[THC] meeting Jan 26 Linda and Rick's house, details at BB

[Linda Swihart]

Michael Booth wrote:
>   
>   I brewed up a kit (Porter Call Me a Cab) last night.  I had to wait till this am to add the yeast since I don't have a wort chiller.  It still hasn't started bubbling yet.  I've always used dry yeast in the past and it seems to start up sooner.  So far, it's been about 10 hours.  
>   


Is this batch in a plastic bucket or in a vessel that you can see into 
(like a glass or plastic carboy)?  I ask this because what some people 
call "stealth fermentations" are not at all uncommon.  Jeff and Jennifer 
had one for their very first batch of beer, the one they brewed at 
"Teach a Fried..." day at Lloyd's in November.  And I just had one in my 
kitchen starting on Saturday two weeks ago.  Stealth Fermentation == no 
bubbles coming out of the airlock but when you peel up the lid to pitch 
more yeast 48 hours later because it seems to not be going, you find 
that it's at high krausen.  Or some similar experience.  It's because 
there's an imperfect seal somewhere.  Either the lid  is not completely 
tight on the bucket or the airlock is not tight in the grommet.  IT IS 
OK if this happens.  Whatever breach is usually never big enough for an 
insect to bet in and that's all that's important.

If this is in a bucket (and therefore all you know about it is that no 
bubbles are coming out of the airlock; you can't really tell if there is 
fermentation or not), then
wait another 24 hours and if there is still no bubbling,  with very 
clean hands pry up the lid an inch or two on one side and look at and 
smell what's inside.  If there's foam up on the side of the bucket and 
the smell of fermenting beer, close it back up and wait 8-10 days and 
proceed as normal.

If there is no visible or smell-able fermentation when you look in the 
bucket -- or if you're watching this whole non-event from the outside of 
a glass carboy and there's absolutely nothing happening after 48 hours 
after pitching, I've got some packets of dry yeast in the fridge and you 
are welcome to choose from what's there.

If this were me, and it was absolutely not fermenting, I'd re-pitch with 
two 11-g packets of Coopers or Nottingham or something benign like that, 
after not much more than 72 hours.  (Rehydrated in very slightly warmed 
non-chlorinated bottled water.)  And things would be fine.

Linda