Yeast problem??

[seamus]

Hi again,

Hope someone can help - I brewed my wheat beer kit 36 hours ago using wb-o6 yeast - when I pitched the yeast (26 degrees) I mixed it into the wort after sprinkling it on the top - the temp is now at 23/24

The last kit I did had a bulging lid and bubbled after about 6 hours but this one has not starting bubbling at all and it's been brewing a while - it does smell great in the cupboard but there doesnt seem to be any leaks as when you push down slightly on the lid the water level changes in the airlock - the only thing I did differently this time was use the wb-06 yeast instead of the one with the kit and last time I didnt mix in the yeast when I pitched it!?

Is this normal - how long should I reasonably expect to wait before having to do something about it?

Thanks for any help!

James

 

[Muddydisco]

I'd give it at least 48 hrs. It may be a little slower to start.

 

[orlando]

Your description suggests you didn't rehydrate the yeast, if that is so then you can expect a little more lag time. The level changing in the airlock when you press down on the lid suggests to me that the yeast is already producing CO2 or it wouldn't do that. Hang in its beginning to happen.

 

[seamus]

thanks chaps - I thought it could just be a case of having to be patient!

certainly smells like something is happening!!

 

[pittsy]

if i was you id lower the temp a bit too , maybe around 20c for best results

 

[seamus]

temp is slowly coming down - it's 22 now

the cupboard it's living in is always 20 so it should lower a bit more still

thanks again!

 

[seamus]

so, it still hadnt started bubbling last night and the lid was still not bulging so I thought something must be wrong somewhere :evil: :evil:

I removed the airlock and I was glad I did - the end was completely blocked with what can only be described as beer smelling sludge!

I sterilised a different style airlock with a fatter end and popped that in

She started bubbling after 5 mins and the lid was bulging like a good 'un

only thing I can think of is that when I popped in the first airlock I must have pressed down on the lid and that pushed the end in to the sludge that was already forming and this then caused a negative pressure in the fv and the whole thing starting pressure locking even more as the temperature of the wort started to cool??

 

[graysalchemy]

temp is slowly coming down - it's 22 now

the cupboard it's living in is always 20 so it should lower a bit more still

thanks again!

It may in fact rise once it gets going as fermentation is exothermic. The first 48 hrs of fermentation are temperature crucial, don't let it rise above 21c or you could get off flavours and worse fusal alcohols which leave a solvent peppery taste to your beer.

 

[seamus]

The lid had subsided and bubbling stopped again this afternoon so I decided to take a sg reading - turned out to be 1.012 so I popped the lid back on

5 minutes later the lid is bulging and the bubbling has started again - 30 mins later and the bubbling has stopped and the lid is still bulging

what the hell is going on??

 

[seamus]

pressed ever so lightly on the lid and it started bubbling again

what a tease :!:

 

[seamus]

forgot to mention that I tried a sample and it tasted great - no funny flavours or smells and it had a really nice wheaty flavour

I was tempted to syphon off a bottle!

 

[orlando]

The lid had subsided and bubbling stopped again this afternoon so I decided to take a sg reading - turned out to be 1.012 so I popped the lid back on

5 minutes later the lid is bulging and the bubbling has started again - 30 mins later and the bubbling has stopped and the lid is still bulging

what the hell is going on??

It' just fermentation slowing down as it gets to the final gravity. The yeast has less and less to feed off and are slowly dying out. Once you get a couple of readings that are the same it will be finished and the next stage of fun begins.

In other words everything is normal.