Been a tube. Pitched wet yeast dry!

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

I've just got a kit of stout -milestone black pearl- on the go (6pm or so) and was thinking it should have been bubbling away by now.
And I've just noticed on the packet of yeast that it needed warm water and some of the wort to get it going. :shock:
Yup. I pitched it dry!
Please say that it will get going eventually and that I've not killed the brew?

I have a heater belt around it and will keep fingers crossed.

To keep my hopes up, and purely for the nerves, I've made a good stab at emptying the barrel I have in mind for it in a week or so's time. : :lol:

 

[Dave1970]

You shouldn't have killed it.

It'll take longer for fermentation to get going, it's good practice to get it going quickly because the wort is very vulnerable to infection at this stage. Once it get going and has a layer of CO2 over it it's less vulnerable. This is why the kit tells you to wake the yeast up before pitching not because it won't work at all if you don't.

 

[matchles1]

Not sure you need a heat belt this time of year, it could ferment too fast once it starts.

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

You shouldn't have killed it.

It'll take longer for fermentation to get going, it's good practice to get it going quickly because the wort is very vulnerable to infection at this stage. Once it get going and has a layer of CO2 over it it's less vulnerable. This is why the kit tells you to wake the yeast up before pitching not because it won't work at all if you don't.

Thanks! :party:
That's the news I wanted to hear.
Everything was super clean and I haven't opened the lid or anything, so fingers crossed it won't get infected. There was a slight tension on the lid, so there's been some CO2 given off.

Cheers for the advice.

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

Not sure you need a heat belt this time of year, it could ferment too fast once it starts.

Thanks. It's in a fairly cool part of the house right enough and i have positioned it fairly low down. Would it be an idea to keep it on overnight to get going and switch off during the day?
Then completely off once it's bubbling away?
Remember it's Scotland I'm in! Land of p**h weather!! :shock:

No seriously, temperature dropped significantly last night.
I had thought these belts were all about maintaining constant temp rather than heating the brew up too high, so really appreciate the heads up.

Thanks very much : :thumb:

 

[joe1002]

Not sure you need a heat belt this time of year

He lives in Scotland... :lol:

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

Not sure you need a heat belt this time of year

He lives in Scotland... :lol:

'British by birth, Scottish by the grace of God.'

But yes, a wee bit of Jamaican or something wouldn't go amiss

 

[rpt]

The trouble with the heating belts is they don't have a thermostat so you seriously risk overheating the beer. Fermenting at too high a temperature can cause off flavours.

Most kits tell you just to pitch the dry yeast straight into the wort so you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

Thanks RPT. I'll keep a close eye on the temp of the FV. I never faff about with lid on or off in case of nasties getting in, so I don't want to constantly use a thermometer. I assume this is the right thing?

Also I took a look at your brewing fridge. Am I right in thinking that you've used it to regulate brewing temperature? Looks brilliant. Might knock one up for my shed. That would keep SWMBO happy

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

Just in and happy to report that its taken off, let's say vigorously.

Er, a little too vigorously!!

It's actually bubbling up/overflowing through the airlock.

I suspect I know what the problem is. I've used the slightly smaller of my two FV's.
it's a 23 litre.

Can I now move the whole thing to my 25 lite bin without causing harm?!

Every other brew I've done, and I've done about 12, have been straightforward and successful.

Honest!!!

:P

So. A whole new problem! :shock:

 

[jonnymorris]

As long as your second FV is clean and sanitised, yes though if you don't have to I wouldn't bother.

A brew fridge is a great asset. Stick a bar heater inside and a temperature probe on your brew and the controller will turn the heater on if its too cold or the fridge on if too warm. Priceless.

 

[rpt]

Thanks RPT. I'll keep a close eye on the temp of the FV. I never faff about with lid on or off in case of nasties getting in, so I don't want to constantly use a thermometer. I assume this is the right thing?

You can get thermometers that stick on your FV. Don't know how accurate they are but it would give you some indication.

Also I took a look at your brewing fridge. Am I right in thinking that you've used it to regulate brewing temperature? Looks brilliant. Might knock one up for my shed. That would keep SWMBO happy

Yes, it regulates the fermentation temperature. Also use it for lagering and for storing bottles of beer when no FV needs to be in there.

 

[Bradley&SonBrewers]

Thanks guys.
Yup I'll definitely need to look at one of these. I imagine I can get a cheap 2nd hand fridge somewhere gumtree etc.

I had to move to the bigger FV, it was literally crawling out if the bucket!!!

Think it'll be ok. Relatively expense kit, so I hope it turns out ok after all this faffing.

You never know, it might be the best brew in history and I've discovered a new workflow!!

The f'up workflow. I'd be good at that!!! :party: :lol:

 

[jonnymorris]

You can get thermometers that stick on your FV. Don't know how accurate they are but it would give you some indication.

Surprisingly good if mine is anything to go by.