Wyeast Starter NOT WORKING

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Ukfan369

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Okay so i decided to have a nice Christmas eve by brewing some beer, 3 hours before i was ready to pitch i busted the started pack inside my Wyeast package so it would be ready. Three hours later the package had only expanded a tiny bit, and i had nothing else so i pitched it. Now 7 hours after pitching my airlock has no activity, beer no krasuen WTF do i do? I checked the date my Yeast was not even a month old and the bag inside the pack completely busted correctly what happened, I don't want to riun this batch. The yeast was Wyeast 3638
 
Best advice I can have is RDWHAHB. There's a thread in here somewhere that says it can take up to 72 hours (if I remember correctly) for fermentation to start. I've had some fermentations rocket off after 4-5 hours, but most generally start around 12 hours. 7 hours is not enough time to say that your yeaties aren't doing their thing...

Your batch is not ruined, have patience.
 
You didn't make a starter, and you smacked the pack with VERY minimal time before pitching. Thus, you significantly underpitched. Don't panic until you see no activity for 72 hours or more. Even then, don't panic...just pitch a backup package of dry yeast.

www.mrmalty.com has some good reading for you. Read the articles about yeast, pitching rates, and take a look at the pitching rate calculator.
 
Please post the instructions on the yeast packet, so I have a reference.
 
Now 7 hours after pitching my airlock has no activity, beer no krasuen WTF do i do?

First https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/fe...-show-visible-signs-43635/?highlight=72+hours

But by visible signs they DON'T mean airlock activity.

Your airlock is not a fermentation gauge, it is a VALVE to release excess co2. And the peak of fermentation has already wound down, so there's simply no need to vent off any excess co2.

If your airlock was bubbling and stopped---It doesn't mean fermentation has stopped.

If you airlock isn't bubbling, it doesn't mean your fermentation hasn't started....

If your airlock starts bubbling, it really doesn't matter.

If your airlock NEVER bubbles, it doesn't mean anything is wrong or right.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Thinking about "doing anything" without taking a hydrometer reading is tantamount to the doctor deciding to cut you open without running any diagnostic tests....Taking one look at you and saying, "Yeah I'm going in." You would really want the doctor to use all means to properly diagnose what's going on. It's exactly the same thing when you try to go by airlock....

You'll be much happier if you get out of that habit...you will find that fermentations rarely don't take off, or just Stop...In fact I've never had a beer not ferment. BUT half of my fermentations, spread out across 9 different fermenters, never blip once in the airlock.

Fermentation is not always "dynamic," just because you don't SEE anything happening, doesn't mean that any-thing's wrong,, and also doesn't mean that the yeast are still not working diligently away, doing what they've been doing for over 4,000 years..

7 hours i not the same as 72 hours so you aren't anywhere near the point wher you even begin to worry.

So, Relax, then wait 72 hours and take a hydrometer, and you'll see, more than likely that everything is fin...it is fine 99.95% of the time.
 
what was the temp outside your house, If u had it shipped it could have froze. I had thet happen to me last year. I opened the box and the yeast packet was frozen solid.
 
I had the same thing happen with a smack pack of 2206. I smacked it and let it warm up Thursday. 4.5 hours later it had not expanded, but I went ahead and pitched it.

No activity, not a bit as of now.

As soon as the water I just boiled cools down, I am pitching Us-05 into it.

:confused:
 
It takes a considerable amount of time for the ambient temp in the room to warm the foil pack up to 68 deg. The warmer the room is, the quicker the yeast and suspending fluid will equalize and begin to swell. As Yuri said, go with a starter. A smack pack is a bare minimum amount for 5 gal. and will show a longer lag time.
 
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