repitching question

[JerseyFresh85]

So basically I brewed a new batch of beer on Wednesday and left for vacation for the next week and half. As of Thursday when i left there was no activity in the airlock (I know airlock activity is no sure sign of fermentation activity)any way on the off chance when i get back to my house if fermentation for what ever reason never started would it be okay to repitch more yeast or would this batch be more or less screwed. Thanks for any input i am just curious for my own knowledge

 

[marubozo]

The first thing I'd do is take a hydro sample just to confirm nothing has happened.

Second, what kind of yeast did you use? Liquid or dry? If liquid, did you use a starter? And what was the pitching temp?

If there really wasn't any fermentation for a week or more you can repitch. In most cases as long as your sanitation methods were sound you will probably be just fine. But going that long without any yeast activity could have given any potential bad guys to get into the beer if things weren't sanitized well.

That being said, it's certainly worth repitching if there hasn't been activity to at least see how it turns out. More than likely it will be just fine. Given how inexpensive yeast is you might as well try before giving up on the batch.