I am doing a last minute brew and my local HBS didn’t have the yeast I need. Is it ok if I brew in the morning, go find the yeast at another store and pitch it later in the day? Like a few hours after cooling the wort? What’s the longest I can wait to add the yeast? Does the holding temp of the wort matter? I could probably find a way to keep it cool if need be. Thanks!
The longer you wait to pitch the yeast the more chance there is for critters to get a footing and funkify the beer. You will likely be ok if it’s only a couple of hours, but you really want fermentation to get going as soon as possible after the wort is cooled from the boil to avoid infection. I don’t know exactly how long is too long, you’ll probably be ok if it’s within the same day. Keep it held at fermentation temp, I can’t see a reason colder would really help.
Always potential for an interesting beer if it’s a style that can handle funk.
Make sure your sanitation is top-notch, keep it cool, and you shouldn’t have a problem. Make sure you have an adequate pitch of yeast, too.
^This^ A few hours with a healthy pitch is not a big deal as long as your cleaning/sanitation is good.
A few time I’ve let a batch cool overnight in the carboy then pitch in the morning as late as 12 hrs later and I haven’t had any off flavors from this.
I usually brew at night and pitch in the morning when the temp of the wort is stable. Pay heed to what others have said about sanitation and a healthy pitch and also remember to aerate again when you pitch later.
+3 I used to do this all the time before I had a wort chiller.
Yep, no big deal to go as long as 12 hours. It’s better to wait 12 hours and pitch at the proper temp (below 70 for most ales) than to rush pitch into a warm wort anyway. I wouldn’t suggest going much longer than 12 hours but I have gone as long as 24 without any problems.
It all depends how clean your process is. Agree 12 hours will not hurt anything.