I just brewed my second batch on Sunday, a Brewer's Best kit, the rye pale ale. Everything was spot on and smooth during the brewing process. Wort was chilled to proper temp, yeast was rehydrated in warm water and given about 45 minutes to stand before being pitched. However nothing's doing in the airlock and I just took a quick peak into the fermenter and not much is happening aside from a few bubbles on the surface. Am I ok or is something wrong with my yeast? We are about 40 hours since yeast was pitched at this point.
Did you check to make sure the yeast was fresh? Dry yeast has a long shelf life so I would tend to think it was fine. Probably just a long lag time. I have had no yeast activity for over 72 hours before then it started and fermented just fine. It should come around, if it doesnt in about another day or two it may be wise to repitch.
Great, thanks. Yeast was definitely fresh with a best by date of 2014 and purchased from a guy who is very fastidious about this kind of thing. Ill keep my eyes on bit over the next few days, but thanks for the reassurance
Will do. Took a quick peak in the fermenter and little activity was going on, just a few bubbles on the surface. Tonight when I get back home ill sanitize my thief and hydrometer and see what's going on.
Was the wort aerated before and / or after pitching the yeast? Air lock activity can be a poor indicator esp. atop an ale pail b/c the lid may not form and occlusive seal. First signs of fermentation is a thin carpet of foam floating on top. IMO...taking a gravity reading at this point is pointless.
I don't mean to revive an older thread, but I had a similar question and found this after searching. Rather than clutter the forum with multiple threads on the same topic, I figured I'd just post here. Anyway... I brewed my first batch on Sunday and everything seemed to go well. However, it's been almost 48 hours since I pitched the yeast and "began" fermentation, but I have yet to observe a single bubble make its way through the airlock. The beer is an Irish Stout (brewed from a kit), and the liquid yeast I used was White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (WL004 - the recommended yeast for the kit). The yeast was well within the best-by date according to the package, and per the directions on the bottle, I removed it from the fridge a few hours prior to using to allow it to warm up to room temp (about 75 *F or so). I shook the vial vigorously to resuspend the yeast and aerate it as best I could, and then pitched it into the wort (about 70 *F). The fermenter has sat at a relatively constant 67-68 *F since. At this point, I'm concerned that the yeast simply haven't/couldn't/won't adapt and begin attenuative fermentation. Palmer's "How to Brew" suggested pitching another batch of yeast if there's no evidence of fermentation after 48 hours... Are there other things I ought to try first? Should I rock the fermenter and move it to a slightly warmer location to try and arouse the yeast? Thanks in advance for your help (and my apologies if this question comes up continuously).
You'll probably be fine, but I would guess that you under-pitched. That's just not enough yeast. Brewing a starter, even a small one, would have been a better way to go. But also, RDWAHAHB. Chill out, and check the gravity on a daily basis. You should see activity.
How tight is your lid (assuming bucket fermeter)? Sometimes a non-airtight lid can result in little/no bubbling through the airlock. I'd suggest having a look at the wort. Is there a krausen formed on top?
I've had a few occasions when I did not get any airlock activity and all three batches turned out fine. One time I did not have enough liquid in the air lock so it wouldn't bubble. I just added a little more sanitizer mixture to it and it started bubbling. The other two times was because of either a leak from the bucket or lid like vikeman suggested. I noticed you said you aerated the yeast. Did you aerate the wort also? Edit: Also, I would not warm it up since WL's website suggests 65-68 as the optimal temp for that yeast.
I'll definitely make a starter from now on, thanks. I had planned on it this time, actually, but the label suggested it wasn't necessary, so I skipped it (shame on me!). You're absolutely correct, I'm using a bucket for the primary fermenter. I'll pop the top, check for a krausen, and then seal it up tightly when I get home tonight. Thanks! I aerated the wort by pouring it back and forth between the fermenting bucket and the brew kettle a few times. I don't have an oxygen injector, so shaking the yeast vessel and pouring the wort was the best combo I could come up with. And thanks for the tip on the temperature!
He also mentioned arousing the yeast, and the thought of someone talking dirty to their fermenter made me laugh soda out my nose.
