I made and amber a few days back. I did a 24 hour yeast started of some yeast i had washed and saved from an old batch. After two days there was no activity. I assumed I had messed up somewhere along the line and maybe pitched it when the wort was too hot, so after 48 hours I grabbed a new smackpack of Wyeast and pitched again. There is still no activity in my airlock. I suppose it's possible that there might just not be a good seal on my fermenter lid and the CO2 is escaping there. Is there any possibility that something could have gone so wrong that my wort kills yeast?
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- Thread starter Aphraxad
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No, it's probably just fine. What is the current SG? When you opened the lid to repitch the yeast, was there any sign of a krausen ring around the sides?
flars
Well-Known Member
The first yeast you used could have been dead, or old enough the starter did not finish in 24 hours. You didn't give the age. The new pack of yeast may be going through a long growth phase if this yeast had some age or the OG of your amber is above 1.042.
Do you see any sign of a krausen beginning?
Do you see any sign of a krausen beginning?
I didn't check the gravity when i repitched, but i just popped the lid open and peeked inside. There is a huge krausen ring, which completely answered my question. So second question, is drastically overpitching yeast going to mess this batch up?
Over-pitching could cause off flavors in your beer. You can let it ride and see what happens.
You could also rack to secondary, which basically leaves some of that yeast behind but if you have a new layer of krausen going, you'll want to wait I think.
You could also rack to secondary, which basically leaves some of that yeast behind but if you have a new layer of krausen going, you'll want to wait I think.
Since we're talking about appropriate yeast levels, I was wondering if one of you could suggest a good resource for more advanced and precise yeast pitching levels. I've only recently acquired a stir plate and some mason jars for doing starters and washing my yeast and i'm new to the whole thing. I have a pretty solid understanding of the process, but what I'm unsure of is how i'm supposed to know how many yeast cells are in my starter to know if i'm pitching the right amount.
flars
Well-Known Member
I like to use the Brewers Friend pitch rate/starter calculator.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/
This calculator for over building a starter to save yeast for the next starter.
http://www.homebrewdad.com/yeast_calculator.php
WoodlandBrews method and cell count data for harvesting yeast from the fermentor.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=519995
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/
This calculator for over building a starter to save yeast for the next starter.
http://www.homebrewdad.com/yeast_calculator.php
WoodlandBrews method and cell count data for harvesting yeast from the fermentor.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=519995
