Yeast too hot?

[MinsiMan]

I think I rehydrated my yeast in water that was too hot. I immediately realized it, and having only one packet of yeast (this is my first brew) I put the container in an ice bath. So, now it has been 4 days and I haven't seen a single bubble from the airlock. Did I ruin this beer? Or am I worrying about nothing? It is Mountmellick Brown Ale by the way.

 

[Hammy71]

The airlock doesn't mean anything. Do you have a hydrometer? Can you take a sample to test with it?

 

[MinsiMan]

I do have a hydrometer, but how should I do it with out contaminating?

 

[terrapinj]

how hot did you rehydrate at?

you can draw a sample using a sanitized turkey baster or wine thief

 

[MinsiMan]

It was about 150F. I know, way to hot. Was reading my How to Brew and just did the next step regardless of temp. I'll have to give the hydrometer a go tomorrow morning. Thanks guys.

 

[Revvy]

I do have a hydrometer, but how should I do it with out contaminating?

With simple sanitization practices openning the fermenter to take a reading is perfectly safe. You won't spoil your beer.

Here, read this, Revvy's advice for the new brewer in terms of worry. You might find the info and advice helpful....

This is what I use, and it works with both buckets and carboys. I replaced the plastic one a year ago with an extra long stainless baster from a kitchen ware store and it is awesome. But the plastic one from any grocery store works fine.

And

Here's what I do....

1) With a spray bottle filled with starsan I spray the lid of my bucket, or the mouth of the carboy, including the bung. Then I spray my turkey baster inside and out with sanitize (or dunking it in a container of sanitizer).

2) Open fermenter.

3) Draw Sample

4) fill sample jar (usualy 2-3 turky baster draws

5)Spray bung or lid with sanitizer again

6) Close lid or bung

6) add hydrometer and take reading

It is less than 30 seconds from the time the lid is removed until it is closed again. More like 15 if you ask me.

Probably less if you have help. And unless a bird flies in your place and lets go with some poop, you should be okay.

 

[Dondlelinger]

And unless a bird flies in your place and lets go with some poop, you should be okay

.

ROFL revvy cracks me up lol

 

[Hang Glider]

It was about 150F. I know, way to hot. Was reading my How to Brew and just did the next step regardless of temp. I'll have to give the hydrometer a go tomorrow morning. Thanks guys.

Thermometer just as important as hydrometer.

150 killed your yeast. They're dead. New packet, please.

104 is re-hydration temp, and 65-70 (max) is pitching temp.



however, lessons learned usually stick with us - you won't do that again. Like the rest of us, mistakes get made, but we learn and move on.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Concur...

Check your gravity to ensure it's not already fermenting. If the yeast aren't working, then just pitch more yeast. The challenge being that you didn't take a gravity reading after your boil either... Just use the predicted OG from the kit/recipe to determine if anything is going on. Your gravity should be around 1010-1020 for an average beer by day 3.

 

[BackyardHB]

I pitched my yeast on Tuesday night around 9 pm and it did not start to bubble till 1 or 2 the next day. When I woke up this morning I did not notice any bubblies. Any idea why? Could it be bad yeast?

 

[Pandaren]

Well if you got activity on the next day, and then it slowed, then chances are it's not bad. Any big temp changes? Did you make sure to aerate well when you pitched everything? Could have simply ran out of oxygen to get work done quick.

 

[BackyardHB]

Well if you got activity on the next day, and then it slowed, then chances are it's not bad. Any big temp changes? Did you make sure to aerate well when you pitched everything? Could have simply ran out of oxygen to get work done quick.

You know I did not do anything out of the normal process. However I did use a different yeast, WL California V. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[jsweet]

When you say "bubbles", are you talking airlock activity? If so, is there still a good kraeusen forming?

I have heard that if your fermenter is almost perfectly airtight, but not quite, you can get a situation where when there is a huge amount of CO2 escaping, the bubbler is still the path of least resistance; but when there is a somewhat less (but still very active) amount of CO2, most of it can make it through the pinhole. Or alternatively, the pressure of the CO2 buildup could have enlarged a small leak.

If you are fermenting in a bucket, it is very likely your fermenter is not airtight. Which is absolutely not a problem; bacteria cannot get in there. Even if you are using a carboy, the bung might not be a perfect fit or something. If you are getting a good kraeusen, it is nothing to worry about; a lack of bubbles in the airlock means nothing. If you are really concerned about it, take a hydrometer reading on back-to-back days. If it is going down, then the yeast are working.


As to the OP... yeah, there's no way yeast can survive 150F. I've rehydrated as hot as 110F and gotten away with it, and once making bread I think I even rehydrated some yeast in water that was like 120F. Supposedly they can -- at least in theory -- survive up to 140F.

It's probably worth taking a hydrometer reading, as others have suggested, just to make sure. But your yeast is probably dead. No worries, repitch, live, and learn.

 

[MinsiMan]

been bubbling slow and steady. I guess all the chatter had conjured up different image in my mind. I'm just going to set it and forget it until bottling day. That said, with a slow bubble, should I delay bottling day? I had scheduled it for 2 weeks in the fermenting bucket. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[pkiller001]

It may be that the few yeast that survived the original 150F rehydration are just taking their time reproducing... it may take a bit longer to finish the ferment. I doubt it will take the full 2 weeks to complete, however. Let your hydrometer guide you. Once the gravity stops falling you're ready to bottle.
As for the speed of the bubbles -- see JSweet's post. Without specialized equipment it's hard to judge where in fermentation you are based solely on airlock activity.

 

[MinsiMan]

All is said and done. Just bottled today and everything looked fine. Had some typical by-product on the inside of the bucket. Guess it was just a bit of virgin-nerves. Thanks for your help everyone.