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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Brewing Discussion --> Is it still safe to pitch?

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Snoballz
Cordova, TN
12 Posts


TLDR I have a 5 gallon batch of Blonde Ale wort that has no signs of fermentation for 72 hours. Is it safe to repitch if it has sat 84+ hours at 58 degrees? Is the risk of contamination/botulism something I should worry about? 

2 weeks ago I created a yeast starter of WLP029 for a planned batch of Brulosopher's Blonde Ale. Life got in the way, so I had to postpone the brew day until this past weekend. As I've done many times before, I stored the yeast produced by the starter in the fridge until needed. 

I pitched the saved yeast into 58 degree wort on Saturday night. 3 days later there are no signs of fermentation and no change in gravity. I've got another starter going that I plan to pitch as soon as it hits "high krausen" which should be tomorrow. The wort has been sitting at 58 degrees for 3 days and will have been sitting for 84-96 before the new yeast starter is ready. Am I asking for contamination? 





Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by Snoballz

Matt
Charter Member
Normal, IL
341 Posts


Totally ok, no risks here really! I mean, you know, the risk of opening up the fermenter, but that's not bad. 



Posted 34 days ago.

blur_yo_face
Houston, Tx
161 Posts


I don't really think you should be worried about contamination.. I'd be curious to know what happened with the yeast though.. Just for our information, is it a clear carboy that you can see no visible sign of fermentation? or is it a bucket and you don't see much activity on the airlock? was it an old package with lower viability?



Posted 34 days ago.

Snoballz
Cordova, TN
12 Posts


I've already removed the label from the vial, but it was within 2 months of being packaged. The original starter didn't show signs of fermentation until at least 36 hours. Even then it wasn't very strong. I didn't worry since I've read WLP029 can be a slow starter. It could be that I got a bad vial, but I've never used this yeast, so I don't know what to expect. 

I'm guessing that since yeast that had been sitting in a fridge for a week (after warming up to room temp over the brewday) combined with the cooler 58 degree pitch and ferment temp wasn't enough to rouse the yeast. 

I have a clear fermenter and the wort is almost so clear that it looks as if it has been cold crashed. Clear wort at the top with a layer of trub at the bottom. 

I've since bumped the temp up to 63 to see if that will get the original yeast going. I'll repitch as soon as the new starter shows signs of life. 




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by Snoballz

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Have you taken a gravity reading yet?



Posted 34 days ago.

ingoogni
nl
314 Posts


From the WhiteLabs site:
Optimum Ferment Temp.
65-69°F, 18-20°C (Does not ferment well less than 62°F, or 16°C, unless during active fermentation)

To use this yeast at that low temperatures you need a very healthy almost lager sized starter.






Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by ingoogni

Snoballz
Cordova, TN
12 Posts


I'm pretty sure my pitching a starter that had been sitting cold for a week was the culprit.  

Took a reading this morning and the gravity has dropped from 1.046 to 1.043, so it looks like the overnight temperature rise may have roused the yeast a little. I'll hold at 65 degrees until I get home from work and take another reading. 








Posted 34 days ago.

Snoballz
Cordova, TN
12 Posts


Fermentation has begun! Latest refractometer reading is 10.1 brix, so it is somewhere between 1.039 and 1.036. I dropped the temp down to 60 degrees and pitched another 100 billion or so more yeast cells. 







Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Congrats!  Let us know how it turns out.



Posted 34 days ago.

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