No fermentation?!?

[walcotteric]

Okay, it's been over a week and as far as I can tell my brew is not fermenting at all. I'm not entirely certain what went wrong, but I have a few ideas. My biggest question right now is what do I do with it? Is it garbage? Or is it salvageable?

I didn't invest too much time or money into this brew, so I'm not too worried about it, I just consider it a learning experience for a beginner brewer.

 

[pabloj13]

Okay, it's been over a week and as far as I can tell my brew is not fermenting at all. I'm not entirely certain what went wrong, but I have a few ideas. My biggest question right now is what do I do with it? Is it garbage? Or is it salvageable?

I didn't invest too much time or money into this brew, so I'm not too worried about it, I just consider it a learning experience for a beginner brewer.

Did you check your gravity?

 

[Revvy]

How do you know it hasn't fermented? Have you taken a hydrometer reading? That's the ONLY WAY TO KNOW if you have fermentation or not. Nothing else is an accurate indicator of fermentation...

 

[kombat]

It would help if you could describe your brewing recipe, process, temperatures, and any gravity readings you've taken.

 

[maltman]

don't throw it out! check the specific gravity. If it hasn't fermented, you can always pitch more yeast.

 

[dstranger99]

Pop the top, drop the hydro in there, and give it a spin......

 

[emmdubb23]

Check for odd smells though, leaving wort unfermented can lead to funky bacterial infections that will ruin your beer

 

[Revvy]

Check for odd smells though, leaving wort unfermented can lead to funky bacterial infections that will ruin your beer

But more than likely, the op, like many new brewers, thinks his beer isn't fermenting because he did not see an airlock bubble, and he equates airlocks with being fermentation gauges, rather than what they are, simply vents. When he takes his gravity reading, he's going to find just like 99.99999% of all brewers, that, modern yeast just doesn't NOT work these days, like 30-40 year old books would lead folks to think, and that fermentation did indeed happen.

 

[emmdubb23]

But more than likely, the op, like many new brewers, thinks his beer isn't fermenting because he did see an airlock bubble, and he equates airlocks with being fermentation gauges, rather than what they are, simply vents. When he takes his gravity reading, he's going to find just like 99.99999% of all brewers, that, modern yeast just doesn't NOT work these days, like 30-40 year old books would lead folks to think, and that fermentation did indeed happen.

I had a beer not ferment for a week once, it was genuinely my fault of course but it can happen... It's the only batch I have ever had that happen to, but its certainly not impossible... And I ended up having to toss due to an infection that made it sour and made me nearly vomit when I tasted it... BAD MISTAKE

 

[wood0966]

OP what's the specific gravity? And the OG?

 

[walcotteric]

Thanks for all the responses, I don't actually have my hydrometer accessible right now. I'm getting it back later and will do a measure and let you know what it says.

Thanks for the help, i'll keep you posted.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Thanks for all the responses, I don't actually have my hydrometer accessible right now. I'm getting it back later and will do a measure and let you know what it says.

Thanks for the help, i'll keep you posted.

There could be a variety of things that happened.

Most likely if using a bucket is that your lid wasnt/doesnt seal fully, so the gas took the path of least resistance out that instead of the airlock.

 

[Channel66]

There could be a variety of things that happened.

Most likely if using a bucket is that your lid wasnt/doesnt seal fully, so the gas took the path of least resistance out that instead of the airlock.

In which case your beer is just fine.

Your homework, Get yourself a hydrometer take a reading and report back.

 

[walcotteric]

Gravity is at 1.038

 

[walcotteric]

Instructions said to let it ferment until gravity remains constant below 1.014...should I re-pitch, or is it okay?

 

[pabloj13]

Gravity is at 1.038

That means nothing unless we know the OG too.

 

[walcotteric]

I didn't take a reading when I started because I didn't have a hydrometer (rookie mistake).
Based on the extract I used, it should've been about 1.055

 

[emmdubb23]

Gravity is at 1.038

Ok, so we do need the original gravity, before yeast, if you didn't measure it, its most likely on the recipe kit... Also what temp are you fermenting at

 

[walcotteric]

temp is about 65

 

[emmdubb23]

temp is about 65

Just to make sure, this is an ale? If soI would reseal it up for a couple of days and see if your gravity drops, you could have started with bad yeast, or just not enough and it will be a slow fermentation

 

[walcotteric]

Yes, it's an IPA. Do you think I should reseal with more yeast, or just reseal it as is?

 

[emmdubb23]

Yes, it's an IPA. Do you think I should reseal with more yeast, or just reseal it as is?

Some would say dont pitch more yeast, but I probably would, I am impatient with my brews...

 

[emmdubb23]

Curious what was the recipe and what type of yeast

 

[Revvy]

Gravity is at 1.038

That means nothing unless we know the OG too.

Not necessarily.....we can extrapolate what the OG of the batch was, simply by knowing the recipe...there's not too many beer recipes with an OG of 1.038, so it's a good bet that he has fermentation. Even if he doesn't give us a recipe so we can figure out a rough calculation, if he takes another gravity reading in 2 days, and it is LESS than 1.038, then we know he has fermentation.

Walcotteric, post your recipe...

 

[helibrewer]

This is a sure sign of fermentation (ignore my spelling)

 

[walcotteric]

Walcotteric, post your recipe...

It's a Munton's Gold IPA 5 gallon extract kit. Unfortunately it's super unhelpful on what's in it. It's supposed to result in an ABV approx. 4.5%.

It does have this info, which says "for more experienced brewers"

EBC 22-28
EBU 17-23
Solids (by refractometer) 80%-82%
Acidity 1% max
pH 5.5 max
Free Amino Nitrogen 0.15% max


Not sure if that is helpful or not

 

[walcotteric]

It's a hopped malt extract...

 

[helibrewer]

80 to 82% is about 1.046 or so......I think

 

[Revvy]

80 to 82% is about 1.046 or so......I think

It wouldn't hurt to pitch more yeast, if you're right, there is fementation, just seems slow.

Was there any krausen remains when you took the grav reading, op?

 

[walcotteric]

There was some Krausen remains, but not a ton. Where I put in the hydrometer was clear though.

Just to be clear, since I'm a noob, if I pitch more yeast do I need to shake it to aerate again, or just put it in an seal it?