Nothin' doin' in my carboy after pitch

[millhouse46]

I brewed and Oud Bruin Thursday and pitched a vial of WLP 665. I have kept the temp in the low 70's but there is nothing going on in the carboy. No airlock movement no krausen or pelical.
Any words of wisdom would be helpful.

 

[thehaze]

How many gallons, OG?

One vial is enough for 5 gallons of low gravity wort, something like 1.045-1.050.

 

[millhouse46]

4 gal. OG 1.056

 

[thehaze]

Was the vial fresh? It should be OK.

Seeing that you kinda underpitch a bit more than normal, you may experience a bit of a longer lag time. Up to 3 days could be OK, but how when exactly did you pitch?

What was the temp. of the wort, when you pitched the yeast?

 

[millhouse46]

Now that I think about it the vial has been in my fridge for a few months. I have been waiting to brew this one. That might have something to do with it.
I chilled the wort to 70 and pitched the vial and put carboy in basement. It got down to about 61 F for about 24 hrs.(I wasn't expecting that. I thought it would hold at 68) I made adjustments to get it up to the mid 73 F. I just bumbed it up to 75 F.

 

[myndflyte]

You check the gravity? That's really the only way to know if nothing is going on. Otherwise it sounds like it might have been old.

 

[Lefou]

This is exactly why starters for liquid yeasts should be made. After a couple experiences under-pitching higher-gravity worts I convinced myself it would be a good idea to make starters, if only to verify the yeast was still active.
Here's one of my experiences ....
Had a brew with an OG of 1.066. Pitched .5l of WLP001 to 5 gallons of partial mash. It was a definite under pitch. The under pitch wasn't the only mistake. Didn't shake the wort and even though it fermented ok, the priming was done in a bucket. Bottled a bit early and didn't get a good finish, so some bottles were over-carbed, some flat. Many were way sweet. <sigh>
Live and learn. Yep, and bad yeast from the brew shop... Like Gump said, it happens sometimes.

 

[millhouse46]

Your right checking the gravity would be the best way to tell if anything has happened. I did shake the carboy and some bubbles rose to the top with a white crust around the bubble that stayed floating on the top. This seems to me like a visual sign of fermentation of some kind. But usually by this early on there are other visible signs of fermentation considering there is some Sach in the mix.
And I guess I did under pitch but I figured with the other "bugs" in there it wouldn't be a problem.
This is my first attempt at a sour so I'm still feeling my way through this.
I appreciate the insights and thought on trouble shooting this. I was planning on having this hang around for a while so maybe I should just forget about and see what happens.
Thanks

 

[xpops]

yup - set it and forget it. sounds like you have some activity, just not as quick/vigorous as a straight sach fermentation. let it go a week without looking, and see how it's taken off at that point!