Brewing Master

Question:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie

Slow down Rosie! I have had fermentations that took 24 hours to show signs. You can pitch yeast into a 120F wort and still keep them alive. (well, some of them) You shouldn’t have to do anything special to this batch. Just treat is as a normal batch of beer and be patient. Good Luck! — Give Me HomeBrew or Give Me Death Think About That.

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie Slow down Rosie! I have had fermentations that took 24 hours to show signs. You can pitch yeast into a 120F wort and still keep them alive.

Some yeasts seem to be slow starters in general. For example, I just got a batch of wheat beer going on a locally produced yeast called RTP "Wheat." Supposed to be as good as Wyeast, but we’ll see about that. Anyway, even though its called RTP (ready to pitch), I make a 500ml starter for it. It took a good 36 hours to get motivated. I thought that when I stepped it up to a full 5gal batch, things would be different, but that too took 24-36 hours before we saw any activity. After that, the stuff works like crazy. I guess I really noticed the contrast because I normally use Wyeast 1098, from Whitbread. That stuff takes off immediately!

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie

Well, wait.  What tempeture was your wort when you pitched?  I’ve pitched at close to 95 degrees before and haven’t had a problem. Sometimes it can take more then a few hours to get going.  Once I had a batch of stout that didn’t bubble for two solid days (I just KNEW something was wrong), and 4 or 5 hours later the activity was so fast and furious it blew the airlock right out of the seal. They say patience is a virtue with this hobby. L.

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie Slow down Rosie! I have had fermentations that took 24 hours to show signs. You can pitch yeast into a 120F wort and still keep them alive. (well, some of them) You shouldn’t have to do anything special to this batch. Just treat is as a normal batch of beer and be patient.

I’ve had batches that took more than *3 days* to show any signs! R, DW, HAHB. JP

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner).

Tou didn’t kill your yeast. You were just too impatient. I wait at least 48hrs before repitching. Sometimes more depending on the original status of my starter. JP

Response:

O.K. I freaked out. It was that early morning "I have to get to work but I have a new batch going" kind of day. I seems to be fermenting fine now. Thanks for reassuring me everbody. Rosie

Response:

I often have batches that don’t get rolling for a day or two or three.  I know it is a little worrysome but as of yet I haven’t had any disasterous effects.  I use liquid yeast and let the bag swell up till it almost pops then pitch it in the cooled wort and I still have an ocasional slow start.  My best take offs are when I use about a quarter of a cup of the yeast sludge from a previous batch of beer to kick off the next one, vavoom!  doing batches back to back is an excelent way to save money on that pricey liquid yeast.  I do this two or three times in a row.  The more you do it the more risk of something else getting in so three is as far as I go.

Response:

Well, I pitched the yeast to soon last night, when I checked it this morning nothing was happening. I was luckey enough to have some more yeast on hand so I tossed it in. Should I do anything special to this batch (e.g. rack to a secondary sooner). Rosie

Don’t be too sure you killed your first yeast.  You can successfully pitch at temps well into the 80’s – but you are flirting with potential off flavors in doing so. What kind of yeast?  Liquid?  Did you use a starter?                        Dry?     Did you rehydrate?  Then use a starter? You get where I’m going here?  Good yeast and a good size starter are probably the single most important thing you can do for your beer! Can’t really tell from your post, but it sounds like you pitched dry yeast straight into the wort.  If so, this generally has a fairly long lag time – on the order of 24-48 hours.  You probably didn’t hurt anything by tossing in more yeast, but that too, will lag.  The first activity you see will likely be from the first pitching. My recommendation is to look into liquid yeast and do some research on yeast and yeast starters at The Brewery http://alpha.rollanet.org.  Check out the Technical Library – lots of good tips there! Happy Brewing! PZ  (from one PZ to another)

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