Dead Yeast?

[Westy1]

Hi All

I did have a quick look through the forums to an answer to this one but to no avail.

I knocked up a brew last night and the temp in the fermenter was a little warm so I sat it outside in the cold for a bit until it dropped to about 27 degrees. I added the Yeast and gave it a quick stir the the temp rose up again to about 31 degrees. The cool air had just cooled the outer edges of the fluid so when I stirred it the cooler and warmer parts mixed. So my question is will my yeast be dead? and if so can I just add more yeast or do I dump the whole lot?

Cheers

PS. I checked the fermenter this morning and found there was pressure inside but it was not bubbling...

 

[braufrau]

Hi All

I did have a quick look through the forums to an answer to this one but to no avail.

I knocked up a brew last night and the temp in the fermenter was a little warm so I sat it outside in the cold for a bit until it dropped to about 27 degrees. I added the Yeast and gave it a quick stir the the temp rose up again to about 31 degrees. The cool air had just cooled the outer edges of the fluid so when I stirred it the cooler and warmer parts mixed. So my question is will my yeast be dead? and if so can I just add more yeast or do I dump the whole lot?

Cheers

PS. I checked the fermenter this morning and found there was pressure inside but it was not bubbling...

Nope! yeast loves being warm. Humans aren't too keen on the tastes they make when they are warm which is why we keep them cool.

Don't worry about the bubbling .. you may have a leak .. look for scum forming on the sides.

 

[Westy1]

Cheers for the quick reply Braufrau... and the good news

 

[Adamt]

You need to drop the fermentation temperature down much closer to 20 though or you'll end up with unpalatable beer.

 

[KingPython]

Also once you put the yeast don't bother stirring to make sure the temperature is even.

 

[Westy1]

The temp is down now to about 16 degrees. The Saflager yeast states the ideal temps as 11-15 so I'm aiming to get it down about that temp. Am I doing the right thing by dropping the temp further?

I did a Munich Lager as first first one before this and sat it about 22 degrees. Was that too high for a lager?

Thanks again

 

[reviled]

I killed yeast once putting it into a fermenter that was sitting at about 28-29, nothing happened over three days so I had to pitch new yeast <_<

The guy at my home brew shop said if the temp is 28 or higher its best not to pitch the yeast, cos they can get killed at 30degrees plus???

 

[Westy1]

I killed yeast once putting it into a fermenter that was sitting at about 28-29, nothing happened over three days so I had to pitch new yeast <_<

The guy at my home brew shop said if the temp is 28 or higher its best not to pitch the yeast, cos they can get killed at 30degrees plus???

Did your beer turn out alright after pitching the new yeast?

So if nothing happens within the next couple of days I should be pitching new yeast... How do I do that? Do I sit the yeast in warm water prior to putting it in the fermenter of can I just pour it straight into the fermenter dry?

Cheers

 

[reviled]

Did your beer turn out alright after pitching the new yeast?

So if nothing happens within the next couple of days I should be pitching new yeast... How do I do that? Do I sit the yeast in warm water prior to putting it in the fermenter of can I just pour it straight into the fermenter dry?

Cheers

Yeah it turned out mint, I actually used a completely different strain of yeast than what I pitched originally cos it was what I had in the fridge... I rehydrated it in water before pitching, but you can sprinkle it on dry if you want, comes down to preference... Other people on here would suggest making a yeast starter a couple of days before hand... How did you pitch it originally?

 

[Westy1]

Yeah it turned out mint, I actually used a completely different strain of yeast than what I pitched originally cos it was what I had in the fridge... I rehydrated it in water before pitching, but you can sprinkle it on dry if you want, comes down to preference... Other people on here would suggest making a yeast starter a couple of days before hand... How did you pitch it originally?

I just sprinkled in on the surface and gave it a quick stir so the yeast didn't stick to the sides. The saflager is a bottom fermenter so I didn't see any issues with stirring it but some people are saying not to stir once pitched. Whats you thoughts?

 

[reviled]

I just sprinkled in on the surface and gave it a quick stir so the yeast didn't stick to the sides. The saflager is a bottom fermenter so I didn't see any issues with stirring it but some people are saying not to stir once pitched. Whats you thoughts?

Try not to worry too much about it mate, I just do whatever I feel like at the time and have had very similair results, sometimes I rehydrate the yeast in a coffee cup and put the yeasty water in, sometimes I sprinkle it and give it a slight stir to get the yeast going through, then sometimes I just sprinkle it on the top...

If you stirred the yeast in last time, do it again, next time try it another way and see if it makes a difference...

 

[Snow]

I killed yeast once putting it into a fermenter that was sitting at about 28-29, nothing happened over three days so I had to pitch new yeast <_<

The guy at my home brew shop said if the temp is 28 or higher its best not to pitch the yeast, cos they can get killed at 30degrees plus???

28-29c wouldn't have killed your yeast. over 40c might. the ideal tem for rehydrating yeast is around 36c. Maybe your yeast was already dead?

Cheers - Snow

 

[reviled]

28-29c wouldn't have killed your yeast. over 40c might. the ideal tem for rehydrating yeast is around 36c. Maybe your yeast was already dead?

Cheers - Snow

Ive been thinking about that rehydrating temp, which is what I use when putting yeast in a coffee cup with water, but when it goes into a wort, the yeast would start working straight away, producing its own heat, which can apparantly get itself too hot if the temp was too high to start with...

Id hope that my yeast wasnt allready dead at $4 per packet?!?! But I could be wrong...