No fermentation activity.

[ArcaneXor]

Boom! 2 satchels of bad-batch Notty (the Denmark satchels with the holes in them) pitched at 9:00 this morning at 69 degrees into my session wheat, now at 67.5 degrees and showing initial signs of fermentation. Expecting bubbles from my blow-off tube by bedtime tonight. Pitching more yeast, using a high-quality yeast nutrient and shaking the hell out of the fermenter does make a huge difference!

 

[Yooper]

Getting very good fermentation now. My 6 1/2 gal. glass carboy is going crazy right now! It took approximately 60 hrs to get started. I will really need to read up on doing a starter yeast next time i brew. I was told by a expierienced all grain brewer that if you do have a beer that does not get going after the 72 hr. mark, that you can just reboil your wort for a couple minutes, then restart the whole process? What do you all think of that? He also told me that you can't put too much yeast into your wort. (I put 3 packets into my Porter).

Well, I wouldn't reboil my wort. I use some later hops, for flavoring and aroma, and reboiling would ruin that. With good sanitation, you could probably exceed the 72 hours without an infection, but it would make me nervous. I'd probably go 48 hours before checking with a hydrometer, and then repitching. Keep in mind, though, that I'd never drop just one vial of White Labs yeast into a 1.080 wort and expert fermentation before 48 hours or longer- pitching the correct amount of healthy yeast would be a key to a shorter lag time.

You CAN put too much yeast into your wort, but it's not likely to happen unless you go crazy and use way too much. Check out the pitching calculator at mrmalty.com- it's a great resource. Two packages of yeast (11 gram size) are probably too much for most ales of "regular" strength. Three would be overkill. Too much yeast is probably not as harmful as too little, but pitching the correct amount produces the best flavors in beer.

 

[DuffManMississippi]

Good to see things worked out. Remember don't worry so much, worrying will ruin your beer.

 

[wulfsburg]

Well , I am still having a problem with my beer. 48 hours and still no hydro change . I re pitched with a differest strain of yeast . It was dry danstar munich yeast I had leftover from earlier in the year. Originally I had pitched wyeast am hefe strain (I don't recall the exact name or #) . I didn't rehydrate the dry yeast and I have never done a starter before. I hope this yeast will start soon because tomorrow it will be 72 hours since pitching and I'm worried about infection . Ill keep everyone posted on when I see any gravity change, bubbles, krausen or airlock activity. . . . Any problems with mixing yeast strains even though they are similar in nature? Dumb question, but because I added 36 oz's of raspberries to theend of my boil having any effect on starting fermentation?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Well , I am still having a problem with my beer. 48 hours and still no hydro change . I re pitched with a differest strain of yeast . It was dry danstar munich yeast I had leftover from earlier in the year. Originally I had pitched wyeast am hefe strain (I don't recall the exact name or #) . I didn't rehydrate the dry yeast and I have never done a starter before. I hope this yeast will start soon because tomorrow it will be 72 hours since pitching and I'm worried about infection . Ill keep everyone posted on when I see any gravity change, bubbles, krausen or airlock activity. . . . Any problems with mixing yeast strains even though they are similar in nature? Dumb question, but because I added 36 oz's of raspberries to theend of my boil having any effect on starting fermentation?

No...not making a starter is probably what's causing the lag.

Mixing yeast isn't an issue, but you may end up with a little different beer than you expected.

I've had one infection in the last 4 years, and that was from improper cleaning. I had a lager take 6 days before I saw a gravity drop and it still turned out fine. The 6 days was because I didn't make a starter (first lager).

 

[3PegBrew]

I'm reposting this question to this thread since it is in the same category. I was going to make a Guinness clone Friday night but realized my Mash Tun needed some tweaking to fix leaks. I had already popped the activator on my Wyeast an hour or so prior to realizing this. I put the Wyeast into the fridge and did not take it out until Sunday around 3-4ish and let it sit for another 3 hours. The wyeast ouch expanded like normal. I pitched the yeast after cooling. It had been almost 24 hours and no fermentation.

Obviously people say wait. I was wondering if it is POSSIBLE that refrigerating the yeast pouch after popping the activator either damaged or maybe put the yeast into a deep sleep?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

You'll be fine. I recently picked up a pack of wyeast from the LHBS and halfway home I realized it was swelled up and the pack inside had already been broken. I stuck it in the fridge for 2 days, pulled it out before I started brewing and used it. I normally make starters, but this beer was spur of the moment. It took a little longer to get started, but it was chugging away after a few days.

 

[3PegBrew]

This should be stickied onto my forehead. I had someone check on the Guinness clone while I was at work (still am at work right now) and said that the krausening has commensed and it's burping away!

Why oh why did I have to post something on here asking for support? Oh I know why....because you guys are so awesome!

 

[RavenChief]

I pitched the nottingham yeast into my porter Saturday at 10pm. no activity after 24 hrs. pitched another package of the same yeast Sunday around 9pm. With a wort temp of 68 deg. it's Monday afternoon now and not much is going on inside the fermentor. This is my 5th batch of brewers best beer kits and so far I have had great luck. Any advice would be helpful' Woodro.

I am advocating "proofing" of yeast especially Danstar Nottingham prior to pitching. If you do this you may never pitch "questionable yeast" ever again.