Slow, slow start for yeast

[Chad T Cook]

I made a Nut Brown a few days ago. I pitched the yeast (Nottingham Ale) and after 36 hours there was a little bit of activity. I mean everything was settled on the bottom with no bubbles or anything suspended at all. Then around the 48 hour mark it exploded...literally. I made an India Pale Ale using the Nottingham also the same evening and that yeast started showing signs of activity within a few hours. I am happy that the Nut Brown is okay now, but has anyone else experienced such a slow start to their yeast. I was almost scared for a couple days. Any ideas why the yeast appeared to be dead at first?

And if they were dead, would you recommend adding more yeast to get it fermenting?

[Ray Grace]

I've occasionally seen slow starting yeast, There are several possible factors. Did you aerate your wort, what temperature are you fermenting at, make a starter? You could add more yeast but I would first check your gravities, don't just rely on visible activity. If the gravity stays unchanged and is well short of your target you may need to repitch.

[Chad T Cook]

Yeah, I aerated my hillbilly way by sloshing the few gallons I had in my carboy every few minutes or so while cooking the wort.

My brew closet stays between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

I did start the yeast per the back of the package. I also put the brew pot in an ice bath until the ice melted, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then poured the wort in the carboy with the "pre-sloshed/aerated" water. I then added my started yeast. I thought maybe I had not chilled the wort enough prior to blending it with the carboy water and pitched the yeast while it was too hot, thus killing the yeast. That was the only thing I could figure. I think it will be okay. It is fermenting extremely vigorously now. Just never seen it start that slow, and I've used Nottingham many times using the same techniques.

[Outsider's Almanac]

i learned the hard way, after my first attempt at a lager (marzen), that you pretty much should *always* use a yeast starter. don't know if you did or not, but i'm just passing along some hard won wisdom of my own.

also, check this out... yeast starter calculator, it's great:

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Are you pitching directly from the vial or making a starter? I highly recommend a starter, even with lower O.G. beers. Gives the yeast its best chance of fully fermenting and avoiding off-flavors from potential under-pitching. The more live yeast cells, the better.

Sometimes yeast strains just take a while to acclimatize to their new environment. Usually, I've seen this more often with high O.G. beers, but I suppose it can happen in most any wort. Oh well, at least it's all going fine now. Hope it turns out well!

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Sorry, should have read the replies first ... sounds like you didn't make a starter, you just re-hydrated the dry Danstar yeast? Likely that's the issue. I'd recommend making a starter ( at least 1000ML) and also taking a temperature reading of your wort just before pitching the yeast to make sure it's not too hot or cold.

[Chad T Cook]

Ah ha! That sounds right. I guess I have never properly started yeast, I simply re hydrate it. Yup, that's it. Learn something everyday...awesome! It just threw me off because even though i always just rehydrate, it has never taken that long. Thanks guys!

[Chris Thornton]

I'm making a pale ale with Munton's dry ale yeast, and I just rehydrated, dumped it in, and stirred with a slotted spoon for ten minutes. Very quiet fermentation--3-4 bubbles a minute in the airlock--and when I got nervous and cracked the bucket to peek, it looked more or less the same as it did when I started, but with a lot of yeast cake on the bottom.

I won't trouble you by telling you about how I attempted to jump start it, thinking what I was looking at was sluggish/sleeping yeast, but I bet my beer will suffer for my impatience. I'd have known there was progress by siphoning off a little or using a beer thief to grab a sample--you would, too, if you know the OG of the wort.

Sometimes it's just best to give it a few days. Super-hard for me because I'm impatient.

[Chris Thornton]

What temperature do you pitch at?