WLP005; No Activity!

[Fire-Brew]

I hate to sound like just another home brewer prematurely panicking here, but I am looking for some sage advice. Brewed a brown (starting gravity was 1.055). I pitched WLP005 at 72*, and the fermenter has been hanging out at 67*. However, 2 days later there is no activity. Part of my concern is that the vial, despite being warmed & shaken prior to pitching, had virtually no fizz to it when I cracked the seal; has me concerned. I realize that gravity is the best method of determining fermentation, so I do intend on checking it soon.

The question: if I determine that there is no drop in gravity, and have to re-pitch, would you guys rack to another fermenter to get off of the potentially useless yeast, or just pitch right into the current fermenter?

Thanks, as always!

 

[RM-MN]

Do you mean "is no activity" or "was no activity"? Some ale yeasts will be done with their active phase very quickly and you might have just missed it. If that is true (a test with your hydrometer is the best way to tell) you just leave it alone to complete the ferment.

 

[Fire-Brew]

I would say "was no activity". My schedule allowed me to check on it frequently. Yup, I will certainly be checking the gravity, but I was hoping to not open the fermenter too many times. Any thoughts on my re-pitching question?

 

[LovesIPA]

Just re-pitch new yeast in the same fermentor if you decide to go that way.

 

[kh54s10]

Wait another day or two then take a gravity reading. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fermentation-can-take-24-72-hrs-show-visible-signs-43635/

In the mean time read up on making starters. If you made one (which you should have) you would have known whether the yeast was good or not before you pitched.

As far as another transfer, there is no need. There was very little yeast pitched anyway and the risks of transfer far outweigh having a little dead yeast in the trub. If you need to just pitch more yeast into the fermenter.

 

[Fire-Brew]

I appreciate all of the guidance here. To LovesIPA, thankfully I am not going to have to repitch. It took a few days, but I have finally begun to see some activity.

To kh54s10, I have done a lot of starters, but I have not taken to the idea of doing a starter for every beer, regardless of original gravity. I know some people swear by them, but since I have using a lot of White Labs, I have been following their recommendation for beers bigger than 1.060. Have you found that there are benefits to starters no matter what the gravity is?

 

[IL1kebeer]

Make a starter next time and you won't have to worry abut this. Plus your beer will most likely turn out better.

 

[LovesIPA]

Yes, there are benefits to making a starter no matter what the gravity is. The instructions on a white labs vial will work for a 5 gallon batch, but they're less than ideal. Also, they ignore the viability of yeast, which decreases over time. By the time a vial or smack pack gets to you, the yeast may lose up to half of their viability - or more.

 

[Fire-Brew]

Valid points; thanks. I will probably embrace the starters for a while, for all gravities, and see what happens. I just recently used dry yeast for the first time (Safale-05), so I did one as dual purpose (starter/rehydration). I have read great things about it, so I am hoping it lives up to its reputation. It seems like a win-win; cheaper than WL, and has a wide temperature range rating.

 

[LovesIPA]

If you're looking to save money on yeast, look into slanting. The only time I buy yeast is when I have a strain I don't already have. I have probably 15 slants in the fridge right now, each of which will be cultured to the right amount of yeast for a 5 gallon batch.