I brewed my beer yesterday and pitched the yeast but there is no activity in the fermenter yet. What should I do?
Long lag times between pitching the yeast and the beginning of active fermentation have a number of causes. The main one is underpitching, that is, using an insufficient population of healthy yeast. This is not always fatal, although it clearly increases the time before fermentation begins and it can result in slow and incomplete fermentations. Have some patience. If you practiced good sanitation a long lag time is not likely to cause infection. Sometimes it can take 48 hours or longer before there is activity, especially at lower temperatures and with lager yeast. Bringing the fermenter into a warmer location may speed up the process. You can return to the recommended temperature as soon as there are signs of fermentation. As a last resort, you may wish to pitch dry yeast if nothing happens after three or four days.
