St. Louis Brews

by **johnnymac** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:06 am

Guys, I have a question about yeast... again. On Monday I brewed a nice 10 gallon IPA with an OG of 1.057. I didn't organize myself ahead of time to make a starter, so I pitched 2 packets of Wyeast 1056 @ 68 degrees. I have done this before in the past and never had an issue with slow fermentation. Whenever I have simply pitched the wyeast packets, I usually have a steady bubbling in the airlock after 24-36 hours.

It has been 72 hours and I have very little activity. I know that the yeast is working as my fermentation fridge has that wonderful alcoholic CO2 smell but it is very slow. (It's in a conical so I can't see inside)

My question is, could I make a 2 liter starter this evening on my stir plate and pitch it tomorrow to help get this going? -Or, would you guys just leave it? I haven't taken a reading yet so I don't know how far along it actually is.

Thanks for your help.

by **siwelwerd** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:53 am

johnnymac wrote:I pitched 2 packets of Wyeast 1056 @ 68 degrees. I have done this before in the past and never had an issue with slow fermentation.

How old were they? Did you oxygenate?

Assuming you are getting some activity, I would just leave it and RDWHAHB.

by **johnnymac** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:01 am

One of the packets was a week old and the other was about a month old. I did oxygenate with pure O2 through an oxygenation stone. It was chilly on Monday so I didn't let the packs puff up as much as in the past since the garage was about 45 degrees.

by **JoeHPhil** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:11 am

Stupid question, Is it a new fermenter you are using that may not seal properly (fermentation is happening but the bubble lock is not)? Happened to me and I nearly pulled my hair out trying to figure out where I failed (twice)

by **OldTree** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:39 am

From the description, I would bet on gas leaking out somewhere.

by **RobertHSmith** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:48 am

I'd put my bet on a gas leak somewhere too. I would leave it.

by **johnnymac** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:28 am

As far as I know, there isn't a gas leak... it does bubble through the airlock.... just not very much. I will keep an eye on it and take a reading tomorrow (4 full days after pitching the yeast) to see where it is.

by **RobertHSmith** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:21 pm

Honestly, if you are very worried, just pitch in a pack or two of S05 and forget about it. I usually keep that and S04 around for the same reason.

by **johnnymac** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:00 pm

Thanks guys... I got home today and the fermenter was popping like crazy.... took 4 days, but it finally got going. Thank you for the advice though. I always get a little bit nervous... you spend all that time making the brew... then something as simple as yeast can screw it up.

Regarding the dry S05 yeast. I have read several different things online. Some people say one pack is enough for 5 gallons, some say it's enough for 10... some say rehydrate in tap water, some say just add directly to wort, some say make a starter...

What say you???

by **RobertHSmith** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:54 pm

You can do either. One pack for 5 gal. Re hydrating dry yeast will up the cell count and may help you avoid off-flavors due to poor attenuation, but S05 is a monster. At a buck or two a pack, re hydrated or not, pitch in 2 for 5 gallons.

Google it and you'll get many varying opinions. Should you re hydrate, maybe...it would depend on what you are brewing, how you pitch it, and many other factors.

by **SteveO** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:08 am

johnnymac wrote:What say you???

Do whatever makes you least paranoid about your beer.

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