No yeast action

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Gee Tee

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Last night i made a batch of spiced winter ale with liquid Omega OYL-015 Scottish Ale yeast in a 6.5 gallon bucket. Because I was a 1/2 gallon short (the batch is 4.5 gallons) there was extra headspace in the bucket. The room temperature is right (70F) and other batches have kicked off almost immediately but there has been no sign of life since I bottled it last night. No airlock bubbles and no krausen. If no fermentation has kicked off in the 12 hours since I pitched, would the oxygen have already ruined the wort? I dare not open it to add the missing 1/2 gallon but maybe I should? I'd like to but don't want to make matters worse...
 
The yeast take up the O2 within (approx) the first hour. You are probably just experiencing a relatively long lag time. I would advise patience for now. (And I don't see any reason that adding more wort would help anything at this point.)
 
The yeast take up the O2 within (approx) the first hour. You are probably just experiencing a relatively long lag time. I would advise patience for now. (And I don't see any reason that adding more wort would help anything at this point.)
Thank you Vikeman. I was thinking of adding 1/2 gallon of water (not wort) just to make the gravity what it should be. You don't think it's a good idea? risk of air and 1/2 gallon less of water probably won't make much of a difference? I've heard it said that part of the art of brewing is patience... I now understand what that means!
 
Ah, I see. I wouldn't add water at this point. You'd be adding O2 that the yeast don't need.
 
Ah, I see. I wouldn't add water at this point. You'd be adding O2 that the yeast don't need.
A big thank you once again for the advice. I shall wait another 24 hours before worrying! :)
 
If I don't see yeast action within 2 days, I'll throw some yeast energizer in there and that does the trick. I'm not sure how many people are big believers in yeast nutrient but I usually add that to help the yeast get a move on. Although I ran out with a batch that I did over the weekend and thought for sure I'd have to break out the energizer again and it took off by itself so...🤷‍♂️
 
Sometimes it can take 2 to 3 days for the yeast to start. My advice is to ignore it for at least 48 hours (although I would not be calm if I were in the same situation).

You can add water or add wort at this point if you want. You can even re-aerate if you want. But before you do any of those, check the gravity to ensure fermentation didn't happen without you realizing. Sometimes strange things happen. I had a batch I was convinced didn't start, even complained to the yeast company (Nottingham yeast), but when I eventually opened the fermenter after 3 days and took a sample, the fermentation was done; rather than not starting, it was the fastest fermentation I had ever experienced. I have brewed hundreds of batches, and there was no indication of any activity.
 
You can add water or add wort at this point if you want. You can even re-aerate if you want.

The yeast normally picks up all the O2 within about an hour. It uses the O2 to build sterols for cell walls, in preparation for budding. Re-aerating at this point presents a real risk of adding O2 that the yeast have no use for, thus oxidizing the wort.
 
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