Not Bubbling After 36 Hours

[gnemesis]

So this is something that has not happened to me before and I don't know if there is a fix. I made a 5 gallon batch of ale on monday and after 36 hours I have no activity. Usally after 24 hours I have something. I took great care in sanitization and using clean equiptment and I even made a yeast starter 24 hrs before brewing. I rapidly cooled my wort down to 75 deg, pitched the starter, and kept the beer at 70 for the last 36 hrs and still nothing. The batch consisted of a total of 8lbs DME and almost 3 lbs of honey- add in a yeast starter with 1 cup DME and yeast nutrient and it seems like the yeast should be active. I used WL Cali yeast and it had a good date on it and it was kept refridgerated until about 3 hours before i made the starter as per directions. Any ideas on what could have happened? Is there a fix for this or do I have to toss this batch?

[beerking]

You probably did nothing wrong, except your yeast culture may have been a bit small. What was your starting gravity?
The time you gave the starter really only activated the yeast, you probably did not see a lot of growth. Was the starter actively fermenting when pitched?
It is even possible there is fermentation you are not seeing. If you are using a plastic bucket, they can leak under pressure, allowing CO2 to escape along the sides instead of through the airlock. Have you looked inside the fermenter? Is there any bubbles on top of the wort?
Finally, I will say I have had some slow starts over the years take 72 hours to appear active without any problems.

As for "fixes," the easiest, and probably best fix is to pitch more yeast. I keep dried yeast on hand (good stuff like Fermentis, not the stuff from under that plastic lid on the extract can) for just such emergencies. Rehydrate gently in warm water, and pitch into the fermenter. Can't hurt anything (unless you are horrible with sanitation), and chances are it will kick in about the same time your original yeast decides to wake up. ;)

[gnemesis]

My og was 1080 and I did not that the starter wasn't doing much but because I usually don't see much from the starter I just assumed (I should know never to assume!) that is was just supposed to be like that. Thanks for the help- Ill run down and get some yeast and throw some in.

[beerking]

Yeah, 1.080 is definitely too big for a single vial/pack. You would need to put that into a 1.5-2 liter starter about 3-4 days prior to pitching to get enough cells. Either that or use 2-3 vials.
Odds are they are in there, procreating their little hearts out trying to make enough new yeasties. Once they get tired of having sex (and run out of O2), they will get down to actual fermentation.
Still, adding more yeast at this point can't hurt, and will almost certainly help, esp if you are going for high attenuation.

[corkybstewart]

Are you fermenting in a carboy or a bucket? Can you see that there is no krausen? I've had bucket lids not seal so there was no airlock bubbling, but the beer was fermenting just fine.

[gnemesis]

Yes I am fermenting in a plastic bucket and as of last night (i am at work now and can't check) there was little to no krausen. I wont be able to get more yeast til saturday or sunday but will toss more in. Should I get another vial of the same white labs yeast and just open and pour or should I make another starter?

[beerking]

At this point, you want a start ASAP, so I would buy 2-3 packets of Fermentis dried yeast, rehydrate with warm water (~105F) and Go-Ferm if you can get it. After rehydrating for ~20-30 min just add it to the wort.
If you can't get there until Sat-Sun, you will probably find things have kicked off by then. I would still recommend adding the additional yeast, in order to assure proper attenuation.

[gnemesis]

I will be able to check on it tomorrow night and I can get extra yeast as well. My HBS is tiny and sucks in many ways so is there a back-up yeast selection if they don't have the ones you suggested? This crisis seems not as bad as I thought! I was told that white labs yeast is slow to start anyways. Thanks for the help

[corkybstewart]

I always keep a supply of dry yeasts on hand like Nottingham, Safale-04 and 05.
They're cheap and easy to store and will work very well in an emergency.

[gnemesis]

I managed to forget to "relax, don't worry, have a homebrew" and panicked a little! All is well and the airlock is bubbling like crazy (now I wish I had used a carboy with blowoff tube). Thanks everyone for the help and advice!