Liquid yeast screw up?

[croc4]

I Started a new batch yesterday, This one I made up using my extensive brewing knowledge ...LOL...

I used liquid yeast WLP005 and after taking it out of the fridge, I only let it sit a few minutes then pitched it, after doing so I read the instructions ;-(, it said to take it out of the fridge 3-6 hours before pitching, So I'm thinking that The yeast is dead. it has been ~17hrs with no activity.


I have never used liquid yeast before but I assumed that it would have started doing something by now.

Does anyone have an idea of if I should see any activity before the 24hr mark with liquid yeast?


Here is the recipe

OG 1.053

3.75 can of coopers hopped dark extract
2 lbs of DME
2 lbs crystal malt
.75 oz Willamette hops (bittering)
.50 oz Willamette hops (finishing)
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[Tom C]

If you took it out of the fridge and pithched the yeast cells may have been inactive. So first it would have to come to an ideal temp before reactiviting and then multiply further. I would say if by tomorrow morning you do not see any activity it would not hurt to stop by the lhbs and buy a "pitchable" of the same yeast and pitch it.

Tom C

[YamahaXS]

I believe Tom is correct. Wait til morning, if still no activity then you need to repitch. What you did should just result in a slow start.

[quantum24]

you should remember that cold (until you reach the freezing point where the cell walls break) will not hurt yeast. heat on the other hand is a sure bet to kill yeast. when cold, yeast cells simply go into a dormant state, there will be no activity, but they are not dead. i would make sure that you have your fermenter in a warm enough spot (72 degrees), this should get them back into an active state to ferment your beer. you, and your beer, should be fine.

[croc4]

Thanks guys, The primary started bubbling about 2hrs ago. So it would seem things are ok.
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[ray m]

To make damn sure all is well, send to me for a full evaluation.

[Fast_Eddy]

croc4 - I did the same thing on my 2nd or 3rd batch of beer.

For your next batch try making a starter. I wish I had started making starters sooner.

[croc4]

Sure Raym,

I'll get right on that ;-)
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[MmmBeer]

I've found that those liquid pitchables have a higher lag time. But once they get goin , wooosh. Mine usually finish primary in 2-4 days and then they are pretty much done bubbling. Your beer will be good.

[croc4]

really?, I would have thought that the lag time would be shorter...
(thats what I get for thinking ;-) )

I'll keep that in mind in the future for my next batch (#4). Although as yet I have not had much in the way of tasting the fruit of my labours, I'm still waiting on the first batch to carbonate ;-(
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[Tom C]

Croc, make a starter 2-3 days before brewing with the liquid and your lag tim will only be 2-4 hours.

Tom C

[Fast_Eddy]

When using liquid yeast, I can't over-emphasize making a starter. You get complete, fast ferments that(to me) yield better beer.

All I have to say is try it and you'll be convinced.

[michaewa]

I brewed my second batch this morning, with several 'improvements' (we shall see), including a full boil courtesy of the Lowe's turkey fryer, a wort chiller, a glass 6.5 gal primary instead of the plastic bucket (gf is using it to make wine), and a starter for the yeast.

My question is regarding the yeast - I made a kit from Austin Homebrew, and the Wyeast liquid yeast I got with it was hotter than rockets when the UPS guy dropped it off - you have to be two states away to get an ice pack.

I took it out of the fridge tuesday night, and then last night made a starter per the instructions on the tube: boil 1/2 cup DME in a pint of water, cool to room temperature, then pitched the tube contents. I made it up in a milk jug with an airlock, and all seemed well.

I got up this morning to cook up, and my starter had a layer of white sediment on the bottom, but no foam on the top that to me would have indicated active yeast. I went ahead and pitched it after brewing, as I didn't have anything else.

Did I get some dead yeast? How much heat can those kits take? Or is the lack of froth on top a sign that I didn't wait long enough for the starter (about 12 hours total) to do its thing?

I continue to watch, but may go buy a fresh tube of yeast if I haven't seen any activity soon...

[Beerconnoisseur]

My experience has been that the fresher the liquid yeast, the shorter the lag time, and better the resulting beer. I've even used vials well after their "best before" date, with no starter, and the results turned out fine.

It's important to keep the yeast in a dark, cool place, and avoid sudden temperature changes which may "shock" the yeast, resulting in off flavors. For lagers, you'd want to make gradual temp changes, like 4 degrees F/day, for this reason. Killing yeast entirely is a bit harder to do, but high heat can cause mutations which change beer flavor unpredictably.

Oh, and lest I forget.... if you are making a high gravity beer, the lag time may also increase, since the yeast has to store up sugars in preparation for fermentation.

[Aleman]

Yeast starters ferment very quickly. If a fine layer of yeast is on the bottom of the bottle, chances are good it fermented.

As a standard practice I add a small amount of yeast nutrient to the wort to help kick it off. You must also shake the bottle vigorously to add oxygen needed for fermentation.

[mmmBeer...]

I have only done a few starters. The ones right out of the whitelabs vials seem to take at least 24 hours to get foam on the top of the starter. The trappist ale I just made was in the same state that you mentioned and I had a good fermentation going within 6 hours (I was asleep, so I don’t know when it actually started)

I find the washed yeast get going a lot faster and tend to overflow my airlock…happened enough that I now put the starter bottle in a mixing bowl!