First brew... is my yeast dead?

[quickness]

I recently got a Mr. Beer kit and started brewing a beer. I used the normal instructions but added 1/2 cup of honey. It has been in the fermenter for 8 days now. I thought it looked like it was done so I poured a shot and tasted it. It is still sweet and cloudy. Is my yeast dead? Can I goto my local homebrew shop and buy some yeast and add it? Or will opening my fermenter spoil my beer? I look forward to hearing what you think. Eventually I plan to get a real set up, but I want to make a few batches and get the hang of it first.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[MrBulldogg]

Did you see any action in the airlock in the first couple days? If the yeast was good, you would have seen a lot of tiny bubbles sticking to the airlock walls and heard gurgles every 10-15 secs or so. If none of this occured, I'd venture to guess your yeast may have not been healthy. I'm a newbie myself (preparing my third batch now) but that seems to be a pretty reliable indicator of whether things are working or not.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Opening the fermenter long enough to sprinkle more dry yeast in won't hurt anything. Can't say if you need more yeast, though. How warm is it where you have your fermenter? Maybe it just needs to be moved to a warmer room to get the yeast going again.

Not sure how the spigot is designed on the Mr. Beer. It could be that some yeast sediment has dropped into the spigot area, and that is what came out into your glass. Then it has only been eight days, so it shouldn't be real clear.

What kind of beer are you making? Some types have a little sweetness to them. And they taste better after carbonation....

 

[fa1321tx]

Yes bubbles are good! Yes you could add some yeast to your beer you need to know what kind of beer your brewing. I have never used the mr beer kit but if you are really interested in brewing and have a homebrew shop close I would suggest you by a starter brewing kit most places included a beer kit with the purchase.

 

[quickness]

It is the West coast pale ale. The room is about 70-75 degrees.

I went the the homebrew shop but they were out of a lot of equiptment. I plan on getting a real kit when I get back to denver in a few months. But until then Mr. Beer is all I have.

 

[david_42]

I'd add some more yeast, pale ales shouldn't be sweet. Still, the only way to be certain is checking the gravity.

 

[fa1321tx]

It is the West coast pale ale. The room is about 70-75 degrees.

I went the the homebrew shop but they were out of a lot of equiptment. I plan on getting a real kit when I get back to denver in a few months. But until then Mr. Beer is all I have.

You could just use a packet of ale yeast just rehydrate it and dump it in make sure you sanitize everything that will touch the yeast. Your temps will work. I have had some good ales at 75F