First brew....no bubbles, no krausen layer....help

You have to be careful with temperatures, they can easily get away from you. If you started the batch a little cool, the fermentation could be stunted somewhat. Check the temperature if you can (invest about a dollar and get a sticker thermometer that you just slap on the side of your fermenter). I'd say shoot for low 60'sF for an IPA. If you're way below that, consider placing the brew somewhere a little warmer. Also, a day is not long at all, just be patient and something could happen.

 

Wait longer.

 

You didn´t mention what yeast did you pitch, dry or liquid.In case of dry you must rehydrate it before pitching,in case of liquid what size of starter did you do in relation to beer OG,what was your pitch temperature on both cases.

 

In the words of the immortal Papazian, "Relax, don't worry" and in your case "have a microbrew"

 

“In case of dry you must rehydrate it before pitching …”

Esteban, it is not an absolute requirement that dry yeast be rehydrated. I personally rehydrate my dry yeast since it has been stated by yeast vendor folks that the rehydration process yields more viable yeast cells in the fermenter. Some BAs post that they do not rehydrate dry yeast and still obtain proper fermentations.

Cheers!

Jack

 

I agree that rehydration isn't crucial, and shouldn't be the one thing that is making the difference here. Rehydration is "better" tho, I suggest in the future you rehydrate. Boil a small amount of water, cover and cool to about 95F, then pitch the yeast into the water. Allow to further cool to wort temperature before pitching. It's best if the wort is about 1-2 degrees warmer than the yeast when you pitch (optimally).

I also would like to hear what the temperatures are the OP is working with. What temp did you pitch the yeast at? What temperature is your wort fermenting at?

Also, what was your OG?

One thing you should NOT do is keep opening that bucket. Leave it closed. Airlock activity doesn't mean anything. I have one bucket that never bubbles at all, even tho it's completely closed. I have two other buckets that don't even have an airlock (which would be a good thing for those who are too focused on airlock activity, although that's not me). Through a white plastic bucket you can see the krausen layer without opening the bucket. Leave it closed.

And yes, patience is a virtue. Wait longer. Some fermentations don't get started right away and may take a day or even longer to get going. You can work on this aspect on future batches.

Right now don't even think about opening that fermenter again until at least 14 days have passed. And provide more details if you want better answers about what's going on.

 

What AlCapome said. We need way more information to really diagnose the issue. If it's his first batch, I'm going to wager there was no starter made, no matter what type of yeast was used. I do want to know about the temps involved; what temp it was pitched, etc. what was the recipe followed? What extracts, what hops, how long a boil, that sort of thing.

 

If there is an issue. I'd say 95+% of these (0-48 hours in, no signs of fermentation) posts are either followed up with a "I just looked again and now there's a krausen" or there is no follow-up post at all because there was no problem.

 

Good point. I should have said, "...diagnose the possible issue."

 

For the OP: Lots of knowledgeable brewers have given you some good advice and asked a lot of questions. Please try not be overwhelmed by their well-meaning request for more tech data. I remember my first brew: couldn't get the hydrometer to settle down, pitch temp was a guesstimate, and I had never heard of re-hydrating yeast. Looking back it was an embarrassment of errors, but that's how some of us start. Usually, it all works out and your beer improves as you develop a routine.

However, you really do want those yeast to go to work and waiting until time to bottle won't work if they are not active. It's possible for activity to start as late as 48 hours after pitching. I would wait this long before doing anything else. But you do want to see a krausen and activity in your primary. If it's a flat as when you originally sealed it after two days then you have bad yeast (or possibly something worse). Yes, it's possible to re-yeast and save your brew. I have pitched two bona-fide "bad" yeast that resulted in no fermentation. I have re-pitched as late as 5 days later and all was well. I recommend waiting another 24 hours, take a peek, then decide.

Feedback would be appreciated, even if all is well.

 

Thanks for the clarification Jack, I should pay more attention when writing.

Cheers!

 

What was your target OG?

 

Maybe a dumb question but what temperature did you cool your wort down to before pitching? Also, I have had a batch of Kolsch that took 3 days to show any signs of fermentation. After my 3rd batch I switched from a Bucket to a plastic carboy so I could specifically see any / all fermentation action.

 

Since it's not very high, your hydrated yeast pack will be sufficient. I'd say as long as you keep your fermenter within the range established for the yeast strain you're using, you'll be ok. There might be some issues if your wort pitching temp was on the extreme high or low but it sounds like it's currently at a reasonable temp. Be patient and if you don't see any activity after the end of the 2nd day, then try pitching a new packet.