1214 - How Slow Is Slow?

[muay]

The Wyeast 1214 info says the yeast can be slow to start.

How slow is slow? I'm trying it for the first time today, working on a brugse triple clone.

I smacked it around 1pm yesterday & pitched it around 6pm last night. Not even a murmur as yet. Wondering if its still alive!

 

[marlow_coates]

If it swelled after smacking then it is alive. Probably the easiest way to test for it.

Also, check if your gravity has dropped, if so then it is doing something.

Look closely for krausen. Again a sign of fermentation.

:icon_cheers:

 

[kook]

The Wyeast 1214 info says the yeast can be slow to start.

How slow is slow? I'm trying it for the first time today, working on a brugse triple clone.

I smacked it around 1pm yesterday & pitched it around 6pm last night. Not even a murmur as yet. Wondering if its still alive!

If you patched a single smack pack in a full size (19-23L) batch of tripel (1.065-1.085 OG) I'd expect you could find lag times as long as 3 days. If it's fresh you might find signs of fermentation earlier than that though.

Personally I'd be pitching more like 3 packs - or using an appropriate sized starter.

 

[bulp]

Gday Muay, i made two starters this week one with a lager yeast and the other was with 1214 and i thought the 1214 hadn't fired but i left it alone and low and behold two days later started fermenting off its head, have tasted the starter wort since and :icon_drool2: very nice can't wait to throw it at something so i think you'll be okay.

 

[muay]

The pack did not really swell after 4hrs.... Maybe it didn't survive the postal. The cooler cubes were still fairly cool when they got here.

No Krausen as yet.

Unfortunately I smashed my Hydrometer over the weekend and the only one I could pick up from Woolys only measures to 1040. I am right off the scale somewhere so I cannot check to see if the grav is dropping. I might pick up an extra 1214 and a new Hydrometer monday.

Cheers guys.

 

[jimmyjack]

It will fire!!!
I am brewing a belgian dubbel at the moment and my smack pack did not swell either (aquarium pump aerated), so i chucked into a starter and that did not seem to fire either. Chucked the starter into well aerated wort and it caught about 5 hours later. I have come to the conclusion that you have to do starters and aerate Belgians to get full attenuation and good starts.

Cheers,

JJ