Fermentation Not Started

[h_doody]

I'm new to homebrewing, and on Saturday I brewed my second batch of beer, a Young's Harvest Bitter kit. I boiled the malt extract in about three gallons of water and then added it to two gallons of cooled, boiled water. I rehydrated my yeast and used 1kg of brewing sugar.

I thought I'd done everything fine but that was Saturday night and there's still no signs of fermentation started. My first batch was bubbling within hours so I'm a bit worried. There's two things I think could be a problem: I don't think I cooled the wort properly, and on the lid of my fermenter I cut a hole for my airlock so it may not be sealed well.

Am I right to be worried? Should I order some more yeast to be safe? I'm hoping it's just some dead yeast and not something else I've messed up.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[pittsy]

sometimes no visible action is taking place yet it can be fermenting , only way to be sure is take a hydrometer reading and see if it has dropped from your first reading

 

[oldbloke]

Often the gas generated escapes by routes other than the airlock.
Is there any foamy stuff on top of the wort at all?

 

[h_doody]

No foam on the top at all. I'm going to take a reading tonight and see if the gravity has dropped at all. Thanks for the help!

 

[winelight]

I get this sometimes and have a pot of general purpose beer yeast. I just check a spoonful in if nothing's happened after a day or two. May not be the best way to go about things but it does work!

 

[EskiBrew]

I don't think I cooled the wort properly, and on the lid of my fermenter I cut a hole for my airlock so it may not be sealed well.

can you elaborate - what did you do?
What temp was it when you added the yeast?

Am I right to be worried? Should I order some more yeast to be safe? I'm hoping it's just some dead yeast and not something else I've messed up.

No harm in ordering some just in case you need it :thumb:

 

[fbsf]

If you added 3 gallons of boiling wort to 2 gallons of cold, and then directly pitched the yeast, the wort would have probably been upwards of 65°C - easily enough to kill the yeast.

Ale yeast should be pitched below 30° and preferably around 25 or less.

For future reference, I never boil kits - there's no need. Just dissolve the contents of the tin with 2 kettles worth of boiling, then top up with cold. It should get to around 20-25° which is perfect for pitching.

 

[h_doody]

Ah, that'll be the problem then. Didn't really realise how important it is to get the wort back down to temperature quickly, my attempt obviously wasn't good enough! I've ordered more yeast so hopefully it should be ok once I get that in.

Don't think I'm going to bother boiling can kits in future either, it does seem rather silly to make something a hell of a lot more complicated.

Thanks for the help! :)

 

[EskiBrew]

hopefully it should be ok once I get that in.

As long as nothing wild has got in there in the meantime you should be fine.

Don't think I'm going to bother boiling can kits in future either, it does seem rather silly to make something a hell of a lot more complicated.

Yep, not really worth boiling them :thumb:

 

[h_doody]

So I've not had a chance to check the brew for the past couple of days. Checked it now and it's bubbling away rather nicely!

So I can only assume that it was fermenting before and just wasn't showing any visible signs of it.

 

[oldbloke]

This can and does happen!
Possibly it was just slow getting going, possibly you killed a fair chunk of the yeast with the high temp and so what was left took a while to build itself up
Anyway, it's going now

 

[winelight]

Don't think I'm going to bother boiling can kits in future either, it does seem rather silly to make something a hell of a lot more complicated.

Yep, not really worth boiling them :thumb:

Yes, but I used to brew years ago - probably 20 years ago - and the kits all said you had to boil them. I used to have a massive pan for this. Why is it different now? I mean, I'm happy you don't have to bother any more, just puzzled as to why you had to in the first place. Was it to be sure the sugar etc was sterilised?

 

[rpt]

I first did homebrew with my Dad - it must have been before I went to university so that's almost 30 years ago. I don't remember having to boil. These were Boots kits and I'm sure they were much the same as 1 can kits today. The beer was drinkable but nothing special so things are definitely better now.

 

[EskiBrew]

Yes, but I used to brew years ago - probably 20 years ago - and the kits all said you had to boil them. I used to have a massive pan for this. Why is it different now? I mean, I'm happy you don't have to bother any more, just puzzled as to why you had to in the first place. Was it to be sure the sugar etc was sterilised?

Hmmm - not sure I remember the instructions on any of my early kits (20 years ago) saying to boil :wha:
I certainly never did. There have been differences of opinion on whether to boil or not - what is in the can is sterile (pretty much) and so long as you clean the can well before opening and sanitise your equipment, you are unlikely to need to boil. When it comes to adding sugar to kits, the sugar itself will be pretty sterile (the Russians used to use a sugar poltice to kill infections in wounds - something about phages rings a bell but don't remember the details).

 

[jonnymorris]

I used to do the Boots kits back in the early 90s and always boiled them up with sugar. I assume therefore it was in the instructions to do so. No longer necessary with modern kits.

 

[winelight]

Glad it wasn't just me! I'm also remembering the early 90s.

 

[ScottM]

I still boil the kits, only to get the wort up to temperature though. Our tap water is around 10 degrees at the most so I generally need 4-5L of boiling (or near boiling) water to bring the temp up to a decent level for pitching.

The easiest method for me to boil such a volume is in a pot, so while I'm at it I stick all the fermentables in just to get them mixed thoroughly in some proper heat. Once boiling I take off the heat immediately and just dump in the FV, I don't bother boiling for any set times, unless adding extra hops etc

3 gallons of boiling water though? that's some serious overkill

 

[taxidiver]

I always boiled my Boots kits, up until about 25 years ago it was in the instructions. I visited a local experienced brewer who told me that he no longer boiled his kits, just poured the can into his bucket with a couple of kettlefulls of boiling water to dissolve the sugar, topping up with cold water. I've done that ever since and never had a bad brew yet.

:

Geoff