Brewing Master

Question:

I started my first homebrew 48 hours ago but nothing appears to be happening.  The temperature of the wort is steady between 64 and 66 degrees. A few very small bubbles appeared after 24 hours but nothing more.  By what I read there should be foam on the wort by now.  Could the yeast have been old?  Should I add more yeast or be more patient? Thanks for any advice. -Len

Response:

(Len Starrenburg) writes: I started my first homebrew 48 hours ago but nothing appears to be happening.  The temperature of the wort is steady between 64 and 66 degrees. A few very small bubbles appeared after 24 hours but nothing more.  By what I read there should be foam on the wort by now.  Could the yeast have been old?  Should I add more yeast or be more patient?

    If you have a hydrometer, you could take a reading everyday and watch the fluctuation. I would wait another day or two and really watch closely the spec. gravity reading. I have had batches produce very small amounts of bubbles with no problems at the end result. Take a look at your airlock periodically and see if there is pressure in the fermentor. BTW, what are you brewing? Some recipes are far more active than others, as far as visible fermentation goes…

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (Len Starrenburg) writes: I started my first homebrew 48 hours ago but nothing appears to be happening.  The temperature of the wort is steady between 64 and 66 degrees. A few very small bubbles appeared after 24 hours but nothing more.  By what I read there should be foam on the wort by now.  Could the yeast have been old?  Should I add more yeast or be more patient?    If you have a hydrometer, you could take a reading everyday and watch the fluctuation. I would wait another day or two and really watch closely the spec. gravity reading. I have had batches produce very small amounts of bubbles with no problems at the end result. Take a look at your airlock periodically and see if there is pressure in the fermentor. BTW, what are you brewing? Some recipes are far more active than others, as far as visible fermentation goes…

Individual preferences vary, but I’m leary of taking hydrometer samples in the early stages of fermentation.  I can think of no reason to do so if you’re certain you have not had active fermentation yet, and you give yourself another opportunity to infect the wort. Later on, when you know you’ve had an active ferment and you want to know if it’s over (so you can safely bottle) you have the alcohol in the wort to help defend against invading critters. (You still need to be as sanitary as reasonably possible, of course.) For now, be patient a little longer than 48 hrs.  If 72 hrs. go by and you still have no activity, you might want to re-pitch.  You don’t say what kind of yeast you pitched nor what kind of wort it was pitched into, but sometimes it can take a while.  A very active dry yeast is Edme. Hope this helps. The researches of many commentators have already thrown much darkness on this subject and it is probable that,if they continue,we shall soon know nothing at all about it.   –   Mark Twain

Response:

Relax, Have a home brew, (or if you are just starting, a really good import!) Be patient.  Have fun.

Response:

If you get to your fourth day without any action you may have done something wrong. Wait it out though. Many times I have had batches take their time getting to ferment. I’m assuming you brewed an extract your first batch. So it wouldn’t be a conversion problem. If you dont get any action its probably a yeast problem. Did you use dry or liquid yeast. Makes a big differnce. If you hydrated dry yeast in boiling or very hot water you’ll have a problem. Or if you used a liquid yeast and didn’t break the packet inside (wyeast brand) and let it start in the package it is a lesser problem, it will just take alot longer for it to get up to speed. Some other types of liquid yeast ask that you prepare a starter before pitching the yeast in which case it would be the same problem. Slow to start. Getting back to the wyeast packet issue. I’m not sure if the yeast is in the packet or the starter is in the packet inside the package of wyeast. If it happens you did this and never broke the packet inside the package of wyeast, if it turns out the yeast is in the packet you may not have even added any yeast. Hope this isn’t getting confusing…. More than likely its just slow to get going….

Response:

I wouldn’t have a panic attack, but the longer your unfermented wort sits around, the more strange flavors it will aquire. If you beer doesn’t take off in say 3 days, I’d go buy some more yeast and repitch. Small price to pay for good beer. Eric Guire

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