Yeast stuck?

[jrstaples1]

My buddy gave me a double IPA homebrew kit which I made over the weekend. I followed the instructions, with just a couple exceptions. First, the kit called for steeping the specialty grains at a temperature "just below boiling", but I steeped at 155 degrees. It also called for a partial 1.5 gal boil, filling to 5 gal in the bucket, then waiting until the wort came back down to 80 degrees before adding the dry US-05 ale yeast. I did a full boil and cooled to 65 degrees with a copper IC. The instructions didn't mention anything about oxygenation, but I decided to use a drill with 5 gal paint stirrer, as I usually do. Anyway, I was surprised to see the airlock bubbling about an hour later, but it had stopped by the next morning and never started again. I'm I'm thinking the yeast may be just sitting on top of the froth/foam that whipped up during oxygenation and it's not getting to the wort. I removed the lid and gave it a couple stirs this morning, so we'll see if it's going when I get home tonight. Any other thoughts?

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[jrstaples1]

I should add that I've never used dry yeast before. Just sprinkling it over the top of the wort seemed unusual to me, but that's what the instructions indicated.

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[RainyDay]

When I use dry yeast, Ill typically hydrate it with sanitized water (just a little) for about 20-30 minutes before pitching; it normally helps fermentation start quicker. That's some I started doing recently though. Before that, I would just dump it in (with good success mind you), and give the whole carboy a little swirl to get all the yeast wet. Im sure you're fine, it will mix in well even without the swirl (but Id recommend it anyway). The airlock isnt the true indicator of fermentation, just a guide, but it is a little suspect. Maybe gently rock the carboy to circulate everything and see if that helps. Im sure the gravity wasnt too high to stall the yeast, but knowing the OG would help. Being a kit, Id say it's not high enough to stall the yeast though.


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[jrstaples1]

No worries, it's going again. I wasn't really worried about the last stalling, since it never really got started. I was more worried about the thick foam whipped up during oxygenation preventing the yeast from getting to the wort. I think that was the case, since a few stirs got 'er going again. Whole closet smells of hops now.

Side note: are you saying you hydrate dry yeast with previously boiled (i.e. sanitized) water or do you mix it in starsan solution?

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[RainyDay]

Boiled (and cooled) water


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