Slow start on WY 2633 or just plain dead

[safcraft]

Hi,

I am using yeast slurry from a previous batch made 1 month ago.
I collected the slurry from a clean beer, aproximatly 400ml of condensed slurry and maintained it in the fridge in closed bottles.

I decided to use this yeast again as i liked the 1st batch, but was too laizy to do a starter. I figured i had enough slurry so dumped the hole thing in a 1.070 OG beer at 50F.

48h later....absolutly no activity and a big layer of yeast is sitting at the bottom of the fermentor. About 1 inch of yeast is clearly visible , settled down and there is no airlock activity.

Do you think its dormant or dead ?
Maybe 50F is too low...but WY2633 should work on those conditions.
I fermented the 1st batch at 55F.

Wait longer ? Drop new yeast - maybe dry 34/70 ?
I would hate to loose this batch...it was tasting wonderfull when it went into the fermentor....

Cheers

 

[Kent88]

I'll assume this hasn't resolved itself yet.

What was the OG and FG of the last brew you used those yeasts for? How long did the yeast sit under that beer before you harvested it?

A starter would have been a really good idea here. Did you get the slurry out and let it warm up to room temps before pitching? Doesn't Wyeast print on their smack packs that the pack, once inflated, is sufficient for 5 gallons of wort up to 1.070? I don't know how much merit that has in this instance, just something to think about.

Carefully rock the fermenter around a bit and see if it degases and foam rises to the top. If there is nothing, go get a couple packs of 34/70 or another lager yeast, wait until you hit 72 hours. and even if you can only let it sit in the starter for an hour, make a starter.

 

[safcraft]

Previous batch was OG 1.046 and FG 1.008. Much weaker.
The yeast sit on primary for about 4 weeks.
I did not warm the slurry because I pitched at 50F which is almost same temp as my fridge where the slurry was for 1 month.

Moving on.. I pitched 2 packs of 34 70 and 6h later fermentation took off. Temperature is 55F and will maintain there
Let's hope for a good batch
cheers and thanks