I brewed Saturday, normal day outside using my new grain mill (got a nice boost in my OG!). Added Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes left of boil, used a normal pouch of Wyeast, broke the packet inside, it swelled (not as swelled as normal, but still as much a sometimes it does). Added the yeast then put it away. Day 3, there’s no bubbles in the airlock, and my Tilt hydrometer is not reporting any change in the gravity.
I’ve never had this happen before! Is my beautiful IPA ruined? Where do I go from here?
Which yeast strain and what was the date on it? What temp is the wort sitting at right now?
I would totally do this with an ale. Most of my beers come in around 1.050 and if I have a Wyeast pack and break the inner bubble and I see the pack swell (usually to the point where it looks like it will burst), I generally get good activity quickly. The one time I tried this with a pack of ale yeast from Omega (no nutrient pouch), I also went for a good 3+ days with no activity but it did eventually take off. When I make lagers it’s always with a starter but I have made many ales the way you’re describing here.
It’s surprising. I suppose that I might try to slightly warm it so that it has the chance to take off but your 62-64° temp range is right where I would have it too. I guess I would also wonder how well the wort was oxygenated but I realize there are some who have dismissed O2 as an important component of brewing. When I would attempt this (ferment an ale with the contents of one Wyeast packet), I would probably be thinking that some extra O2 would likely help things take off. I wish I had more but all I can say now is watch it, maybe rouse it a little and keep us posted. Good luck.
Sounds like his Tilt is reporting NO movement. I agree on HopDen’s patience comment but if three days passed without activity I would be rubbing my chin too.
Having no experience with a “Tilt”, I would just wonder if it’s possible to get an incorrect reading?? I guess I’m just saying that it wouldn’t hurt to check under the hood to confirm nothing is happening.
According to Wyeast’s pitch chart, for 5 gallons of a 1.060 wort a homebrewer should be pitching 1-2 packs of 1056. Fermentation temp should be >65°F. So there might be a slight underpitch and temperature is a bit low. That certainly could cause a slow start I suppose. But I’m still surprised that nothing is happening in 3 days. I would expect an expanded smack-pack to do something by now. Unless it was pitched into wort that was too hot. ???
I’d question this as well, but there’s no bubbles or even inflation on the lid of my fermenting bucket (usually I can touch the lid and it blows air into the airlock) Still no movement this morning.
I’ll Check for some krausen when I get home. I usually just try to not moving anything to avoid any contamination!
I also opened the door to the closet I keep it in because it’s usually 5 degrees cooler in there than the outside room, thinking maybe the warmth might kick it off a bit.
I’ve seen it but wouldn’t the Tilt still report a change in gravity? Truth be told … I had a Tilt and used it for awhile but eventually gave it away to another brewer because I realized I don’t need it. I don’t need to chart the progress to Google Sheets, etc. If it were me I would definitely open the fermenter to see what was up, warm it up, swirl it, etc. and watch.
When I asked what the gravity is (above), I mean now — after the 3 to 4 days post pitch. If a floating hydrometer is in use, and it was calibrated (temp and specific gravity), then it would indicate current temp and gravity (within a tolerance).
I use a TILT in every brew because I want to know when fermentation kicks off without going to the basement and, as fermentation slows, when to raise the temp for a D rest. It is unreliable for finished gravity IMO but it is a decent tool to judge progress.
I do not like it when fermentation takes a long time to start. I would pitch a pack of dry yeast and call it a day.
I have had really good experience with fast starts using go-ferm to rehydrate in a Mason jar, let it sit ~ 15 -20 min, shake the bageezes out of it a few times during a brewday, then adding Fermax as a nutrient prior to pitch, shake again to mix, and pitch. I have been seeing hours vs days wait time.