Stuck Fermentation

Sheridan · Apr 16, 2019

Hello everyone! My name is Chris and I am as green as they come to home brewing. Currently living overseas in a country where I cannot get brewing supplies and my first batch which is a 5 gallon amber ale has had no yeast activity since pitching and I am on day 4. The air lock hasn’t bubbled once and I don’t see much of a foam layer on top of the wort. It is going to take at least 3 weeks before the yeast I ordered from the US gets here. Do I have options? I believe my wort was cool enough before I pitched. Fermenter is in my closet where it’s 22c degrees. I do not have a hydrometer but I did order one. Should I wait and repitch the dry yeast again in three weeks? Should I use a bakers yeast to get this batch going? Should I just scrap it all and try again?

Banbeer · Apr 16, 2019

Hi Chris, first Welcome to the forum, some questions I have to ask, did you add any fermentables when you made it i.e. sugar, malt etc? if so give it a shake in the FV no need to lift the lid and wait a day or two and see what happens

Leon103 · Apr 16, 2019

Air lock activity isn't everything it's made out. A lot of time co2 leaks from other gaps. Plus depending on the yeast used you may have missed the Krausen. I certainly did on my last brew. The only way to tell is a hydrometer

Chippy_Tea · Apr 17, 2019

As Leon says plastic FV's often leak and it's discussed here regularly, don't use bakers Yeast it will give the beer off flavours.

Hoppyland · Apr 19, 2019

I'd leave it at least a week, then if your hydrometer hasn't arrived just have a taste.
If it tastes very sweet, malty & not at all like beer then I'd say it hasn't fermented for whatever reason. In which case, I'd throw it away. Don't wait for your new yeast to arrive and re-pitch, as other yeasts or bacteria will probably have got stuck in by then.
If it tastes like beer, not too sweet, but very raw & young then it should be fine to condition and drink.
Dry yeast will keep a long time in the fridge, so it is always handy to have an extra packet available for emergencies.
Assuming it's an ale yeast your temperature of 22°C shouldn't be an issue, fermentation should be pretty rapid at this temperature.
As mentioned, don't rely on the airlock as FVs often leak CO2 - plus some bottom-fermenting yeasts don't produce a hell of a lot of foam, so don't give up hope yet.

Stuck Fermentation

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