Put my first batch into the fermenter about 24 hours ago. Irish red ale extract with danstar nottingham ale dry yeast and I added 2 lbs of turbinado sugar to raise the abv. Got a 1.58 OG. iBrewmaster said I should have gotten 1.061 with the added sugar. The 3 gallon boil yielded just over 2 gallons which I topped off with boiled well water. When I put it in the first stage the sanitized bung kept popping out so I just set a blow off hose into a small container of star san. The temp dropped into the mid 50s over night but I raised it back to 64 this morning where it’s stayed all day. Does not appear to be fermenting. No bubbles, the wort looks quiet and flat. Should I think about pitching again? The only other yeast I have on hand is a wyeast 1084 smack pack.
I wouldn’t fret about it, for at least another 24 hrs.
72 is my “almost concerned” mark.
86 is “OK, I’m just about paranoid”. But I have never reached that point.
Where are you keeping this beer where you are getting such temperature swings?
And not to be a dick, but why are you trying to up the gravity on your batch? You really should learn the brewing process before you start messing with over variables.
I have had ale fermentations take longer then 24hrs to kick of from time to time. At what temp did you add your yeast?
You need to get the temperature stabilized in the low to mid 60s, a 10° temperature swing is tough on the yeast.
[quote=“dannyboy58”] I added 2 lbs of turbinado sugar to raise the abv. [/quote]That’s a lot of sugar for this recipe, 22% of the fermentables. It will really dry the beer out.
[quote=“muddywater_grant”]Where are you keeping this beer where you are getting such temperature swings?
And not to be a dick, but why are you trying to up the gravity on your batch? You really should learn the brewing process before you start messing with over variables.[/quote]
Keeping it in my basement and a door was left open the first night which caused the temp to drop. It’s been stable at 64 for over 24 hours now.
You’re not a dick…very reasonable question and you’re obviously right. Can’t say why…just had to mess with it i guess…
Notty should do fine at 64 F. I think I’d repitch if it’s been at that temp for 24 hours and not showing signs. The trouble with waiting is that eventually it will krausen, and if the Notty is defunct it’ll be wild yeast and the beer will be sewerable.
Wait at least another 48 hours and call us in the morning
after other research and considering the wild temp changes I decided to take midmobrwr’s advice. I found a local brew store bought a pack of notty and just pitched it again.
What kind of yeast did you use? By which I mean, was it dry, vial or smack pack?
If dry, did you rehydrate it before pitching?
In the future, I recomment making a starter at least a day ahead. I typically do a small one, a cup of DME (dry malt extract) boiled for 15 minutes in a quart of water. Cool in sanitized conatiner (I use an old growler) and pitch the yeast. Shake it every time you walk by, and by the time the beer is ready for pitching, the yeast have had a chance to wake up and be happy.
In your case, it’s entirely possible the temp swing down to the 50s caused the yeast to take a bit of a nap, so it’ll take a bit longer for them to wake up and really get to the job at hand.
Other than that, my advise is to RDWHAHB. (Relax, Don’t Worry and Have A Home Brew (or commercial if you don’t have HB on hand))
[quote=“jaygtr”]What kind of yeast did you use? By which I mean, was it dry, vial or smack pack?
If dry, did you rehydrate it before pitching?
In the future, I recomment making a starter at least a day ahead. I typically do a small one, a cup of DME (dry malt extract) boiled for 15 minutes in a quart of water. Cool in sanitized conatiner (I use an old growler) and pitch the yeast. Shake it every time you walk by, and by the time the beer is ready for pitching, the yeast have had a chance to wake up and be happy.
In your case, it’s entirely possible the temp swing down to the 50s caused the yeast to take a bit of a nap, so it’ll take a bit longer for them to wake up and really get to the job at hand.
Other than that, my advise is to RDWHAHB. (Relax, Don’t Worry and Have A Home Brew (or commercial if you don’t have HB on hand))[/quote]
It was mentioned 3 times that Nottingham yeast was used. It’s a dry ale variety. 
We all have reading issues some times. I know I do.
I brewed an ale last weekend with US-05 dry yeast last weekend. Pitched the yeast dry around 3am Sunday morning. Krausen didn’t show until later Monday night.
A lager brewed and pitched with 34/70 at the same time didn’t show krausen until Tuesday night.
You will see krausen soon, and it will be the 1st pack of yeast doing the work. No issues with adding the 2nd pack.
This morning there was a thin head on the wort and bubbling in the airlock. Fermometer read 70 so I decided to cool it down. I put the carboy it in a cube cooler with about 6-7 inches of 60* water and put a frozen water bottle in one corner on a wire hanger. Fermometer is now reading 64 in room temp of 70. Constant bubbling in the airlock now. It seems to be happily on the way to becoming beer. 
A few lessons learned so far.
I just started by first batch- also of Irish Red- and had- ok have- all the paranoia of a novice brewer. Started bubbling at the 80 hour mark so I think I’m ok at this point. Used standart kit with the nottingham dry yeast- no recipe modifications. I’m keeping in in a dark room that stays 62-65. I’ll let you know how it goes.
-Brewah
Alas the red ale didn’t make it. I was going to bottle tonight but it still tasted really foul and smelled like over ripe fruit. No amount of bottle conditioning or carbing was going to turn it into something I’d want to drink. I poured it out and I believe I can point to at least one area where sanitation may have been an issue and some temperature mismanagement at the beginning of fermentation. The good news is I took a gravity reading on my stout and it tastes great! I’ll be racking it to secondary in a couple days and cooking up the innkeeper to get the primary filled again.
Where is the area that sanitation may have been a issue? Also what kind of foul taste did the beer have? I skip Secondary. Plenty safe to ride it out in Primary for a few weeks. My first two beers were awful! Green olives and apple. They were Mr.Beer kits I got for Christmas. Point to the story is those first two beers were the reason why I hit the books and podcast. I haven’t had a noticeably infected beer since. Keep at it the results soon to come will be very rewarding.
Should reach a stable temp before pitching. I’m on a short well and immersion chiller so I chill to 90 and then let it sit over night. I have not noticed a difference. Brewers make wort; yeast make beer. A good beer is made through fermentation. A schedule can only be held if the correct numbers are reached; including pitching temp.
Sound like NH and I are one the same brewing schedule.
Where is the area that sanitation may have been a issue? Also what kind of foul taste did the beer have? I skip Secondary. Plenty safe to ride it out in Primary for a few weeks. My first two beers were awful! Green olives and apple. They were Mr.Beer kits I got for Christmas. Point to the story is those first two beers were the reason why I hit the books and podcast. I haven’t had a noticeably infected beer since. Keep at it the results soon to come will be very rewarding.[/quote]
The sanitation issue was cutting the yeast pack with scissors that had not been sanitized. I’d say the green olives and apple is a close approzimation. I’ve read up a good deal since that first batch and I really feel like the fermentation temps are probably the culprit. Either way I’m being much more careful about sanitation and keeping fermentation temps to the low 60s on the fermometer, allowing them to rise to 68-70 after the first week or so. The stout in secondary tastes great, I have a Rye Porter in an ale pale that’s driving me nuts because I can’t see it and just pitched the Innkeeper late last night. Definitely keeping at it…quitting was never an option
I typically clean the bag and wash my hands. Have never really needed to use scissors on a smack pack.
