I have made 5 kits so far from keystone home brew in pa. All have actually turned out pretty good. I figure that I'm still in the "keep things clean and follow directions" stage. On Sunday I made a Czech pilsner and its not fermenting. I try my best to follow directions to a t and keep things sanitized. Temps were good, but i tried star sani (sani star whatever) and there were some bubbles left in the carboy when I filled it. I was told that was fine. Can I rescue this or just pour $50 down the drain and try again?
Need some help
- Thread starter rbruch
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It's not the star San...it actually becomes yeast food
What was the OG and what yeast as well as how much yeast?
Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to be visibly active
You may even have a leaky seal preventing the air lock from bubbling, relax and be patient
What was the OG and what yeast as well as how much yeast?
Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to be visibly active
You may even have a leaky seal preventing the air lock from bubbling, relax and be patient
I would bet your fine.
Did you take a OG reading?
Give it a week then take a gravity reading this is the only true way to tell if anything is happening.
Did you take a OG reading?
Give it a week then take a gravity reading this is the only true way to tell if anything is happening.
We've all been there bud.
Possible slow starting yeast,
or maybe a small leak around the air lock
I wouldn't worry abought it now just check it in a week and see if the gravity drops.
I've had many beers ferment out within a week with out showing any air lock activity for what ever reason and the beer cam out just fine.
So be patient and brew on.. Cheers
freisste
Well-Known Member
Did you make a starter? It is more important on lagers than ales.
Also, you said temps were good. I'm impressed that a relatively new brewer can hold lager temps. Kudos. (I'm assuming you are in the lager range, not the Cali common range of that yeast - I think it lists both, or maybe just one really wide range).
As others have said, you are probably fine. Lagers are generally pretty slow to start.
Also, you said temps were good. I'm impressed that a relatively new brewer can hold lager temps. Kudos. (I'm assuming you are in the lager range, not the Cali common range of that yeast - I think it lists both, or maybe just one really wide range).
As others have said, you are probably fine. Lagers are generally pretty slow to start.
Here is a video on how to do a simple yeast starter.
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freisste
Well-Known Member
rbruch said:
Basically a small, sacrificial beer used to increase cell count of your yeast colony. So you use some extract to make a liter (for instance, they can be smaller or much larger) of starter with an OG of about 1.040. You let the yeast multiply and ferment the beer. Then you let the yeast settle out to the bottom of your fermenter and pour off the original beer (or don't pour it off, it isn't necessary) and pitch your increased cell count.
Do some research on starters because if you plan on doing more lagers, pitching the correct cell count is important. Not as important as temp control or sanitation, but still very important.
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