Aeration/Yeast starter

I currently have the Winter Warmer sitting in the primary, and I pitched the Wyeast 1728 on Sept. 27th. I took an OG reading of 1071 as well. The problem I have is that the yeast did not start fermenting the beer. Everything is settled in the primary with no bubbling or anything. I called NB and they shipped me another yeast packet, which I currently have sitting in the 1000 mL yeast starter flask propagating wonderfully. My question is do I aerate the wort in the primary again before I pitch the yeast? Or is this unnecessary? Thanks for the help fellow brewers.

-Cheers!

I would as it certainly wouldn’t hurt and you have to slosh it around anyways to mix up the yeast.

You’re at six days from pitching with no fermentation? Have you checked the gravity to be sure?

I have not checked the gravity, only before I pitched the yeast. There has been absolutely no signs of fermentation since I pitched the yeast. I would assume that if it was fermenting, I would see bubbles and an increased head on the primary. However, there is no condensation in the lock and absolutely no activity in the beer itself.

I just pitched the Wyeast 1728 using a 1000 mL yeast starter. Hopefully it will be going crazy tomorrow morning. Thanks for the input and advice fellas.

Did the first pack of yeast swell up after you popped the nutrient pack?

Yes it did. Although, I think I know what might have happened. When I sanitized the equipment and yeast pack, I used hot water, so perhaps the yeast packet got too warm and killed off the yeast. That’s the only thing I can think of that could have messed up the batch. This morning I checked the primary and saw no difference after pitching. I’ll most likely have to get another kit.

If you don’t check the gravity you really don’t know what’s going on.

Do I check the gravity after another week or so? So far the primary is developing patches of white foam/build up on the top of the beer. This is first time using a hydrometer so I apologize for so many questions.

Sounds like it’s finally fermenting. Check the gravity after it stops bubbling. If you are doing just a primary you can wait and check it after 3 weeks. It should definitely be done by then and you can bottle/keg.