So I brewed a dark belgian on Saturday. Since I only thought to brew that AM I had no starter. My airlock burped once or twice but nothing more....

I have a 4 month old packet of us-05 and my LHBS is closed tomorrow. Should I just pitch the US-05?

I measured 1.088 and was looking for belgin esque flavors as I did use 2 gm of corriander....

Frack I was hoping to have it cleaned by fair time.... and ready for entry.

Any advice like go to LHBS on Thur and pitch a second yeast then and mix the 2? just an idea, what would you do?

Which Yeast? What's the temp where your fermenter is?

It could be in the log phase still.

J?, I wouldnt add the US05, it might dominate that beer...if anything I'd add more Trappist yeast i...which wouldnt be a bad idea being since your SG is that high and you did not make a starter...

Ya know what I'm gonna say, doncha?.... What made you think you could brew a 1.088 beer without a starter? If the yeast isn't ready, you're not ready to brew. If you're sure the beer still hasn't started, I'd get some kind of yeast in there ASAP. It won't be what you intended the beer to be, but at least you might be able to salvage something.

Try swirling the carboy to get the yeast back up into suspension. That can help kick start yeast.

Denny, Matt didn't use a starter last Sunday.. thought you might want to know.

Yeah, but why would that surprise me????? He's been known to dump his yeast on the ground rather than pitching it in the beer! Did he brew a 1.088 beer?

J?trainer, give it a little more time. If nothing happen in a few more days bring it to 170F (if you are worried about infection) and repitch. I think they are populating right now and you will see big signs of fermentation soon.

OK so I got overly busy with work and never made it to the LHBS.... However I'm please as pie there is now 1-2 inches of krausen on this baby.... smells nice... The krausen is just right...

Denny - Yeah I know and I was kicking myself for that on brew morning... Your right a 1.088 beer needs a starter. I'm still headed to the LHBS tomorrow for some other parts and supplies so I'll be picking up another smack pack and pitching that too. When you awake with no intention of brewing and the morning just says brew, ya gotta brew....

So glad I didn't dump the US-05 in to the bucket.... oh so glad... Now will this be good as a starter for my Golden Belgian...????

Now will this be good as a starter for my Golden Belgian...????

J, You have literally put those poor yeast through hell, I wouldnt recommend reusing that cake.

Yeah I hear ya but I'm going to toss another smack pack in as well just for measure...

I guess I have to stop getting up and deciding to brew as I finish the first pot of coffee

"1-2 inches of krausen on this baby.... smells nice... The krausen is just right..."

Most likely to late now but I would save my yeast at this point.

The long lag time was the yeast working overtime to make enough babies to get the job done for a fairly large beer..

CLB

That's what I suspected too. I have a long history of underpitching. I don't fear it at all, but I'm going to try starters and see what the fuss is all about.

j$- pitch the new yeast further into the ferment, say when it is at 1.050-60 so it can finish the job, like a relay race. Jamil Z recommends this method for some big beers, particularly Belgian types.

Well since I bought the second/replacement I'll pitch it as I don't plan to do my Golden Belgian for a month or 2....

"When you awake with no intention of brewing and the morning just says brew, ya gotta brew...."...different strokes, man. I'd say "Shit, I'd like to brew but I don't have it together". I've done that before.

"When you awake with no intention of brewing and the morning just says brew, ya gotta brew...."

That's why I keep a pack of S-05 around. Brew an IPA or something if need be!!!

Pitching more yeast this far into a fermentation is not going to do a single drop of good.

Your wasting your yeast.

You got to be kidding me.

What on earth do you think it will do? The yeast you pitch has to adapt to the environment that you throw it into. With the activity that you said you had, the yeast is already there.

There's no reason, any anything else is either foolish or paranoid.

CLB

CLB, your assertion is the assumption that I personally currently brew by, but please consider this:

1. On a big ass brew, chances are that the yeast are in an increasingly hostile environment as they chew their way through the sugar. IE the effort vs the ABV becomes increasingly difficult and the extant yeast become damaged and flagged out. They lose their working properties to a certain degree. Pitching fresh healthy yeast helps take care of the rest of the fermentable sugars.

2.The traditional act of Krausening is quite valid. An article that is worth reading: http://byo.com/departments/1550.html

In defence of your argument however, I'll offer a personal recent experience. I pitched a single hydrated packet of s-05 in a 1.110 wort and it finished quite rapidly below 1.020. The mash temps were favorable- below 150F and the pitch rate was fairly high despite no starter. Visible signs of fermentation showed up within 20 hours. I wasn't surprised but felt vindicated. Both approaches I've learned solely from listening to Jamil Z.- AKA Mr Malty- who is probably one of the most widely respected homebrewers that I have heard of, Sorry DC...

In an emergency I think anyone should avail themselves of the various techniques out there. Maybe pitching more yeast will only make J? sleep better. In that case it would be worth it, at least to me.

radtek, that's real nice that your s-05 barleywine finished at 1.020, but have you tasted it yet?

i'm with clb on this one.

and poobah, good call on the dry yeast. with a couple packs of us-05 there are many different styles that you can brew at a moment's notice.

Snappy, that was the one from the "burnt cooler" incident. Yes, I've tasted it... Still haven't tossed it out... Yet. I think it would have been just fine except for the extreme burnt taste!

I've only had unhappy results from yeast due to two things: too high of fermentation temps and over-pitching from a yeast-cake. Off-flavors...

so you're citing a beer with an "extreme burnt taste" as an example of a good fermentation?

No need to be sorry about the JZ reference...I couldn't agree more!

Had nothing to do with the ferment! I was boiling in the plastic cooler with my heatsticks and one burnt through. I salvaged the brew and finished the boil in metal hoping nothing would come through. But I was up for some disappointment! Very smoky, and I don't think phenols have a thing to do with it.

radtek, i'm just saying that if you want to claim your underpitched beer was a success, it should taste good. maybe it would have been good if you hadn't burnt through your bucket, but you don't know that.

Point well taken...!

But, according to Mr Malty's pitching rate calculator, my 3 gallons of 1.100 wort needs only one 11.5g packet of dry yeast. I didn't underpitch as far as I'm aware based on this calculation. He recommends hydrating first instead of just sprinkling on top of the wort.

I haven't tossed the BW yet since I'll bottle some to see how it may taste in the future. Just for giggles...