starter carefully?

 

[TRColT]

I Will be ready to pitch this afternoon. Could someone answer my last question?

It would be really appreciated.

 

[TheMadKing]

More oxygen shouldn't be needed if you aerated well the first time. Hope it all went well!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I thought you were supposed to aerate before pitching if you do a no chill? Basically what the OP is doing

 

[Gavin C]

Wort sitting in a non-sterile vessel with non-sterile air above it is an ideal growth medium for a host of ever-present airborne microbes.

The sooner you innoculate it with the intended micro-organism (your planned yeast) the better. EDIT: out of date info. Sorry should have checked the dates

It certainly will not last indefinitely.

 

[peterj]

I know this is moot because you've already pitched, but just for future reference and anyone who reads this thread in the future I absolutely agree with Gavin C.

I suppose unpitched wort WILL last indefinitely depending on the way you define the word indefinitely. If you mean "an unknown or unspecified length of time" then you are correct.

Most of us only sanitize (not sterilize) the fermentation vessel, bung, airlock, siphon, transfer tubing, and/or anything else that comes in contact with the wort post-boil. And since I'm assuming most of us don't cool the wort in some kind of "clean room" and the headspace is full of un-HEPA filtered air there are still microorganisms present (hopefully at very low numbers) that can and will grow in the sugar rich medium of the wort if given enough time.

Saying it could last forever or even a year or two at room temperature is definitely not true. I would give it a week or so (depending on your sanitation practices) before I would start getting very worried. Personally I've never let it go more than a day or two. But you would know if an infection took hold because you would probably get CO2 production and some kind of mold and/or visible fermentation taking place.

 

[TRColT]

Thanks everyone.
I pitched the yeast on Thursday night and everything looked fine.
I'll see the final result in a couple of weeks.

Next time, I'll be ready to pitch BEFORE brewing.

 

[TRColT]

The beer turned out great. The yeast did its job really quick.
Thanks everyone for the help