Hello all, I've got a 1 gallon Vermont Maple Porter kit from uncommon goods that I brewed on Sunday evening. I pitched my yeast directly into the jug. I haven't had any issues doing that before as I usually get heavy action within 12-24 hrs. I don't have anything going on in this one. I'm thinking I need to get some new yeast and do it again. 1 Gallon batch OG - 1.082 Ferm Temp - 68 Yeast - a fruity ale yeast with no name on it. Called for 1/3 of the packet. My worries are that I have to add the Maple to it on Sunday and let it ferm for another 2 wks after. If I repitch the yeast now I'm not sure it will be calmed down enough to put the maple in on Sunday as the directions call for. Also, since there was no name on the yeast packet, what is the best yeast to use for a maple porter? I was thinking a wyeast 1098 or windsor ale or safbrew S-33. Any thoughts on this?
I would agree that you should do a new yeast pitch if you haven't seen any activity for 96 hours. 1098 would be fine. 1056 also would be a good, neutral option. I would delay your maple addition to correspond with the new yeast pitch as though the new pitch was the first pitch. That's not going to hurt anything. Good luck!
Don't worry about it. Directions that call for you to do anything regarding fermentation for some precise number of days/weeks are silly anyway. Yeast don't read directions or calendars. If the directions said to add the syrup after 7 days, what they should have said was to add the syrup after the gravity stops moving. With a one-gallon batch, I probably wouldn't waste any on hydrometer readings, so just wait until visible activity slows down significantly and you'll be fine.
Since this is the first time I've had this happen, what happens with the current yeast in the batch? Does it get reactivated or eaten up?
Assuming that the reason they never got starter was because they were dead, they'll stay dead. The won't get eaten up exactly, but if any of them lyse, i.e. fall apart due to the actions of their own enzymes (and at least some will), some of the stuff they spill into the wort will be available as nutrients to the new yeast. On second thought, maybe "eaten up" isn't too bad a description, for the cells that do spill their guts.
Have you checked your gravity to confirm that the yeast are not working? Sometimes visible signs of fermentation are misleading.
I have not checked the gravity. There was no action/krausen in the jug. It looks calm and quiet in there. I'll get a packet of yeast today and then check the gravity before pitching to make sure.
I had a beer that I never saw krausen, never saw a bubble in the airlock, no signs of life were apparent to me…yet after 5 days, checked gravity and it was 1012…OG was 1061. It was in a bucket though so wasn't able to glance for krausen…only checked on maybe day 2 and day 4 or so.
Good news. I got home tonight with some new yeast, but didn't need it. After 96 hrs the yeast came alive and everything was looking good.
I didn't see anything jack...never experienced anything like it before...was my first and only time using mangrove jack's lager yeast. Freaked me out...
Dave, that would freak me out as well. I have brewed 367 batches (so far) all in buckets and I have never had a batch that did not leave a krausen ring in my bucket. Cheers!
