not fermenting?

[woj027]

I brewed yesterday (saturday) put my beer into the Carboy at 4pm it's 8:45 PM on Sunday and nothing is blowing out of my overflow. some foamy suds at top of carboy, but not looking like it's doing much.

My yeast was in one of the action packs where you pop the corner and let the bag sit, I only let it sit for 30 minutes.

Also my beer was around 80 degrees when I added yeast.

 

[vogtenstein222]

While advice may still be needed from someone with a bit more experience than me, I can offer this:
Your temp at pitching time mayve been a tad high, but not that bad....I frequently add between 70 and 75.
As far as not much action, fermentation can take a while to start. As well, sometimes it's activity isn't immediately visible, but it may still be going on. My last batch seemed like it was never going to start, yet I had krausen faster than any other batch. After 18 hours...boom! It was going nuts. It was done after about another 48.
Keep checking it....in the mean time, relax... Enjoy a homebrew if you've got one, a craft brew otherwise. It's not easy to mess up beer. As long as you were clean about it and followed the directions, you're probably good.

 

[woj027]

thanks. I think my biggest mistake was being in a hurry, I tried to get everything done before company came over and my son woke up from a nap..

 

[Demus]

It wouldn't cause a slow start, but 80 is waaay to warm to ferment your beer. You will likely get off flavors and fusel alcohol which tastes like solvent and causes headaches. Yeast activity will warm your brew another 5-10 degrees once it revs up. Shoot for the low 60's so you can keep it under 70 for the entire ferment (for most ale strains) and you'll definitely see improvement in your beers...

 

[unionrdr]

I chill my wort down to 70-75F,then top off with cold fridge water to 64F or so,ideally. Better to start low & come up than the other way around.
And the reproductive phase,that which is referred to as lag time,can take several hours to start visibly fermenting. Rehydrating dry yeast,starters,& activator packs can shorten this lag time.

 

[woj027]

So is there anything I can do this late in the game to "save" my beer? It's Tuesday morning some 64hours after pitching my yeast into what was probably too warm of a product.

Additives? Or am I doomed with a bad batch?

 

[unionrdr]

You say you saw "foamy suds" on top of the carboy,so if it's got any color to it,it's krausen from the ale yeast fermenting.

 

[finsfan]

you can try to chill the temp down to under 70 for the rest of the three weeks of ferm

 

[unionrdr]

Ferment temps matter the most during initial fermentation. that's when most of the fermentation happens before it slows down & creeps down to FG.

 

[kh54s10]

How warm did the wort itself get during fermentation? As to off flavors, it may not be noticeable or it may be very harsh with fusel alcohols. There is not much you can do now.
Suggestions:

Do a search of "swamp cooler" to control temperatures during fermentation.
When using liquid yeast you should make starters to that you are starting the fermentation with the optimum number of yeast cells.

The foam on the top of the wort was the activity. You will not always get any blow-off, especially if using a bucket or having a large headspace (the empty portion of the vessel above the wort).

 

[unionrdr]

Buckets def need blow off rigs. With the ale pail one time,my wife's Summer Ale had a blow off on it,& still blew the lid off while she was dang near sitting in front of it watchin videos & drinkin HB's. So never say never. But my Cooper's micro brew fermenter is some 27L clear full,but with even 19L in it,it still sometimes needs a blow off. Most of the time,I just have to make sure the airlock is cleared & filled with 19L in it. 23L,& it better start with a blow off.

 

[woj027]

thanks all, I'm starting to feel better about this batch, it's only my 6th or 7th I've made at home. Never the same way twice.

the foam must be activity, there was some extra head space, it is a 6 gallon carboy. I'm just nervous, knowing I pitched at too warm of a temp and the smack pack from wyeast didn't get a full 3 hours to expand.

And to clarify, the high temp was my fault in not cooling enough, relying a great deal on having to add cold water to the mix rather than cooling it down further at first.

 

[unionrdr]

It's normal to do a 5 gallon batch in a 6 to 6.5 gallon carboy for proper head space. And cool down to 70-75 before adding really cold top off water for fermenter to get down into low 60's is best.

 

[Demus]

So is there anything I can do this late in the game to "save" my beer?

Best thing is to relax, let it age and see how it tastes. Beer is pretty forgiving and can still taste pretty good with "mistakes". Just tastes better without them!

 

[woj027]

It's been two weeks nothing overflowing yet..

Am I out of luck?

 

[nickydballs]

I am confused...why do you think an overflow means its fermenting? It looks fine to me but I am definitely not a pro!!

 

[kh54s10]

Most people freak out when they DO get blow off. Relax, your beer is fine. That is a beautiful head of krausen there. The only things of concern are that you underpitched by not making a starter. And that the start of fermentation was too warm. What did the temperature of the wort get to? Not letting the smackpack swell was not a biggie. The inner pack contains a nutrient that gives the yeast a little food to "wake them up" and prepare them to ferment the beer.

Suggestions: Research "swamp cooler" for fermentation control. And learn to make yeast starters when using liquid yeast. Mrmalty.com and yeastcalc.com have good information on starters and Youtube has tons of videos on making them.

 

[woj027]

Thanks for the insight. All of my previous batches overflowed lots.