Made a 5 gallon batch last night and no progress.Yeast prob?

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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poopdevil
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Made a 5 gallon batch last night and no progress.Yeast prob?

Post by poopdevil »

I made a 5 gallon batch last night of a recipe called Chocolate Marzen.
Amber extract grains and chocolate bars etc etc...
My problem is the yeast.
I normally use one that you smack and let sit for 3 hrs prior to pitching but I hadn't made beer in over a year and forgot to do so until 1 hour before I had to pitch.
I smacked it let it sit as long as I could.
I then noticed on the package it said to smack it, let it sit then make a starter for it and have that sit 2 days before pitching.
I had grabbed a yeast I don't think I normally use. Neadless to say I didn't know what else to do so I cooled the Wort to 65 and just pitched it anyhow.
the yeast pack wasnt puffed quite as much as I wanted but it was late at night and I didnt know what else to do.

So as of today. ( It has been almost 22 hours ) There is no sign it is even started working yet.
Is there anything I can do now that might get the thing activating?
Please Help. I had friends over while making it and they helped me out so if it goes bad they will be sooo bummed!
Thanks guys!
Rich!!
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slothrob
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Post by slothrob »

It's too early to worry, but if the pack swelled, the yeast should be fine. Even if it didn't swell, with an underpitch, it may take a while before you see activity.

You said this is a Marzen. Typically these are made with lager yeast. If you continue to make lagers, you should start making big starters, then fermenting down around 50
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poopdevil
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Post by poopdevil »

Oh hey thanks a bunch for the advise. I will let you know what happens with this. I feel a little better now!
R
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Post by jctull »

As long as everything was sanitary, you should be fine. If the yeast is not showing activity after 48 hours, you may want to see if your local homebrew shop has Fermentis yeast. Those are easily pitched into a beer with quick rehydration (or even dry), they are cheap, and the quality is good.
poopdevil
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Post by poopdevil »

I happened to have some dried yeast packet in my garage so I went ahead and pitched that to see what happens.
Fingers Crossed!
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Post by poopdevil »

Sweet. In like 4 hours from that pitch it started going crazy. Still is! Thanks guys!!!!
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