Anyone have any experience with this? I’m brewing up the NB Bavarian Hefe and it seems to be REALLY slow. Couldn’t brew immediately after I received the kit so I threw the smackpack in the fridge. Waited about a week, took it out and let it come to room temp for a day, then smacked the pack and after three days nothing happened (Aroma from within the smack pack when I finally opened it was also pretty subdued compared to the others ive used). Pitched it into a one liter starter using my new stir plate and pitched that into my carboy after about 18-20 hours (it appeared very active in my flask; no krausen however the wort was alot cloudier and had a minor amount of sediment on the bottom after it settled. Also had a much stronger aroma then when I first it pitched into the flask). Checked the carboy just now (about 27 hours since I pitched) and there is absolutely NOTHING going on. Temp is holding steady at 68 degrees which the instructions say is the prime temp for this strain.
Just wondering if this is a slow mover or not and/or if anyone else experienced any lag. Checked Wyeast’s website and nothing is listed there as far as being a slow starter. I know most instructions say it’ll start within 48 hours and im only around 27 but i’m worried because my last batch was a Belgian Dubbel with the Wyeast Belgian Abbey (1214). On their website, it specifically stated it was slow to get going so I made sure to use a yeast starter with that and it was foaming like crazy within 12 hours of pitching into the carboy; so much so that it actually blew my airlock off and I needed to switch to a blow-off tube. This one just has me a little worried since i’ve read Hefe’s are very sensitive with the esters they give off with these strains of yeast.
Any advice or comments would be appreciated. This is my fourth brew since I first picked up my kit in May and felt I was really starting to get confident but this seems to be knocking that confidence down a peg. Also, if this doesn’t appear to be normal, would I be ok just dropping in a dry pack of yeast or getting another Wyeast or White Labs strain to rescue the batch?
