Fermentation not starting....

[corysdad]

First and second brews did not start fermenting. First batch waited 36 hours, nothing. I was advised to shake fermentor vigorously, within 10 hours bubbles in the airlock. Racked to secondary after 7 days,bottled after 21 more days, 14 days after that tried first one, no or very little carbonation, but beer tastes very good. Second batch, not fermenting after 19 hours, shook fermentor again, now it's bubbling. But I'm afraid of no carbination again.
These were both kits from Midwest Brewing. Using the pitchable tube of yeast. Thought I followed directions for sanitizing and cooking well.
I don't want to type a lot of useless details but I will answer any questions. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks....

[Borch]

What was the temp. of the room they were in after you bottled. I myself just had an issue with carbonation taking quite a bit longer than expected. I raised the the temp. in my bottle condition area and it carbonated pretty quickly after that.

[corysdad]

Basement temp. between 68 and 75 degrees. Seems that some bottles are carbonated more than others,but not by much.
What bothers me most is the fermenting having such a hard time starting.

[MARK123]

Sounds to me like you did not aerate the chilled wort enough. I strain mine into the bucket with 2 strainers and get lots of o2 in. O2 is very important in the first stage of fermentation. Did you prime??(Add more sugar for the yeast to eat and make carbonation)

[O2 Mash]

I agree with Mark123, after your wort has chilled and you add the yeast, shake your fermenter. I shake mine in the 6 gallon carboy for about 10 minutes to fully oxygenate.

[corysdad]

Yes, priming sugar was added just befor bottling. Should I add more yeast now? Would that help for when bottling time arrives?

[corysdad]

Mash, are you shaking fermentor befor or after yeast is pitched?

[O2 Mash]

Originally posted by corysdad
Mash, are you shaking fermentor befor or after yeast is pitched?

I shake it after I add the yeast to the carboy, but I don't think it really matters.

Oh, by the way, don't add more yeast when bottling.

[corysdad]

Not ready to bottle yet. Just cooked this batch up last Saturday night. But would more yeast help now,to get a better fermentation? It is bubbling now.

[O2 Mash]

No, you shouldn't need more yeast, especially if you pitched a tube that has a pretty good amount of yeast. If you oxygenated well, your yeast is now multiplying by the millions. Do you have a large krausen head on top? (how much foam)? I usually have 3 or 4 inches of foam on top of the wort and it lasts for a few days, then subsides slowly. To give you an idea of what I see during fermentation, if I use a 1" blow off tube coming out of my carboy, I will get one bubble every second or so for about two days, then it steadily slows down. If I use a small airlock, bubbles are constantly moving through it for the same amount of time.

Regarding bottling...... after your yeast converts all of the sugar in the wort to alcohol and CO2, it will settle down because there is no more food (sugar). Most of the yeast will die off, but there will still be plenty of live yeast floating in the beer. Then, when you bottle, you add the corn sugar. This gives the yeast a little more food to eat in the bottle. Of course they are converting this small amount of sugar to alcohol and CO2 in the bottle, and this is what carbonates your beer.

[Tom C]

In terms of bottling:

1) use 3/4 cup of corn sugar or 1 1/4 dME in a small pot with about two cups of water...boil for about 10-15 min then add to bottling bucket.

2) When capping make sure you are capping tightly enough. If you do not co2 may escape and will not carbonate as quickly. You should see a small circle on the top of the cap after placing the cap onto the bottle.

Tom C

[corysdad]

I am using a bucket fermentor,so I can't see the foam. But has been bubbling in the airlock steady for 1 day so far. The gas coming out of it smells so good!
As for bottling how can you help if there is not enough yeast to make carbonation? Or if it needs help?

[corysdad]

I am using a bucket fermentor,so I can't see the foam. But has been bubbling in the airlock steady for 1 day so far. The gas coming out of it smells so good!
As for bottling how can you help if there is not enough yeast to make carbonation? Or if it needs help?

[O2 Mash]

Good, you are fine. Don't worry, there will be enough yeast for the carbonation, there always is. It sounds like everything you are seeing is totally normal. :cool: