So my buddy i brewed our first batches last sunday. After 24 hours his was bubbling out of the airlock and mine....nothing. Still as of this morning I looked in and there was no foam or anything on top of the beer. Just wondering if I should re pitch or what. Suggestions would be great! Thanks!
Take a hydrometer reading first. It will tell you if fermentation happened. If the gravity hasn't changed since your original pitch (5 days ago?), then repitch.
Meant to mention before... if you do have to repitch, make sure your wort is at a temperature that the yeast strain can work at. I say this because if your first pitch did not result in fermentation, there could be factors other than the yeast itself, e.g. temperature.
68-70 ambient temp will work (as far as getting fermentation going) for any yeast strain. But the actual wort temperature at the height of fermentation will be up to several degrees higher. Unless you are making a Saison, there's a pretty good chance you'll be (or were) into temperature ranges where you'll make a higher amount of esters and/or fusel alcohols than you probably want in your beer. Not knowing exactly what yeast strain you are using, I'd generally recommend keeping the ambient temp in the low/mid 60's. Do you know the yeast strain?
I don't have the strain name with me but I did the hydrometer reading and i think all is well. I went to my local store and they suggested that fermentation happened but I just wasn't able to see it....possible poor seal....I'll be transferring to the glass carboy tonight
If you has seen no krausen during 5 days of fermentation I would ask you what is the gravity number you have read and the beer initial OG. It is possible your fermentation is happenning but not at the correct rate due underpitching or/and poor yeast health. I hope the problem was bad sealing issues but I would not be so sure.
A gravity reading that is near your expected final gravity confirms that fermentation did occur, but if you have a brown 'bathtub ring' around the side of your bucket, then that will also confirm that it happened. Unless you are planning to age your beer on fruit, oak, etc. then you really don't need to transfer to a secondary carboy tonight. If you do, then you open your beer to unnecessary exposure to oxygen and possibly starting the process toward oxidizing your beer. If you are going to bottle or keg the beer, then you'll have to move it a second time to your bottling bucket or keg, and that's another exposure to oxygen, but a necessary one. If you transfer it, do your best to minimize any splashing, creating bubbles, etc., but I'd just leave it alone in your primary for another week to allow the yeast to finish cleaning up after themselves, and then package it.
