Over heated Yeast?

New homebrewer here, working on my third batch, and things are not looking good.
My first batch was Irish Red Ale with dry yeast, and while it could be better, it’s not bad. Second batch is is American Wheat, again with dry yeast and that’s in the secondary now. All looks normal with this one so far. Both were chugging along within 3-4 hours, partly due to being a bit warm I suspect.
Third batch is the Chinook IPA, and this time I decided to try liquid yeast, Wyeast 1056 as recommended. I bought this one and the DeadRinger IPA during the IPA sale at NB, during a string of 90+ days. They arrived wrapped with an ice pack and seemed cool to the touch at the time, although both were well expanded, but the inner pack was not broken. Popped them in the fridge till brew day.
Got the pack out of the fridge several hours early, and smacked like 8 times before the inner pack finally opened. Within a few minutes there were bubbling sounds from it, and by the time I was ready to pitch it had puffed up. Finished up the brew, and pitched the yeast, temp was about 74. Moved the carboy to the basement which is about 70F. A little high, but within the yeast range.
I’m now at 3 days and there has yet to be a single airlock bubble. The liquid has yet to even fully move to the outer chamber. Just checked it again and it looks like mold may be forming on the surface.
Is there any hope for this batch? I’ve still got the second 1056 in the fridge, and considered trying a dry yeast from the local place, but worried that if there really is mold on it there is no hope. I thought about transferring to the secondary, but that’s busy for another week.
Anyone have any suggestions on saving this batch?
John

What does the surface of the beer look like? I assume the ‘mold’ you describe looks significantly different than your first two batches looked during fermentation?

Are you sure your fermenter is sealed well? Is there any chance air could be escaping somewhere besides the airlock?

If your fermenter is well sealed and you aren’t seeing any airlock activity after 3 days with ‘mold’ on the surface, I’d be concerned about infection. At this point you don’t have much to lose though, so I’d get a pack of dry yeast for a couple bucks and pitch it as quickly as you can and see how things turn out. Of course if you remove the airlock and things just smell completely rotten, I wouldn’t risk it and would dump the batch.

It does seem odd to me why your smack pack would swell though if the yeast weren’t alive and well.

TheHomebrewnerd,
Thanks. Since I posted a bubble has appeared in the airlock (6.5 glass carboy), and no leaks. I think what I saw as mold may gave been the faint beginnings of foam, but bubbles so tiny they looked like mold. The first 2 batches foamed up so fast there was never a change to see it start. This time the foam from racking, aerating and carrying it down stairs was 2-3 inches high, and over the first nite was gone.

I went and checked out the local homebrew shop just an hour ago, and since a bubble has appeared he thinks that I might be OK. I’ll give it a few more days and see what happens.

Added a pic of what it looks like.

John

you’re on the right track. that does not look like mold to me. it looks like some coagulated proteins/vegetable matter and the “foam” looks like fermentation. if your vessel cooled down before fermentation started, it would have created vacuum and may take a bit for the CO2 to build up some positive pressure. the first time that happened to me, it freaked me out. try to get your wort a few degrees cooler than you want to ferment at before pitching. the fermentation will warm it up about 2-4 degrees.

Edward, Thanks for your words of encouragement! I did notice the airlock sanitizer was pulled into the carboy side of the airlock the first morning, and then sat like that for 3 days before slowly moving back. I know that heating and cooling will do this

Today seems to be the turning point. Foam is starting to build, and it’s bubbling every 10 seconds or so. Yea! Both batches I did already were nearly done fermentation by this time.

Would there be any benefit to pitching fresh yeast, or should I leave well enough alone?

John

[quote=“jleiii”]Edward, Thanks for your words of encouragement! I did notice the airlock sanitizer was pulled into the carboy side of the airlock the first morning, and then sat like that for 3 days before slowly moving back. I know that heating and cooling will do this

Today seems to be the turning point. Foam is starting to build, and it’s bubbling every 10 seconds or so. Yea! Both batches I did already were nearly done fermentation by this time.

Would there be any benefit to pitching fresh yeast, or should I leave well enough alone?

John[/quote]
leave it alone, RDWHAHB!
It’s fermenting. Beers won’t always act the same.
One word of advice, try and get the beer temperature in the 60’s during fermentation for a cleaner tasting brew.

[quote=“mvsawyer”]
leave it alone, RDWHAHB!
It’s fermenting. Beers won’t always act the same.
One word of advice, try and get the beer temperature in the 60’s during fermentation for a cleaner tasting brew.[/quote]

Thanks. Wish I had temperature control options, and know cooler is better.
What is RDWHAHB??

RDWHAHB = Relax, Don’t Worry, Have A(nother) Home Brew

For a cheap and easy cooling solution, so a search for “swamp cooler”. All you need is a large storage bin and some ice to keep wort/beer in the low- to mid-60s.

Shadetree, thanks for that clarification, sounds good to me!
Swamp cooler is not an option for me. Looking at wine coolers and chest freezer options. Aside from the compressor/tubing/freon I can adapt them as needed. Just looking for the right price - cheap! Spent too much already. Just wish I’d held onto the wine cooler I got for free last year. Perfect for 1 6.5 carboy, but was not brewing at the time.
John

Looks like all is well in the end. The batch bubbled like mad for 8 days, and has now finished. Will move to secondary in a few days, and the primary will be doing a Pumpkin Ale next.

Got my temp issues on the way to being solved as of yesterday. Found this on Craigslist, and it’s nearly perfect. Still checking out the temp control to see if I need to modify it for the right range.
A 6.5 carboy fits on the left side, and 2 cases of bottles can condition on the right. Yea!

John

[quote=“jleiii”]Looks like all is well in the end. The batch bubbled like mad for 8 days, and has now finished. Will move to secondary in a few days, and the primary will be doing a Pumpkin Ale next.

Got my temp issues on the way to being solved as of yesterday. Found this on Craigslist, and it’s nearly perfect. Still checking out the temp control to see if I need to modify it for the right range.
A 6.5 carboy fits on the left side, and 2 cases of bottles can condition on the right. Yea!

John[/quote]
nice find!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270629998461?ss ... 1423.l2649

I posted this in the other thread you posted about your cooler. Nice score on that if it works for you.

Here is the wiring diagram.

Nighthawk,
Thanks. I’ve got 35+ years of electronics/electrical/controller background, so modifying the control is almost too easy. Don’t know how to post a link on this forum yet, sure it’s no issue, but it’s late, I’ve had a few homebrews, and the reading glasses are not handy, so I suffice to say the control on ebay, RANCO ETC-111000, are the perfect solution for this cooler. Hopefully I can take it apart and mount the display in the current controller spot so it will look like it was made for it.
John

Disregarding the $25+ price difference with the Ranco products, yes they are a perfect solution.

Nighthawk,
You make a good point for the other unit. I looked at the link on my phone last night and it did not come up and thought it was out of date. I’ve worked with a number of that controller type over the years (I have a heater mfg business, ranges up to 2000F) and the cheap ones are usually VERY cheap. It will be easier to mount certainly.
John

Looks like this batch is a go! Fermented for 8 days, checked the SG on Sunday and it is about where it ought to be on the FG. Chilled the sample, and it is very tasty already. Can’t wait to try the finished product.
Thanks for all the replies.
John