longest time period till fermentation?

Howdy all
I'm fairly new to brewing, but have had my airlock blow out already and have a few brews under me one of which is drinkable now. But I just brewed a batch where I picked out the ingredients instead of using a kit and also got the wyeast smack pack everyone raved about. My question is, how long can it take before I know that fermentation isn't going to start? I've been using the dry yeast packs and just sprinkling it on top of my wort and it ferments like crazy but I brewed this batch on Saturday and today is Thursday and there is still nothing going on. I don't want to dump my stand by dry pack in if it is actually going to start soon. Thanks for tips

Lag times up to 72 hours are not uncommon. However, how do you know nothing is going on? Have you taken a gravity reading? That is the ONLY way to determine if fermentation is occurring. Airlock bubbling doesn't mean anything.

At what temperature are you fermenting?
How old was the yeast you used?
What was your recipe?


On another point, I'm curious about your statement that you have a few brews under your belt, but only one of which is drinkable. I hope that is because you have very high standards. Otherwise, they should all be drinkable. I'd hate for you to lose interest in your new hobby.

I would take a gravity reading and compare it to the pre-pitch reading you should have taken. If they are different I would suspect that the lid on the fermenter is not sealing tightly and allowing the CO2 to vent without going through the airlock. If the Grav is identical, I would go ahead and pitch my trusty stash dry and see how it goes from there. I am very wary of liquid yeast after I tried to make a starter and it was an epic failure. So I always keep a few different flavors of dry yeasts in the fridge. Fermentis is good stuff, and I keep an ale, a lager and a hefe in stash just in case what has happened to you happens to me. Just make sure and use the dry packs up within about 6 months so you don't have a dead stash or underpowered yeasties. Just sayin.....

Wheelchair Bob

Thanks for the response, turns out that it is actually fermenting it is just not noticeable, but after cracking the lid open there is a ring around the inside of the bucket. After the airlock blow out I had I have been fermenting in a bucket with a blow off tube then transferring to a carboy to condition.

The only reason I have 1 batch drinkable now is that I have brewed a few batches that require aging so they just aren't ready. I made a coffee stout, a apple ale with homemade cider added to it, a bourbon barrel aged ale, and the question I just asked was from a abbey style Trappist ale. I've been drinking the pale ale I didn't have to age very long, and thankfully I have a ipa ready in a week cause the pale ale is almost gone.