Pitching Another Pack of Yeast

[Dave77]

First of all, I'm a lazy brewer so I never take gravity readings. I brew, pitch the yeast, watch it bubble, and take that as my sign that all is good.

My most recent batch isn't bubbling. I have no OG reading, so can't really test to see if it's been fermenting. To be safe, if I were to pitch another package of yeast, would that hurt anything?

 

[IslandLizard]

My most recent batch isn't bubbling.

One of our general rules:
Lack of airlock activity is not an indication of lack of fermentation.

A leak in the fermenter (anywhere above the beer surface) can easily prevent seeing bubbles in the airlock. A leaky lid closure or leaky airlock seal are very common. Double check and fix those areas.

Foam (krausen) floating on top of the beer surface is a good sign of fermentation being active.
If your fermenter isn't transparent, you could temporarily remove the airlock and peek inside through the hole. If needed, shine a flashlight or other light source through the side of the fermenter (above the beer line) to be able see better.

Your recipe's OG should be a decent guide to your batch's original (starting) gravity.

To be safe, if I were to pitch another package of yeast, would that hurt anything?

A package of dry yeast?
Adding it won't hurt anything, but 1 pack should be enough for most 5 gallon batches of beer with an OG under 1.060. So check fermentation activity (as described above) first.

 

[IslandLizard]

Needless to say, practice good sanitation when opening or tinkering with your fermenter.

Liberally spray or mop sanitizer around the area that will be opened. Try not to drip or leak anything into your fermenter.

 

[Dave77]

Thanks. Everything seems to be sealed up alright, and there is a good amount of krausen, so I think I'm good. I sat there staring at my airlock and did notice it doing some bubbling (albeit extremely slow), so I'll just trust that all is working as it should. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

 

[redrocker652002]

I will just add my recent experience to this. I had a 5 gallon batch of Pale ale, OG around 1.058 if I remember correctly. I pitched a slurry of stored Bry97 into the fermenter and waited. I had a dry hop bag inside the lid with some magnets to drop in once I reached FG. Well, the fermenter sat in a fridge at about 65 for two weeks. Not one bubble from the airlock. I figured my yeast was dead and no need to even proceed. But, at the suggestion of folks here, I checked the gravity on it. It was at about 1.009 or so (numbers are from memory as I am at work). So, what I found was, even though there was absolutely no activity in the airlock, the yeast did it's thing and then some and I would have thrown out a perfectly good batch of beer. So, what I would suggest, even though you don't take a gravity reading you should do so. Your recipe, if you put it into one of the programs, should give you an idea of what it should be. If you are close to that, then you had fermentation, but just did not see it. My two cents worth, and that's about all it is worth.