Well I managed to kill off another vial of yeast this week. I bought my ingredients and on the way home, stopped off at a store to run in and get something. About 15-20 mins later I jump in my trunk and drive home. The yeast vial feels a little warm, so I put into to the frig for the rest of the weekend. Take it out, 2 hours before I brew. Cool my wort down to 70ish temp and pitch my yeast. Three days later, no activity and when I cracked open my primary, no foam, no froth, nothing to indicate the yeast is building up or working. Is the White Labs vials of yeast that sensitive to temp changes that it will be killed off?
I got to stop ruining my yeast
- Thread starter wstein
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I ordered a couple of WL vials in the middle of summer and it took 5 days to get here. It had to be sitting at 100+ temps for a while. I made a starter with both, and the both went and did their business making alcohol. Just my experience.
Yeah, the guys from Whitelabs say that the vials need to be held above 100 for quite a while before all the yeast die. It sounds like they were already dead when they got to you.
homebrewer_99
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As the risk of repeating myself (again), never brew without making a starter first!
As long as you know your yeast is good then you're good to go brew.
Other than that, you just proved to everyone why it's a good reason to make a starter.
As long as you know your yeast is good then you're good to go brew.
Other than that, you just proved to everyone why it's a good reason to make a starter.
homebrewer_99 said:
Oh PUUH-leeeze!
homebrewer_99
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'mornin' sunshine!!Chairman Cheyco said:Oh PUUH-leeeze!
wstein
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actually I spoke to soon. For some reason it took 72 hours for the yeast to kick in verus the normal 36-48 hours I am used to seeing with my other brews. I went to the LHBS last night and got another vial of california yeast and went straight home. I went to go add it and looked and saw the air lock bubbling along happily. So now I have a extra vial of yeast chillin in my frig. Guess I need to do that SNPA clone again .
Also, I am going to start doing a starter batch from now on out. I want the frementation to kick in in 24 hours instead of 48 hours.
.Also, I am going to start doing a starter batch from now on out. I want the frementation to kick in in 24 hours instead of 48 hours.
What temp did you pitch at? You may have shocked the yeast.
wstein
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Chairman Cheyco said:
I honestly can't say, as I haven't replaced my thermometer yet. I know it was probably cooler then 70. I placed the wort in a ice bath for almost 30 mins and the water that I used to top off the primary had been in my freezer for almost 2 hours.
I'm amazed that so many people expect the yeast to perform miracles. Even if it was 100% fresh straight from their labs, it would still take 24-48-72 hours to reproduce itself enough to begin fermentation.
Why take chances ruining a batch with all the other hard work and expense that's already gone into it?
Do a starter well in advance.
Why take chances ruining a batch with all the other hard work and expense that's already gone into it?
Do a starter well in advance.
wstein
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Mikey said:
I don't expect miracles. I how ever was going on experience that taught me that the fermentation usually kicked off in ernest in 24-48 hours. I now know to give it roughly 24-96 hours for fermentation to kick off if I don't have a large dose of yeast to add.
