The yeast won't work!!

[phatboy1123]

Hello,

I'm new to all grain brewing, but thought I'd give it a go...

Everything goes great, i get a o.g. of 1040 and trying to brew something similar to landlord. When it comes to the yeast I have problems.

I did one all grain brew before, rehydrated the yeast in warm water until it had a foamy head, and then added it to the beer. There was a little activity, and the yeast stopped at 1025, i think this was because the wort was too hot when i added the yeast.

This time, i properly cooled the wort and again started the yeast in warm water. I added the yeast again, but this time have had no activity. The room where the beer is kept is my spare room, and quite cool and dark, cold it be that it's too cold?

Please help.

Tom

[smdjoachim]

What yeast?
Warm water?What temp?
The fermenting temperature depends on the yeast type.

[trucker5774]

If the yeast was foaming and smelling good when rehydrated, then the yeast is probably OK. Aim to pitch it between 20C and 30C then keep the brew around 20C. There can be a delay of 24 hours sometimes before you see any action...........12 hours is typical. Make sure the wort is well aerated by dropping it into the FV from height or a good thrashing with a paddle.

[phatboy1123]

notts ale yeast.
not sure of the temperature, as my thermometer only goes down to 40 degrees! fairly cool though, 15 degrees at least?

[Horden Hillbilly]

This time, i properly cooled the wort and again started the yeast in warm water.
Tom

The water temp for re-hydrating the yeast should be lukewarm, around the 18c-25c range. If your water felt "warm" to the touch, the temp may have been too high & damaged the yeast cells.

[trucker5774]

notts ale yeast.
not sure of the temperature, as my thermometer only goes down to 40 degrees! fairly cool though, 15 degrees at least?

Notts. yeast has been found to be sub standard in a recent batch. It's possible you have ben unlucky and have one of these. It's always a good idea to stock several (different) yeasts for such occasions...................the faulty batch theory is the likely cause.

[phatboy1123]

how cold can the yeast/fermentation temp go down to with the yeast still working?

[trucker5774]

17C is probably pushing the lower limit and 24C is around the upper. Have a look at this link...........not specifically for Notts, but you may find it interesting
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/Tips-Tricks.pdf

[JayM72]

notts ale yeast.
not sure of the temperature, as my thermometer only goes down to 40 degrees! fairly cool though, 15 degrees at least?

maybe time to invest in a new thermometer

[Scotty]

Nottingham can work as low as 12c, but too higher higher wort and rehydration temperatures aside, it's possible you have a problem with a particular batch number for yeast.

[trucker5774]

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/no ... -ale-yeast

There you go