slow yeast

[dhoyt]

So I made a batch of porter the other day and the smack pack took around 24 hours to swell an inch. I added it to the wort 2 days ago. Yesterday morning there was a tiny bit of activity and today there is about 3/4 of krausen on top. Im debating, leave it or get another smack pack because there couldn't be enough yeast to finish the job right? What do you guys think?

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I don't know your OG, but it sounds like a case of underpitching to me regardless. If the pack was slow to swell, you most likely had a low populaion of active yeast to begin with. A yeast strater would have made a huge difference here. That being said, you are seing activity and I don't know that I would reccemmend buying another $8-$10 smack pack. Did you aerate/oxygenate the wort? If so, to what extent? I would think that if enoguh oxygen was present, the yeast would climb to sufficient numbers to ferm things out for you. What I would do is wait things out for the moment. When the fermentation activity level slows or ceases......check the gravity. If you are way above your target FG, then you might consider pitching some more yeast. If you are within a few points of the target FG, I would let it ride.

 

[dhoyt]

Yeah og was 1.040... same aeration techniques as usual. Hmm what to do... I suppose it would have been fine to leave the wort in the primary for another 24 hours if I did make a starter right? Throw some co2 in there to be safe...? I did think of it but I didn't have any dark malt extract and I didn't want to use something that wasn't close to my wort.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Well, you're already committed now. No sense in looking back....just look forward. In the future I would just plan on always making a yeast starter. You won't regret it.

 

[rjwhite41]

You should of made a starter but your beer will probably be fine. That's the short answer. Leave it be and check it in a couple of weeks. No need to add more yeast right now.

 

[dhoyt]

Thanks guys ill keep a close eye. Appreciate it.