No apparent fermentation...

[ThatMikeKid]

Alright before you dismiss this as a "dumb newbie, learn2brew" thread, hear me out...

I brewed a maerzen yesterday and pitched it with Wyeast Octoberfest lager yeast and threw it in my mini fridge at a steady 48-58 degrees. Its been a day and noticed the airlock not bubbling. Not an issue, decided to pull the airlock and take a peak...

No krausen, no foam, nothing.

I moved my fermenter to my pantry, thinking my thermometer wasnt giving me a proper temp. See if I can get any life.

Any tips? Suggestions? Possible explanations?

 

[daksin]

Lager fermentations are not dramatic- there may be no krausen at all. Because of the cold temps, EVERYTHING happens more slowly, including the onset of noticeable fermentation. Put it back in the lager fridge.

Furthermore, if you just pitched one package of lager yeast, you have massively underpitched this beer and it will take a long time for the yeast to reproduce enough to even begin to get started on the sugar. Lager pitching rates are 50-100% higher than ale temps, and even if this was an ale, you would have underpitched.

In order to brew lagers well, you need to be able to pitch the correct number of healthy yeast cells (see: starters). Expect some off flavors that may require a diacetyl rest or some extra cleanup time.