Question about my brew

[Haleakala]

I am fairly new to home brewing I have already brewed 2 batches and third is in the primary but for some reason the airlock isn't bubbling I pitched the yeast about 14 hours ago without a starter I know that's not that long but my previous batches started a lot quicker about the 8 hour is something wrong?

 

[mccumath]

Several factors play a part in the process, i.e. temperature, yeast pitched, O.G., amount of yeast pitched, etc. Have you looked at the top of your wort? Is there a leak in your bucket where the gas is going besides your air lock? What temperature is your wort? Have you moved it to a warmer location? A beer I brewed on Saturday did not show any signs of fermentation at 62 degrees. Warmed it up to 63-64, bubbling like crazy. Try these suggestions, see what happens.

Hope this helps.

 

[Haleakala]

Ok thanks for ur help I checked everything out the strain of yeast was 1 tube liquid wyeast Cali ale, current temp is 77, wort has about 1/4 inch of foam, no visible places for air to escape any idea?

 

[45_70sharps]

The age of the yeast is a factor, if the third batch had a higher OG you may just be seeing the signs of under pitching.
Give it some time.
If you took a gravity reading before you pitched the yeast, check it again in a couple days if you don't see any signs of activity.

 

[Haleakala]

I apologize it was white labs not wyeast!

 

[Haleakala]

Alright I think it knows I'm talk about it hahaha it's starting slowly thanks for your help cheers!

 

[Haleakala]

I spoke to soon back to doing nothin I do have a spare tune of the same yeast I was gonna save for another time would it be good to use it or just give it time?

 

[45_70sharps]

Give it time.
What was the OG of the wort? You may have under pitched.
Check the gravity after it's had maybe three days and see if it's coming down.

 

[Haleakala]

U have found my rookie mistake I didn't take a measurement not because I forgot I just don't know how to do it I need to read up on that and how to make a starter for the future!

 

[45_70sharps]

Lots of info on here, but I found that anything you want to know on hombrewing can be found on youtube. Sometimes it helps to see it rather than read it.
Pretty simple though. You float it, give it a spin and read it when it settles, write it down.
One thing to keep in mind is that for your purpose, if you were to read the wrong scale even, you are still able to see change. You just can't use the numbers to get alcohol volume.

As for starters, they are pretty simple and lots of info on here. If you have a big beer ( lots of alcohol potential ) you need a starter so that you pitch the right amount of yeast.
I do a starter every time. If I need more yeast I get it and even if I don't need a larger pitch I know that I've got good active yeast so I don't have to wonder like you are doing.

One thing to remember is that beer isn't that hard. Sanitizing is one of the only things you can screw up that makes a big difference. Other than that the only hard part is trying to come up with your perfect beer, or your perfect three or four beers!

 

[LeakyPolynesian]

Boiling some wort and adding hops is the easy part. Beer doesn't become beer until it fermenting. That's the most critical point. A good healthy pitch if yeast is a must for excellent beer. Starters are a good idea. If you can't make a starter or if it seems too scary at this point, try pitching 2 or even 3 vials. There are many pitching rate calculators available out there. (mrmalty.com, promash, beersmith) Also yeast need O² early on in the first stages of fermentation (aerobic phase). An oxygen tank and a air stone are a good investment. Every LHBS sells at least an aquarium pump and an air stone. Those work well too. At the very least, give the carboy or bucket a good 5 minute shake to get some O² dissolved back into solution. This will help reduce lag time.

-Cheers!

 

[Haleakala]

Thanks for all your advice and I did end up using the spare tube I had its bubbling fairly steady now I think I might give it a shake though one more question though the external thermometer is reading 79 should I move it to a cooler place in the house?

 

[45_70sharps]

First off yes, cooler would be very good.
I don't remember what yeast you said you were using but 79 is definitely warm.

As for shaking it, you want to just leave it alone now.
The yeast is already going and you want the oxygen in it to help it get started and to reproduce.

At this point you do not want to put any more air into the wort.

 

[LeakyPolynesian]

Sharps is absolutely correct. Any addition of O² after fermentation has begun is bad. Before fermentation, yeast need O² to build up their cell walls and prepare to reproduce. Once it starts, O² becomes toxic to them. In order to produce alcohol/ CO² they need an O² free environment. Gently rocking your fermenter can help get yeast back into suspension if you think you need to. A cheap way to get your temp down is to set your fermenter into a tub of water, place a T-shirt over it so it wicks up the water and place a fan pointed at it. As long as you live in a fairly dry climate, you should be able to get your temp down to about 68°F. (A mini evaporative cooler) That's pretty good for most ale yeast. Unless you're making a saison or something similar you want to be below 70°F to repress yeast ester production and high fusel alcohols. In any case, the increase in thermal mass will help reduce temperature swings. Constant temperature is more important than cooler temperature. Nice slow and steady fermentation will produce a great beer. The higher the temp, the faster the fermentation and the more yeast esters are produced. But don't stress too much. Barley malt wants to become beer. The whole process is pretty robust. Relax. You're gonna make good beer.