No yeast activity

RalphK

RalphK

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So I had a good brew day and pitched the dry yeast at about 21 celsius. It is now 26 hours later and there is no activity. I used an American West Coast Ale yeast. Unfortunately I do not know which brand as the homebrew store I bought it from had repackaged it in a vacuum sealed package. I have some yeast that I harvested from a Weissbier that I bottled a week ago and was thinking I should just throw that in for good measure. Any thoughts? Advice? I am new to this and this is only my 4th brew.
 
When you say activity, do you mean airlock activity? Or no krausen? Are you fermenting in a bucket? Either way, I would give it another day. Air lock activity is not necessarily an indicator of activity. If you are using a bucket, you may not have a good seal on the lid. If it is US-05 yeast it is sometimes slow to start.
 
Give it another day or so. At the beginning of fermentation, the CO2 dissolves into the beer until saturation, then the bubbles form. Airlock activity should become vigorous after that.
 
As others are saying, be patient, RalphK, and welcome to the forum.
 
Ah yes, and Welcome to Brewer's Friend, nice poochie in you avatar too!
 
H*ckin good looking dog.
 
Any chance you've got a hydrometer or refractometer? If it's just airlock activity you're looking for, your fermentor may not have a seal so you wouldn't see any. A gravity reading would confirm/deny this idea.
 
Just to carry on with this thread. My OG was 1.053 (the expected OG indicated in the recipe was 1.050 and the expected FG was 1.012) The airlock has stopped bubbling and I took a sample gravity reading which is at 1.015. (all readings temp adjusted). Will leave it for a couple of days and take another reading. Thank you all for the warm welcome and helpful advice. On another note: the pooch in the pic is Spud. We rescued him a year ago. He was born at the rescue shelter and lived there for 3 years. Hard to believe that no-one else wanted him...he is such an awesome doggo. We have 3 other dogs and all my beers bear their names. The beer we are discussing in this thread is called Jess' Rye Eye. Cheers all!
 
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RalphK said:
So I had a good brew day and pitched the dry yeast at about 21 celsius. It is now 26 hours later and there is no activity. I used an American West Coast Ale yeast. Unfortunately I do not know which brand as the homebrew store I bought it from had repackaged it in a vacuum sealed package. I have some yeast that I harvested from a Weissbier that I bottled a week ago and was thinking I should just throw that in for good measure. Any thoughts? Advice? I am new to this and this is only my 4th brew.
Click to expand...
another south african,welcome buddy
 
i wouldnt add the other yeast,maybe you just missed the bubbling activity.
when i used kveik yeast,it was a bubbling affair thru my airlock ,within a few hours and then tapered off within the day.
i left it for 7 days and it still came out good.
the other yeasts i got,english ale yeast was a slow starter,and the safale33.
try and get the kveik yeast,though beerguevara in cape town was sold out.
it can ferment in 3-4 days at right temp.
who are u ordering from
 
Brewer #329768 said:
i wouldnt add the other yeast,maybe you just missed the bubbling activity.
when i used kveik yeast,it was a bubbling affair thru my airlock ,within a few hours and then tapered off within the day.
i left it for 7 days and it still came out good.
the other yeasts i got,english ale yeast was a slow starter,and the safale33.
try and get the kveik yeast,though beerguevara in cape town was sold out.
it can ferment in 3-4 days at right temp.
who are u ordering from
Click to expand...
This one was from Beerlab. They repackaged the yeast so I don't know where it is originally from. I am close to the expected FG (spot on with the abv) though so am not panicked. Just going to leave it until the weekend and check the gravity again. I need to clear out some bottles before bottling though as they have a hefeweissen in them ;-)
 
Mark Farrall said:
Any chance you've got a hydrometer or refractometer? If it's just airlock activity you're looking for, your fermentor may not have a seal so you wouldn't see any. A gravity reading would confirm/deny this idea.
Click to expand...
OG was 1.053 and am now at 1.015 so looking good. Thanks!
 
ok my yeast also came in a vacuum sealed bag when i ordered from them,
they are taking covid social distance very serious at their shop!
but lynnae the owner responds very quickly to concerns via email,great service
 
Brewer #329768 said:
ok my yeast also came in a vacuum sealed bag when i ordered from them,
they are taking covid social distance very serious at their shop!
but lynnae the owner responds very quickly to concerns via email,great service
Click to expand...
Yep, she is very good.and they are apparently extremely busy. I get most my stuff from them and then also Beerplus. My only frustration is finding the equipment I want and then things like whirlfloc...
 
RalphK said:
Yep, she is very good.and they are apparently extremely busy. I get most my stuff from them and then also Beerplus. My only frustration is finding the equipment I want and then things like whirlfloc...
Click to expand...
what else are u looking for?
 
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