2nd batch: Did I screw up?

Started with Caribou Slobber which went great. About to rack into a keg, but tasting so far has been better than expected.

Yesterday I started a batch of IPA via a kit with specialty grains, LME, DME and 3 kinds of hops. I added a 4th package of Galaxy hops at flame out. Other than the hops addition I followed the directions pretty closely.

Once the boiling was done I cooled to about 75 and with the mixed tap water the wurt was at about 64 in the carboy. I then pitched the dry yeast pack which I had stored in my fridge and removed about an hour before pitching.

There hasn’t been any action yet with the yeast so I’m a bit concerned, the 1st batch went crazy within 6 hours of pitching. This batch the yeast has basically settled to the bottom and there’s nothing going on.

  1. was the wurt too cool for the yeast to activate?
  2. I poured the wort from the kettle to the carboy via a funnel, there was about 1.5 gals of tap water already in the carboy. Last batch I used a siphon. Did I introduce too much air by doing this? I just completely forgot the siphon step but I’m wondering if that’s really necessary as you want some oxygen in the mixture for the yeast, right?

Hopefully I’m just being impatient and the yeast is a bit slow to get going?

Thanks for any info!

How long has it been since you pitched?

Less than 24 hours… About 16 hours ago I think. When I last checked it was about 12 hours later after pitching. Heading home for lunch in a few and will check again.

Again, I’m new to this and the caribou batch went off quickly, so I guess I expected this batch to go off quickly too…

On a side note, the OG was 1.080 when the directions said it should be 1.060. I’m not sure how it ended up so high as all I did was add extra hops… I didn’t check until after I pitched the yeast if that makes a difference?

It’s fine. Dry yeast can take a bit to start.

Pouring the wort into the fermentor was actually better. The yeast needs oxygen at that point. It’s after fermentation when o2 is a bad thing.

Your wort wasn’t 1.080. You just didn’t mix well and got a bad reading. If you hit your volumes with extract it is near impossible to be off with the OG.

Great, thanks for the replies.

Maybe I’ll take another reading when I get home.

Do hops add a measurable amount of sugar?

[quote=“murphness”]
Do hops add a measurable amount of sugar?[/quote]

No, there is no sugar, or anything else fermentable, in hops.

In response to your earlier questions:

  1. No, 64F is a great temperature for ale yeast. Pro-tip: do your best to keep your wort that cool throughout fermentation.
  2. No, without pure oxygen injection, it’s impossible to get “too much air” into your unfermented wort.

Ok, went home at lunch and we’ve got some action! Just noob nerves I think…

I did take a quick gravity reading and it’s still at 1.065-1.070, which is a bit higher than the highest OG the package indicated. Maybe it’s still a mixing thing…Anyways, I tasted what was in the sample and I’m pretty happy with it.

Wort is still right around 64-66 deg and I’ve got a small foam cap and can clearly see some action happening.

Thanks for the reassurance folks!