Why isnt my beer fermenting?

I brewed an irish red ale on may 17. It's been 4 days and I have no airlock activity. I did NOT use a yeast starter, I know I should have, but I still thought by now I would have fermentation. Fermenter is completely sealed.

-Yeast: Irish ale wlp004
-OG: 1.068

Not sure on the exact temperature. It was in the 60's but felt cool so I moved it today where it is definitely upper 60's.

Should I pitch another vial of yeast? Any suggestions on what to do?

extract or all grain?

Airlock activity really means nothing. All it proves is that the pressure inside is higher than outside the fermenter. If the seal is not good then nothing will show, so relax have a brew and check in a few weeks. In over 120 brews I never ahd a brew not ferment.

Relax, let the yeast do what it has been doing for thousands of years. It will do what it is designed to do... Make beer.

Here is a good video that shows airlock activity... Is this one done yet?

Airlock activity isn't a reliable sign of fermentation.

How old was the yeast vial you pitched? My LHBS has White Labs vials that are best by October 2012. If you have an old ass vial of yeast you may not have much viable yeast.

Any krausen? Or does it look exactly like it did when you transfered the wort to the carboy?

Currently what it looks like. It was extract with steeped grains.
Thanks for the tips. Ill wait it out a little longer.

Oh and the yeast was best by August 2013 so it was good

That ring of gunk says its fermenting

Yup. That's fermenting just fine. If you want confirmation, take a hydrometer sample.

Better bet would be to close that lid and leave it alone! You're good.

Awesome! Thanks everyone!

We actually had this exact same problem with our very first attempt. Brewed a week ago yesterday, basically zero airlock activity. Went ahead and took an SG reading yesterday, and sure enough, it had dropped.

I'm a noob, but after several brewing sessions I am comfortable with little to no airlock activity, especially on lighter beers/ciders. I've found that the lower the final ABV is going to be, the less airlock activity I see. Correlation? Who knows, but so far I'm batting perfectly on fermentation taking place. I am currently brewing Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde, and after 5 days I have yet to see a single bubble in the airlock. I took an LED flashlight and shined it into the bucket near the top, and sure enough you can see the ring of debris the Krausen left behind. I have no doubt that in another 5-7 days that the beer will have reached it's final OG. I'd be patient and let the yeast do it's job, it's been doing it for eons, it knows it's purpose. I have no doubt you'll have beer......

When you have that ring of 'gunk' that means that krausen has risen and fallen. The majority of fermentation has passed. Congrats, you have beer.

jfk69, you are correct with there being a correlation. Yeast eats sugar and expels CO2 and alcohol. The more sugar to be eaten the more CO2 that is generated and if you have a good seal on your fermenter the more airlock activity. Oftentimes I have missed the majority of fermentation and have seen no sign of it at all. It always ends up tasty so if it aint broke, why try to fix it.

I must admit though that it is satisfying to watch an active airlock.

beergolf said:

Airlock activity really means nothing. All it proves is that the pressure inside is higher than outside the fermenter. If the seal is not good then nothing will show, so relax have a brew and check in a few weeks. In over 120 brews I never ahd a brew not ferment.

Click to expand...

I had the same problem/question two brews ago. Airlock never bubbled that I saw. But here is why....

whatca got there tasty beeR?