Yeast mystery...

[dumptrucksally]

I brewed a batch of grain/DME homebrew last night and added the Liquid Vial of Wyeast once i cooled the wort down to 75 degrees into a bucket. I swirled the beer and yeast in the bucket and then moved it onto a 6gallon carboy. In the bottom of the bucket there was a layer of sediment... Was this yeast or hops and grains left over? (I did use pellet hops.)

I checked the carboy today and the wort is still not fermenting and is at a complete standstill. Did the yeast get left behind?

I do have a packet of dry yeast i was thinking of adding tonight if the carboy is still motionless...

 

[homebrewer_99]

First off...welcome.

Second, you need to learn how to make a yeast starter. If you made a start you wouldn't be in this situation.

Third, give the carboy a swirl or two to rouse the sediment.

Fourth, welcome...

 

[Donasay]

sometimes fermentation can take a couple days to start, if you shook up the bucket before transfering to the carboy some of the yeast was proably in suspension and should be viable. The yeast does eventually settle out, but unless you just pulled the vial out of the fridge, some of it should have mixed in. Give it another day if it doesnt move, pitch the dry yeast.

 

[Matt Foley]

Yea, hold tight. If you simply pitched the yeast without making a starter it may take a while for the bubbling to get going, but it should. I would wait a day or 2 before you start screwing with it. Good luck.

 

[dumptrucksally]

Thanks for the responses.. I did swirl it today and I am hoping for the best.

So the sediment that was left behind in my bucket before transfer to the carboy was most probably hop sludge and grain.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Thanks for the responses.. I did swirl it today and I am hoping for the best.

So the sediment that was left behind in my bucket before transfer to the carboy was most probably hop sludge and grain.

Yup- it's called trub

Welcome!

 

[slnies]

What Bernie Said. I actual transfer twice before pitching yeast, to leave the trub behind. There is enough left in suspension for good yeast health. The only time this doesn't happen is if i brew at someone else's house. Your issue is easy to fix. If your process is sanitary a few days won't matter. If you still do not have a positive lock after that time. Do like Donasay say's and pitch a hydrated dry yeast. You will then be on your way.

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

Second, you need to learn how to make a yeast starter. If you made a start you wouldn't be in this situation.

According to the Wyeast people, making starters out of the vials has a negative impact on the beer, in that they make the lag to short, which according to them, produces a higher amount of fusels and off flavors.

That said, when using the vials, I don't usually seem fermenting until around 24 hours, compared to 12 with starters and rehydrated dry yeast. Hard to say which is the better way.

nick

 

[slnies]

According to the Wyeast people, making starters out of the vials has a negative impact on the beer, in that they make the lag to short, which according to them, produces a higher amount of fusels and off flavors.

That said, when using the vials, I don't usually seem fermenting until around 24 hours, compared to 12 with starters and rehydrated dry yeast. Hard to say which is the better way.

nick

This really depends on the volume of the beer and the SG. A big beer requires more than 120 billion cells, which is the recommended pitching rate for a beer of no more than SG 1.050. If the beer is bigger than this or it is a lagger, than you need more yeast or you will run into the same problems. I will state these numbers are for a five gallon batch and these numbers can be found on MrMalty.com or by contacting Whitelabs. It should also be noted that fermentation temperature will also give you the same results. In my own experience under pitching causes more problems with off flavors, fusel alcohols, and wild esters. Over pitching gets me a beer that is clean and doesn't have a whole lot of character. Wyeast 1098 over pitched will ferment as clean as a lot of lagger yeasts, it just does not have any of the characters that it would if it has been pitched normal. It also attenuates really dry over pitched. This however has been my observation.

 

[ftlstrings]

I find the discussion on yeast valuable, but I can't help this nagging question: "Did you sanitize with something nasty like bleach and not get it really really clean afterward?"

~M~

 

[dumptrucksally]

So last night I added a hydrated yeast starter to the carboy and then all of a sudden it erupted. It was exhilarating! So the fermentation is finally taking off! From now on I will be hydrating all of my yeast before hand, as I should have in the beginning anyway.

Cheers