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OrCoastBrew

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Feb 1, 2009
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Location
Lincoln City, Oregon
So I brewed an all-grain porter yesterday and everything went very well. Cooled my wort down to 70f was perfect on my OG, aerated the wort nicely and pitched my White Lab British Ale yeast. After a couple of hours sitting at a consistent 68f there seemed to be the beginnings good activity but when I woke up the next morning absolutely nothing was going on! Any thoughts?
 
I guess I am panicking a little. I just thought it was strange that it seemed to be active and then stopped. Thats probably just my inexperience making me anxious. I didn't make a starter just let my vile of yeast warm up to room temp for couple of hours before pitching. I'll give it a couple of days before starting to worry. Thanks
 
I understand the need for a started with dry yeast but isn't the whole point of buying the smack packs and whites labs vile's so you don't need a starter? I mean I am a beginner here so I am making an assumption on this. Back to my ferm problem it just seems weird because of the fact that it seemed to be so vigorous at first and now it seems done. No activity, yeast cake at bottom of primary? Brewing is a weird science because it doesn't seem to matter how much I read and think I now because every batch seems to do something different than the batch before.
 
I think you have it backwards. You aren't supposed to make starters with DRY yeast. Th e purpose of liquid yeasts is to get a different variety that wont dry well. The smack pack just proves your yeast is alive. They aren't making tons of babies in there. That's why you want a starter.
Dry yeast has a higher cell count than liquid.
 
What is your definition of "activity?" If you mean airlock then all that more than likely was happening was that you were venting some of the O2 from oxygenating the wort.

One thing to remember, fermentation can take up to 72 hours for the yeasties to start, it's called lag time. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

Especially since you didn't make a starter for your liquid yeast.

unless you are making a beer with an og of 1.020, you really need to make a starter with liquid yeast.

If you look at the pitch rate calculator at Mr malty http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html you will see that there is only enough cells in a liquid yeast tube or smack pack for a very low gravity beer.

Liquid yeast, regardless of where it comes from, a tube, a smack pack, a slant, the dregs of a couple of bottle conditioned beers, OR that mason jar at the back of your fridge from a year ago, Should have a starter made REGARDLESS of the og of the beer. Yes Mr Malty says that for beers at 1.020 and below you have plenty of yeast, if you make a starter you'll have peace of mind.

And you won't be starting an "is my yeast dead" thread in a couple of days. :D

Making a starter first insures that your yeast is still alive and viable before you dump it in your beer. You will be less likely to start one of those "is my yeast dead?" threads that are on here every day.

You will also ensure that you have enough yeast usually the tubes and smack packs are a lot less yeast that you really should use for healthy fermentation.

Making a starter also usually means your beer will take off sooner, because the first thing that the little buggers do in the presence of wort (whether in a flask or in a fermenter) is have an orgy to reproduce enough cells to do the job...So it won't take such a long time in the fermenter since they started doing it in the flask.

Additionally it is better for the yeast to consume and reproduce incrementally rather than just dumping them into the fermenter...The yeast will be less stressed out than if you just dump them in.

Stressed out yeast can lead to a lot of off flavors...maybe even (though rare) the dreaded autolysis....Or the curse of 1.030....getting a stuck fermentation because the yeast have bit the dust.

So making a starter proves your yeast is still healthy, allows you to grow enough yeast to do the job, cuts down on lag time, and ensures that you will not get off flavors or stuck ferementations from stressed out yeast.

So give it 72 hours then take a hydro reading....but until then relax, it will be fine.
 
Ok so you guys are right. I need to start making a starter. So I took a gravity and as I suspected no ferm has taken place. I also did an Iodine test just to assure that I had converted starches to sugars and I think I am good there. It appears to me that all of the yeast I originally pitched has flocculated out so I am preparing a starter and I think I will repitch tomorrow sometime with a new batch of yeast. Thanks for setting me straight as I said I am learning, learning, learning.
 
Ok so you guys are right. I need to start making a starter. So I took a gravity and as I suspected no ferm has taken place. I also did an Iodine test just to assure that I had converted starches to sugars and I think I am good there. It appears to me that all of the yeast I originally pitched has flocculated out so I am preparing a starter and I think I will repitch tomorrow sometime with a new batch of yeast. Thanks for setting me straight as I said I am learning, learning, learning.

You probably don't need to repitch. Wait at least 1 more day, if not two. You will have longer lag times, (waiting between pitching and active fermentation), without a starter, but it will STILL start 99% of the time! I only worry if there is nothing after ~72 hrs.

A starter is MUCH better, but not absolutely necessary. The yeast will settle, yes. Don't worry about it. It will come to life soon.

The "activity" you saw was air leaving your wort. Mine often look like this. First there is foam from aeration. Then the foam dies down and the surface is still. Then small bubbles appear as some gas comes out of solution. Then the surface is still again. THEN it starts to ferment.

Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew, and if in 2 days there is still no sign of activity THEN you should start to worry.
 
Well, you might not need a starter, but if you have more of the same strain, it won't hurt to make it tonight and pitch again next day. If something happened to your first batch of yeast, the starter is only more insurance.
 
Once again my inexperience has shown and caused me unnecessary anxiety. You all where right I need to chill because the brew is fermenting like crazy today. I will however make starters from now on. Thanks.
 
What is your definition of "activity?" If you mean airlock then all that more than likely was happening was that you were venting some of the O2 from oxygenating the wort.

I have to admit, this group is pretty entertaining to read. Where
else can you get so many Tales of Fermentation? But looking
for reliable info...one person says hot side aeration is bad, another
says it's a myth, one person says dark malts hide flavors, another
says that's nonsense, one person says lag times cause off
flavors, another says it doesn't...now we have 02 venting.
 
I have to admit, this group is pretty entertaining to read. Where
else can you get so many Tales of Fermentation? But looking
for reliable info...one person says hot side aeration is bad, another
says it's a myth, one person says dark malts hide flavors, another
says that's nonsense, one person says lag times cause off
flavors, another says it doesn't...now we have 02 venting.

:confused:

That is generally what an airlock does....FIRST it vents off any built up 02 in the fermenter after you close the lid and put an airlock on it (you really notice that if you push down the lid on the bucket right after, THEN it vents off excess CO2 generated during fermentation.......If you are getting bubbling immediately after sealing your fermenter up, you are not getting "fermentation activity" you're getting off gassing, nothing else.

It's a valve not a gauge....so what's such a "Tale of Fermentation," about that?
 
I have to admit, this group is pretty entertaining to read. Where
else can you get so many Tales of Fermentation? But looking
for reliable info...one person says hot side aeration is bad, another
says it's a myth, one person says dark malts hide flavors, another
says that's nonsense, one person says lag times cause off
flavors, another says it doesn't...now we have 02 venting.

yeah....you don't read a forum for answers, you read it for opinions and facts that can help you to better make up your own mind...this isn't an encyclopedia, its just a bunch of drunk yahoos making beer.:tank:
 
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