Help!!!! Yeast not working

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Brewing in Brittany

Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by Brewing in Brittany » Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:08 pm

Hi
I am brewing a TT Landlord clone and the Wyeast West Yorkshire hasn't worked! #-o

Brewed yesterday- the Smack pack was smacked but didn't swell but pitched it anyway.
24 hours on, no sign of life- flat as a millpond. It should have started by now.....
It's in the "fermenting fridge" at 21 Celsius.

I have the following dried yeasts that I can hydrate and throw in:

Lallemand Nottingham
Lallemand Windsor
Neale's Classic English
Mangrove Jack's New world Strong Ale
MJ West Coast

What should I do?....Pray? :wink:
Which yeast should I use?
Should I aerate it again using air pump and diffusers?

Yours hopefully

another nice mess

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by another nice mess » Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:27 pm

I say keep your nerve, it has to start some time. Perhaps on your next brew start the yeast a day earlier, or do a bigger starter using some spray-dried malt extract.

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by chefgage » Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:38 pm

I always found with them smack packs they took about 4 hours to swell so you had to give them time. But i have pitched when they have not swelled ( did not smack it early enough) but fermentation started eventually between 24 to 48 hours.

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Brewedout
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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by Brewedout » Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:50 pm

I'd be tempted to wait a little longer, check the gravity too. If no signs in 6 to 12 hours put a yeast that matches the profile you want I.e. flavour from yeast or not.

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by richard080561 » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:53 pm

On my last but one brew the smack pack didn't swell but I pitched it anyway. It took about three days to get going and about three weeks to ferment. The resulting beer had a horrible off taste. So far I have opened 3 bottles one week between each. There had been no improvement, each bottle has been poured away.
My advice is to get one of your dried yeasts in there
Richard M
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McMullan

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by McMullan » Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:22 pm

Liquid yeast don't store well. What was the production date? It'll probably start after some lag, up to 3 days or so before you need to worry. Next time make a starter, even if the pack is 'fresh'. Did you aerate the wort?

Brewing in Brittany

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by Brewing in Brittany » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:15 pm

McMullan wrote:
Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:22 pm
Liquid yeast don't store well. What was the production date? It'll probably start after some lag, up to 3 days or so before you need to worry. Next time make a starter, even if the pack is 'fresh'. Did you aerate the wort?
Many thanks to you all.
Yes, the wort was very well aerated and foaming using diffusers and an air pump.
Production date May this year and it was sent from stockist with cool pouch so it should have been okay.
The bag was smacked over three hours before it was pitched and kept in the brewing fridge to keep it at 21C till it was pitched, but as I said, the pouch showed no sign of swelling when it came to pitching.

I will wait another 48 hours and hope that the yeast is slow to start but by all accounts W.Yorks yeast is pretty vigorous and I was expecting some action by now, not a foamless surface to the wort.

IF, it doesn't which of the yeasts I have do you think should I rehydrate and put in?
I don't have another W.Yorks and read on one of the forums that Windsor would be okay.....

McMullan

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by McMullan » Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:58 am

Re-aerating and giving the wort a good stir occasionally might do the trick. Take a gravity reading first, to confirm it hasn't dropped significantly.

Brewing in Brittany

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by Brewing in Brittany » Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:13 am

.....36 hours later a muted hurrah.

A few bubbles staring to form a mat of mini krausen on the surface.
Wort tastes sweet, of course, but slightly fizzy which I guess is good news.

Never having used smack packs before, mainly because of their cost, I was, perhaps, expecting the whole thing to take off like a rocket and from what I'd heard about W.Yorks yeast, it seems to ferment pretty quickly. Hopefully when I check this evening there will be more evidence of fermentation.

Thanks so much for your advice it was much appreciated.

Cheers!

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by chefgage » Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:38 am

When i started all grain i always used to use the smack packs. Never made a starter just pitched after the bag had swelled or when the wort was at the right temperature.

I then moved onto dried yeasts which i always rehydrate first. The rehydrated dried yeast starts fermenting usually in less than 12 hours. The smack packs used to take from 24-48 hours to get going.

Like has been said, with the liquid yeast you should probably make a starter.

McMullan

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by McMullan » Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:00 am

Pitching a pack of liquid yeast without making a starter is probably underpitching, in most cases. Especially after a month or two in storage. Dry yeast is a completely different product. If you find one you like, great. However, not many strains tolerate the drying process without losing a lot of their characteristic profile. Horses for courses, as they say.

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by uminocha » Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:35 am

[quote="chefgage"]When i started all grain i always used to use the smack packs. Never made a starter just pitched after the bag had swelled or when the wort was at the right temperature.

I then moved onto dried yeasts which i always rehydrate first. The rehydrated dried yeast starts fermenting usually in less than 12 hours. The smack packs used to take from 24-48 hours to get going.

Like has been said, with the liquid yeast you should probably make a starter.[/quote]Don't waste your time.....more aeration, checking SG, etc can aid infection. Get another smack pack or even two, get them going, and then add them after they swell. It us very simple.

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by vacant » Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:21 am

uminocha wrote:
Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:35 am
Don't waste your time.....more aeration, checking SG, etc can aid infection. Get another smack pack or even two, get them going, and then add them after they swell. It us very simple.

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Three packs of yeast = £20 for a TT clone? Wyeast recommend a starter as their preferred option for slow swelling packs.
I brew therefore I ... I .... forget

McMullan

Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by McMullan » Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:28 am

Always make a starter when using liquid yeast packs. It saves money and reduces the number of times you say 'f*ck' on brew day and the days that follow.

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Re: Help!!!! Yeast not working

Post by Horden Hillbilly » Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:43 am

I always do a starter when using liquid yeast. Certainly cuts the lag time down.

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