Should I repitch? Pitched Yeast (Wyeast 1028) over 24 hours ago and there is no active fermentation.

[Pmasur26]

Hi All,

First ever post here. I brewed a Winter Spiced Ale yesterday and used Wyeast 1028. It has been 24 hours and I have no signs of active fermentation. Should I repitch?

A couple things to note: My OG was 1.080, and I pitched at about 74F, and have had it sitting at 67F since initial yeast pitch.

Thanks!

 

[hotbeer]

If your temps dropped from the time you pitched. That may have delayed the yeast from celebrating and giving you a good krausen. That's also into the big beer territory with 1.080 SG. Did you calculate how many cells you needed to pitch or did you just wing it?

I'd give it another day and try to keep the temp stable. Unless you do the calculation and find you didn't pitch enough yeast.

 

[Pmasur26]

If your temps dropped from the time you pitched. That may have delayed the yeast from celebrating and giving you a good krausen. That's also into the big beer territory with 1.080 SG. Did you calculate how many cells you needed to pitch or did you just wing it?

I'd give it another day and try to keep the temp stable. Unless you do the calculation and find you didn't pitch enough yeast.

I do ~3 gallon batches so I calculated around 1.7 packets and pitched with 2 Wyeast 1028 packets. They didn’t inflate that much before I pitched though. I have a spare one I can pitch if need be.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Relax. As long as you're counting lag time in hours, not days, you're fine. 24, 36, 48, it's fine.

Actually, the longest I waited was with 1028. At 36hrs, I sent a note to the LHBS that I might stop by for fresh yeast. They gave me the advice above, saying I should wait until 72hrs before coming in. At 70hrs it was building krausen.

 

[Pmasur26]

Relax. As long as you're counting lag time in hours, not days, you're fine. 24, 36, 48, it's fine.

Actually, the longest I waited was with 1028. At 36hrs, I sent a note to the LHBS that I might stop by for fresh yeast. They gave me the advice above, saying I should wait until 72hrs before coming in. At 70hrs it was building krausen.

This makes me feel better. Gonna crack a homebrew and cook something. I will report back in (hopefully sooner than) 2 days.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I should also say that batch was the one that got me to pay more attention to yeast health.

Proper size pitch, oxygenation or aeration, starters (stir plate, vitality, SNS)...it's a rabbit hole.

Whatever method works for you, have a thought toward treating your yeast better in the future.

 

[Pmasur26]

I should also say that batch was the one that got me to pay more attention to yeast health.

Proper size pitch, oxygenation or aeration, starters (stir plate, vitality, SNS)...it's a rabbit hole.

Whatever method works for you, have a thought toward treating your yeast better in the future.

Reporting back:
Woke up yesterday morning (about 36 hours ago) and started to see very slight activity in the airlock and in the fermenter. Since then fermentation ramped up yesterday afternoon, and I’m still getting a bubble through the airlock every couple of seconds.

Thanks for keeping me calm, it seems like we’re on a good path now

 

[hotbeer]

Ignore the airlock bubbles. Many seem to impart significance on their bubbling rate, however it mainly just seems to cause unwarranted frustration.

 

[Pmasur26]

Ignore the airlock bubbles. Many seem to impart significance on their bubbling rate, however it mainly just seems to cause unwarranted frustration.

I try not to impart too much significance on the airlock - was just trying to illustrate that fermentation (thankfully) took off

 

[millerd66]

okay i brewed my first batch and I too have no bubbles. I am brewing a belgian dubbel but not sure what to do, open lid take a new SP reading re-pitch or what

 

[RM-MN]

okay i brewed my first batch and I too have no bubbles. I am brewing a belgian dubbel but not sure what to do, open lid take a new SP reading re-pitch or what

First thing to do is relax. Yeast are living organisms and they do their own thing. If you haven't seen activity in 72 hours, then open the fermenter (if opaque or translucent) to see if there is krausen or a krausen ring to indicate that fermentation has or has not started. Take a hydrometer sample while you have it open to see if the gravity of the beer has changed. If the gravity has remained the same and there is no indication of fermentation, then it is time to add yeast.

 

[millerd66]

Thanks, funny thing, I did watch this guy on youtube about this and he said check your bucket make sure its sealed, as the CO2 can go out through a leak duh. Well when I did that and pressed down on the top of the lid in doing so, the airlock did bubble up, so there is hope. I guess just being paranoid

 

[RM-MN]

I've brewed a lot of batches and have never had one fail to start. Some start faster, some slower. I usually check on them at 30 to 36 hours in just to be sure. I have some buckets that always bubble the airlock, some that never do, some that will one or the other and one that has no airlock to bubble, merely a piece of plastic over the hole in the lid. They all make beer.

On thing I have learned is to keep the fermenter cool, usually near the low end of the yeast's preferred range as it gives me a cleaner tasting beer. Let it get too warm and you get esters formed that have an off odor and maybe fusel alcohol that gives your beer a "hot alcohol" taste and if you consume too much it is reported to leave you with a wicked hangover.