I brewed my second lager about 36 hours ago. I had an OG of 1.045. I thought I could get away with pitching two smack packs of wyeast Budvar without making a starter, but there are still zero signs of fermentation. Except for maybe that the fermentor is a few degrees warmer than the ambient temperature in the fermentation chamber. I thought about pitching another smack pack but my local homebrew store is closed for restocking for the next few days and I will be away from home for two weeks before it opens. The fermentor is at 55 degrees now, 1 degree higher than what it is supposed to be according to wyeast. Do I dare increase it up to say 60 just to try and get the fermentation started and than drop it down to the mid 50’s once I start seeing some action?
I would leave it as is and not worry about it. What were the dates of the yeast you pitched? If they were recent you’ll have signs of fermentation soon. Keep in mind that lagers don’t exhibit the same signs that ales do and are not nearly as active. It could take up to 48 hours to see some signs for your brew but I would not recommend ramping up the temp.
It took almost a week but the airlock is finally bubbling!
