To re-pitch or not to re-pitch, that is the question

[RStolz]

Hey all!

Long time reader, first time poster. I have two extract batches under my belt that bother turned out great. This one that I'm brewing now is a Norther Brewer Irish Red. I brewed on Sunday and four days later I have yet to see any active fermentation weather that be in the airlock, any krausen, or even putting a flashlight up to the carboy to see active fermentation.

A little details:
-the smack pack arrived to my place during the dead heat on the East Coast with the ice pack warm. I smacked the pack about 5-6 hours before pitching and saw little swelling.
-The carboy has been sitting in a watertub with ice packs to keep it around 68 degrees.

two nights ago and yesterday I did see, what looked like, "yeast rafts" on the surface and now there are a lot more (see attached picture). Not sure what is in suspension towards the bottom of the carboy (see picture) my assumption is hops.

Just wondering, since I haven't seen anything at all if I should repitch. My two other brews have had active fermentation with krausen, albeit the first one took three days to get active and those were both with dry yeast.

Looking for a little guidance about my next step. Haven't done a hydrometer reading yet to see where the gravity is.

 

[duboman]

A hydrometer reading would be a good start to verify

What was the date in the pack? What was the OG of the beer? How well did you aerate?

It's obvious you didn't make a starter which you should have, then you would have not only verified the yeast was viable but also had the proper pitch rate

If the hydrometer reading is still at OG then yes, re-pitch

 

[ImNoExpert]

Agree on the take a gravity reading. I've had beers that settle out at FG that still look like that. I've also had yeast packs that never fully inflate in the 4-6 hours post-smaking and turn out ok.

I'd also expect to see a nice bit o' krausen ring towards the liquid line (not to mention a good yeast cake at the bottom post-flocculation) if it had fermented, but the only way to tell if it is done is by taking a reading.

 

[two_one_seven]

The surface looks like beer after it has finished fermenting. It is possible to miss fermentation......kinda like driving through a small town...if you blink you miss it.

I agree that we need a whole carboy shot. Yeast cake?

 

[tacks]

Why not pitch a package of dry yeast? Take a hydro/refractometer reading first to make sure you didn't go through fermentation already, but if not, get some Nottingham or US-05 to do the job. Either is a good choice for a standby yeast and you can wash it to repitch for future batches of you choose. Just my 2 cents.

 

[RStolz]

Thanks for all the advise. I will take a hydrometer reading to see where I'm at. I could just have a case of the impatient also too, as I noticed today that it could just be going extrememly slow. There is a little activity in the airlock, but it takes a while to get a CO2 bubble.

Let ya'll know whats going on soon.

 

[Yooper]

That top photo looks bad- like white mold or something. Hopefully that's just the photo and it's not white. Is that really what it looks like?

 

[freisste]

Looks like bubbles to me. I would say its fine. Some of the blobs look a little mold-ish, but I think it is just blurry/refracted through the curved glass.

 

[RStolz]

When I look at them up close they are all bubbles, even really tiny bubbles in these circular formations. Nothing fuzzy or mold looking to me. The lighting wasn't the best for the picture.

 

[brewskerdoo]

smack pack arrived to my place during the dead heat on the East Coast with the ice pack warm

A couple of days in a UPS truck, during a heatwave, isn't the ideal environment for the smack-pak. The fact that the smack-pak only swelled a little and it's been 4 days with little sign of fermentation, I'd say the yeast were D.O.A. and would think you'd want to repitch a viable smack-pak as soon as you can.

 

[two_one_seven]

Get a gravity first.....only 100% way to tell. A still picture doesn't say much about fermentation.