Wyeast Irish Ale weirdness

[blatant_brewer]

Brewed up a batch Tuesday night. No sign of yeasty action Wednesday morning or evening. Was about to hit the brew shop for a fresh packet when by chance I noticed that a barmy head had miraculously formed overnight.

Yet I saw no sign of vigourous yeast activity as I'm wont to observe when fermentation swings into gear.

Thoughts?? Thanks.
:D

Beebs

[HogieWan]

what do you mean by "barmy head'" I think I noticed a similar thing with 1272 American Ale II. I got a thick brown barm and took an extra day to turn white and foamy

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Give it a few days and see what happens.... If you have a digital camera try snapping a picture.
I would love to see the condition of your beer.

[Trogger]

I've used 1084 twice with good results. Never really took notice of the krausen color, though.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by blatant_brewer
Yet I saw no sign of vigourous yeast activity as I'm wont to observe when fermentation swings into gear.

What vigorous signs are you looking for?

[blatant_brewer]

Checked again this morning; no worries. The wort is prolly just darker than I'm used to; the kraeusen is nice and white foamy.

Sorry for the alarm. the attack of the mutant white mold from outer space against my last batch must have temporarily jarred my confidence back to rank brewing newbie levels.

Beebs :D

Edit: Talking to a brew bud last night from Boston, it seems that one or two day lags between pitching the yeast and discernible fermentation are common occurences (at least for him, and now me) during the winter.
Barometric pressure, the influence of the zodiac, humidity??
Any thoughts?

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by blatant_brewer
Edit: Talking to a brew bud last night from Boston, it seems that one or two day lags between pitching the yeast and discernible fermentation are common occurences (at least for him, and now me) during the winter.
Barometric pressure, the influence of the zodiac, humidity??
Any thoughts?

Wyeast Irish Ale, in my experience, iis one that starts slower than others. Even slower in the cooler months as your brew bud said.

[corysdad]

I just used Wyeast 1084 in an oatmeal stout 2 weeks ago. It was the most potent fermentation that I have seen yet. Air lock activity within 3 hrs. of pitching. By the 24th hour had to remove air lock and install blowoff tube. It was so intense that I thought something was wrong. I found out all was well. Racked to secondary last weekend. Bottle next weekend.

[sallad]

Edit: Talking to a brew bud last night from Boston, it seems that one or two day lags between pitching the yeast and discernible fermentation are common occurences (at least for him, and now me) during the winter.
Barometric pressure, the influence of the zodiac, humidity??
Any thoughts?

i'd say its due to the cooler temps. even though your thermostat may say 70*, the floor your carboy is sitting on is probably much cooler. air is a poor conductor of heat, so the contact with the floor / other objects will transer more heat than the surrounding air.