A few days ago i brewed a 2.5 gallon batch of an IPA that I based off a sculpin clone. It never started fermenting and I believe its because my house is too cold. My roommates and I try to keep the bills as low as possible so our house is very cold and I believe thats why the yeast won't start working. Any tips on what i can do here? I may bring it to a friends warmer house to ferment but id rather not unless completely necessary. Thanks!
Is that dry or liquid yeast? Are you sure the yeast was still good? I'm fermenting a rye beer right now at 58F and it's plugging along just fine.
What was the pitching temp and the current temperature of the wort? Also, are you certain it isn't fermenting? How long ago did you pitch the yeast because that will dictate next steps. As Rocdoc mentioned, it could also be that the yeast itself is not viable, but we need more information in order to help.
Yeast was pitched on friday. The temp in my house is currently 56. I am not sure of the pitching temp though. I used dry yeast and may go back to the store for liquid yeast. Im pretty sure it isn't fermenting since there is no action in the airlock. Thanks
Is your beer in a bucket or carboy? The airlock can't be trusted if there is an air leak somewhere, so if you are using a carboy you'd have a better view of what's possibly happening by seeing some krausen forming or the wort churning. I keep my house chilly in the winter too, and I sometimes have to keep my beer in a spare bathroom that does not have a window. Usually there is a heat source in a bathroom, and bathrooms are typically a smallish room, so that if you keep the door mostly closed you can trap some of that heat in there to gain a temperature that is warmer than the general house heat. But if a bunch of guys use that bathroom..... By the way, the Health Department is looking for you tightwads for knowingly living in an unhealthy environment.
You don't actually have a heating bill, do you? I put a work light next to my fermenters. It works great for buckets and I don't worry about uv light.
Even a towel will usually help some if you can trap some of the exothermic heat...keep the fermenter off bare floors or any cool surface also.
Do you have a water heater closet? It sounds like you really only need to get a couple of degrees warmer before it will take off and the water heater closet may be your best bet.
I do not have a heating pad (Its a house full of guys in our 20's) and no water heater closet since our water heater is just in the basement. I bought a vial of liquid yeast and wrapper the carboy in a towel. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the help!
