Pitched Too Warm - no fermentation 24 hrs later

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mrgrimm101

mrgrimm101

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I brewed an NEIPA today (OG 1.067) and pitched a blend of WLP066 London Fog and Safale US-05. I unintentionally pitched my yeast at about 80F and it sat there for maybe an hour or so before I got it in a tote filled with cool water. It is now sitting nice at 64F and has been for about 4 or 5 hours.

My question is, should I be worried about having pitched too warm, and that hour or so where it sat at 80F?

Edit.. It is how 24 hrs later and it hasn't started fermenting yet. There was a tiny ring around the top like it started but it's cleared off now
 
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No, 80F for 1 hour wouldn't do any damage to either of the yeast. I think you will be more than fine.
 
During that first hour the yeast would be multiplying, not actively fermenting the beer so that short time should not have any effect on your beer. Keep it at 64 degrees and you should get some very good beer.
 
If your beer tastes bad it's not going to be because of the temperature that beer was for an hour.
 
Ok. I was worried that introducing the yeast at that temp might increase lag time or something similar. Thanks everyone!
 
****.. 24 hrs later and it hasn't started fermenting yet. There was a tiny ring around the top like it started but it's cleared off now
 
mrgrimm101 said:
poopy.. 24 hrs later and it hasn't started fermenting yet. There was a tiny ring around the top like it started but it's cleared off now
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What are you fermenting in? I found out my buckets leak like crazy...but the beer still ferments..even if I only saw 2 bubbles in the airlock. I'm betting it's probably fine
 
NGD said:
What are you fermenting in? I found out my buckets leak like crazy...but the beer still ferments..even if I only saw 2 bubbles in the airlock. I'm betting it's probably fine
Click to expand...
A plastic 6.5 gallon big mouth bubbler. It's in a water bath now with wet towels around the top. I just rewet the towels and it looks like it's getting a bit active. Maybe the towels dried and it got warm... idk. No airlock activity, I'm just looking at the surface.
 
The only possible harm would be that if the yeast were introduced to a large temperature difference it could stun them and cause a little bit of lag time. Given your scenario I wouldn't sweat it. Sometimes there isn't any airlock activity but the beer will still turn out fine.
 
I'm looking for some sort of krausen formation and I don't see it. I'm not worried about airlock activity. Usually I see foam forming by now.
 
Pitching at 80 isn't going to hurt your yeast viability. The big temp fluctuations probably won't do your beer's flavor any favors though...
 
kingmatt said:
Pitching at 80 isn't going to hurt your yeast viability. The big temp fluctuations probably won't do your beer's flavor any favors though...
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Should I have let it sit at 80 until it slowly got to mid 60s on its own? My basement is about 65 right now.. the water bath definitely brought it down quick.
 
mrgrimm101 said:
Should I have let it sit at 80 until it slowly got to mid 60s on its own? My basement is about 65 right now.. the water bath definitely brought it down quick.
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No, you are probably better off getting down to the right temp before active fermentation started. You may be ok but shocking your yeast with big temp changes in your growth/lag phase is not ideal.

Next time, seal up your fermenter and chill it down to the proper temp before you aerate and pitch. I routinely do it with lagers and ales in the summer when my groundwater is in the 80s...as long as your sanitation is good, you shouldn't have any problems and your beer will thank you for it!
 
kingmatt said:
No, you are probably better off getting down to the right temp before active fermentation started. You may be ok but shocking your yeast with big temp changes in your growth/lag phase is not ideal.

Next time, seal up your fermenter and chill it down to the proper temp before you aerate and pitch. I routinely do it with lagers and ales in the summer when my groundwater is in the 80s...as long as your sanitation is good, you shouldn't have any problems and your beer will thank you for it!
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Thank you. I will pay closer attention next time. I thought it was low enough, but I was wrong.
 
Two things: 1) I'm fermenting Dead Ringer in a 6.5 gallon Big Mouth Bubbler right now. No matter how tightly I twist the lid or push down the bung there is never airlock activity in that thing anymore (though I know you said you were worried about lack of krausen, not lack of bubbling) 2) If your wort was 80, but then you quickly put it into a 65-degree cooler bath it's not like the wort INSTANTLY dropped 15 degrees. The wort had to slowly drop in temp between the inside of the Bubbler and the temp of the water bath. Heck, even if there was an instant drop of 15 degrees (which I don't think there could be) I doubt that "shock" would harm the yeast any. Wort can take up to 3 days to show signs. So, I know it sucks, but until you get to that time window, I'd stop worrying. (though I might have some dried yeast ready to go). What temp was your yeast when you originally pitched and how much yeast did you pitch? I know you said you pitched a combo of 2 strains. Were they fresh or harvested? Did you make a starter? Those are 2 things that could significantly impact the lag time you're seeing.
 
eadavis80 said:
Two things: 1) I'm fermenting Dead Ringer in a 6.5 gallon Big Mouth Bubbler right now. No matter how tightly I twist the lid or push down the bung there is never airlock activity in that thing anymore (though I know you said you were worried about lack of krausen, not lack of bubbling) 2) If your wort was 80, but then you quickly put it into a 65-degree cooler bath it's not like the wort INSTANTLY dropped 15 degrees. The wort had to slowly drop in temp between the inside of the Bubbler and the temp of the water bath. Heck, even if there was an instant drop of 15 degrees (which I don't think there could be) I doubt that "shock" would harm the yeast any. Wort can take up to 3 days to show signs. So, I know it sucks, but until you get to that time window, I'd stop worrying. (though I might have some dried yeast ready to go). What temp was your yeast when you originally pitched and how much yeast did you pitch? I know you said you pitched a combo of 2 strains. Were they fresh or harvested? Did you make a starter? Those are 2 things that could significantly impact the lag time you're seeing.
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Mine is the old style bubbler like yours with the twist lid. It usually still bubbles in the airlock.. though mine has a blowoff right now. I checked this morning and there is some krausen and bubbles forming.. it's actually bubbling a lot, just not a lot of foam yet. The yeast was around 70F when I pitched, maybe a little warmer. They were relatively fresh..definirely not past the best by date. They were not harvested. There was no starter. The WLP066 was liquid and I poured it right in first (after I shook it up good) and the US-05was dry sprinkled on top second. I shook/swirled the carboy after to get it all mixed in. I shook it aggressively before adding the yeast.
 
mrgrimm101 said:
Mine is the old style bubbler like yours with the twist lid. It usually still bubbles in the airlock.. though mine has a blowoff right now. I checked this morning and there is some krausen and bubbles forming.. it's actually bubbling a lot, just not a lot of foam yet. The yeast was around 70F when I pitched, maybe a little warmer. They were relatively fresh..definirely not past the best by date. They were not harvested. There was no starter. The WLP066 was liquid and I poured it right in first (after I shook it up good) and the US-05was dry sprinkled on top second. I shook/swirled the carboy after to get it all mixed in. I shook it aggressively before adding the yeast.
Click to expand...

Your wort was your starter and it just took the yeast a while to build up numbers, after all, this was a very large starter.:)
 
My 2 cents. 80 degrees would have been too warm. You did right by getting the temperature down quickly. I don't think the temperature swing would cause any problems whatsoever. Your lag time while a bit long was not long enough to get concerned. You probably pitched enough yeast by using two packs. But, both yeasts were not optimally handled. A starter should be made when using liquid yeast or multiple packs, and the dry yeast should be rehydrated. The lack of those things will add to the lag time.
 
I guess when I see or think of "starter" I think of yeast that are getting a "start" in their fermentation activity BEFORE being added to a 5-gallon bunch of wort. I would assume it's "easier" to get going in less than 2 L than it is in 5 gallons. Anyway - it sounds like the OP is seeing fermentation so that's the big thing.
 
Yea it's definitely going now. Had I only used 1 yeast, I would have done a starter or rehydrated. My calculator said I didn't need to, as I achieved the correct number of cells needed for the beer I brewed using both yeasts as they were without any additional preparation.
 

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