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Hmm. Very unusual for dry yeast. It may take off yet, but you’re smart to have a backup plan if it doesn’t.
What are you doing with homebrew today?
- Thread starter BOB357
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Immersion chiller in, and cooling down. Again, watching more paint dry. Fermenter in cooler and sanitized, just waiting for wort and yeast. Since the beer on the S-33 tasted OK, I'll just dump it right into the batch, using it to swirl most of the yeast outta the jar. That's a LOTTA yeast in that jar. Gonna be a busy first couple days.
![IMG_3109[2].JPG](https://www.brewersfriend.com/forum/attachments/img_3109-2-jpg.23384/ "IMG_3109[2].JPG")
Funny, I didn't notice it in this photo, but you can see a very jealous tractor in the background. I'm using it's parking spot for brewing.
Funny, I didn't notice it in this photo, but you can see a very jealous tractor in the background. I'm using it's parking spot for brewing.
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Gonna second this comment. I had some take nearly 3 days before it decided to kick into high gear on one batch. Never before, nor since, just the one batch. IIRC, it was S-05, and it was brand-spankin-new Fermentis brand. Maybe some of it's dried more than others? Sure made me scratch my head. I got more, and when I went downstairs to put it in, I found a fermenter merrily bubbling. Well, ALRIGHTY then
I know it isn't required, but I still keep my dry yeast packets in the fridge. Obviously the smack-packs and any slurry, but the dry stuff too. Just a thought.
I'll give it until tomorrow morning, it'll be almost 48 hours by then. Otherwise, I'll pick up a fresh smack pack of 3787 and direct pitch No time for starters, I want to pitch before any other bugs take hold.
I keep all yeast in the fridge, from the moment it arrives. I rehydrated in ~80F water, using Go-Ferm Protect, pitched no later than about 15-20 minutes after rehydration. Always worked like a charm until this time.
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I have had a couple of brews not take off in winter. I will have to go through my notes for the exact one when it was a beer but I poured in a small amount of freshly boiled water and stirred gently not much below the surface. The airlock in my ordinary plastic fermenter was bubbling albeit slowly in less than 24 hours. The beer fermented out successfully or I'd still be cursing as I detest waste. First time I tried this though was with a cider and it really frothed up the instant the water hit the surface. I thought I had wrecked it but calmed down and finished as usual. I can't believe I never thought to add more yeast though duh.
Good luck Max.
Good luck Max.
Thanks, Celtic. I've had a few seemingly slow fermentations that turned out well, both with Notty (that yeast can be a sleeper). This Belgian is the first time I've had zero activity 1+ day after pitching. I did bump the temp a couple degrees, from 66 to 68.
If it's still the same story tomorrow, I'll run to MW. I need to pick up a few other things anyway.
If it's still the same story tomorrow, I'll run to MW. I need to pick up a few other things anyway.
Maybe it was Notty, not the S-05. I normally get that in White-Labs liquid smack packs and do a starter just to make it good and mad. That seems to solve the slow start syndrome. Even then, it isn't nearly as fast as S-05 or S-33. Both of those are typically monsters, especially on a re-pitch. They get downright violent.
For this very reason, I keep a supply of yeast of some kind on hand at all times. Only once have I had to do a second pitch (3 days after first pitch), and like you, found myself without yeast to do it. I thought I'd forgotten the pitch, but the missus told me she saw me do it. I may wind up completely wrecking the style of the beer, but if it tastes good (to me) who cares what the style judges think. Ain't like I'm in any competition. To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, instead of making beer for music, I make beer for me.
It's always good to keep some extra packets around. I always have a few each of Notty, S-04, US-05 on hand, as I use those strains a lot. However, I didn't think to buy some extras of the Abbaye. Just bought the 2 packets. I had actually designed the brew intending to use 3787. But I decided to go with dry as I didn't want to risk ordering liquid through the mail.
I could've repitched using Notty or S-04, but then I'd just have another brown ale.
I just checked the fermenter, though I didn't look inside. It's sitting at 68, but very slow ferm activity. I have a blowoff tube from the fermenter running to a CO2 Harvester. The ferm activity in the past few hours was just enough to push the 1/2 gallon of Starsan from the first jar to the second. Some of that pressure may have been thermal expansion from the 2F temp increase. But airlock activity is near nil--I have to wait a minute or so to see one bubble. I'll see what tomorrow brings.
It's a long way to Minnesota from here, or I'd let you have the packet of Abbaye I have in the fridge. You can probably get some a lot quicker and certainly a lot cheaper, LOL.
I am trying to settle on a recipe for my next batch. For a short while, I was thinking about making a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale), but that idea has been scuttled. Instead, it’s again time to brew some kind of West Coast or Northwest IPA. So I have been going through my IPA recipes, trying to settle on a simple grain bill, and work with some of the C hops that I have on hand. By tomorrow, I need to have it figured out, so I can go to lhbs to pick up grains, bottle caps, maybe some yeast, maybe some hardware.
Some of the best IPAs I've tried at craft breweries were made with very simple grain bills. Often just base malt and a pinch of something for color or a little dimension.
I tend to like the simplicity of Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale and IPA’s (generally copper colored), but it seems most IPA’s here in the PNW are light straw to golden in color. A simple grain bill, and let the hops shine!
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I brewed up a batch of Hefenweizen wheat beer. Used wyeast 3068 yeast.
Took of like a crazy dog right away with a constant bubble stream. Rose from a start of 63f to about 71f and still going strong.
When I walk into my brew room I expected a wonderful beer aroma, instead I got a strong sulfur smell. It's bad. Old hard boiled eggs...
Is this my new choice of yeast or something worse?
Took of like a crazy dog right away with a constant bubble stream. Rose from a start of 63f to about 71f and still going strong.
When I walk into my brew room I expected a wonderful beer aroma, instead I got a strong sulfur smell. It's bad. Old hard boiled eggs...
Is this my new choice of yeast or something worse?
It's not unusual for the Weihenstephan strain to throw some rhino farts. Leave it in the fermenter a little while longer and the sulfur smell should fade.
I checked the fermenter this morning, and there is fermentation activity. Nice and steady, but no blowoff. A peek inside and I saw about 1/2" of krausen that looked like cooked oatmeal. I ramped up the temp to low 70s. I'll let it ride out, then take a gravity reading. If it doesn't hit terminal by then I can pitch a pack of US-05 or Notty to finish it, as the flavors will be set at that point.
I need to be more patient...
I need to be more patient...
Typical, don't worry about it. Give it a little extra time in the fermenter.
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Sounds good , thanks.
Just the first time my beer didnt smell like beer and I happened to be showing it off to my son. Bad timming I guess.
This stuff made some heat, the fridge couldnt keep it down.
Just the first time my beer didnt smell like beer and I happened to be showing it off to my son. Bad timming I guess.
This stuff made some heat, the fridge couldnt keep it down.
Bought ingredients at the homebrew shop! Decided to do a golden ale; something hoppy and sessionable. I can get big winter beers from work these days but I want something easy drinking
What hops you gonna use?
The batch I did yesterday is chugging right along today at 18.5C, pretty close to the bottom end of the optimal range for S-33. Put it on yesterday with a 250 ml S-33 yeast cake from a previous similar brew. I used Citra for both bittering and Aroma this time. Last time it was Warrior for bittering and Hallertau for aroma. I'm thinking I'm gonna be glad I can cool the fermentation now. If this were up around 70F, it would probably be blowing out right now. The first time I had the unexpected eruption cost me a double-bubble air lock. Ain't no way to clean one of those out. So, I'm sticking with the floating bell type. Every time I've dumped that much yeast in, it has puked through the air lock, even with nearly 10 inches of head space in the FF-7.9. That's serious krausen. Sure makes some good beer, though. I used Whirlfloc on this batch too, so it should turn out nice and shiny. I'm thinking I pull the goop out day after tomorrow, then start collecting the yeast again. The wort was quite clear when I put it in the fermenter, but there was still a bunch of coagulated stuff floating around after chilling. Probably gonna fill up the collector bulb pretty quick. It just didn't settle fast, but it WILL settle.
When I finally find something that I don't want to change, the version number will stop, LOL. This one's my go-to experimental based on Bulin's Three Day Weekend. I had two substitutions in the very first version, so I've not stepped on any patents or copyrights so far. Lots of plagiarism (what brewing isn't?), but not a copy yet.
Next up, surprise, surprise, Chocolate Oatmeal Stout which I MIGHT be able to bottle by New Year's, but not in time for drinking. Frankenbeer III MIGHT be ready by then, though. If not, I'm stuck with Old Speckled Hen till it is.
