JOHN,IF YOU KEEP IT UNDER 1090SG, YOU WILL BE OK.
LOWER IS BETTER, TO KEEP THE YEAST HAPPY,SO IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY TIMES YOU WANT TO ADD SUGAR.
YOU CAN DO YEAST NUT. IN STAGES FOR BETTER RESULTS ALSO.

ALEX,the only time ive used the w/d yeast is on a corn+grain mash. its not a turbo,so it does'nt have any nutrents in it.have you put any yeast nutrent in there? if you havent,you should.it will help the yeast.you can use some malt extract,its got alot of nutrents in it.i use the dried kind{D.M.E.}.disolve it in some of your must and boil it for 15mins. cool it off to under 100f and add it back in the fermenter. warming up the mash will help too!

Wineo,

What Alex used is pot distillers yeast which is a turbo, and is supposed to handle 18%. But, I think he may have exceede that with a OG of 1.15? and with the molasses adding some weight also?

Thanks Elricko, I hope its something simple. That stuffs expensive.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input.

Elricko, my gut feeling is the same as yours. Simply too cold, I have an external aquarium ambient heater; I"ll warm it up to the low 70s and see if it starts up. I would wait even longer but there is NO sign what so ever of any activity. And with all the repeated warnings on the label ,and the online info, that this yeast should remain relatively cool, it"s making it a hard toss up.
This being an 18% turbo, I didn"t think a 1.15 was too much for it to handle, though I"m at a bit of a loss.

John, yup, molasses adds gravity as well, it"s basically a sugary syrup.

Wineo, pitching in some nutrient was actually rather tempting. Though the reason I used this yeast in the first place was because its nutrient balance is already set for a more flavorful fermentation. The reason I actually stopped using turbo48 on the rum was because the distilled nutrients gave off an ammonia like smell that takes quite some time to age out.

Going to heat it up a bit tonight and will post the findings.

Providing you did not rehydrate the yeast ,I have to mention it, as some homebrewers do so automatically, and it will almost guarantee dead yeast, as the nutrients overpower and kill the yeast,, then we have to assume either too high of a pitching temp ,which you ruled out,, too cold to get started ,possible,, or an SG too high. If simply warming the wash does not get it started ,incidentally, stir it well after it warms up,, then stir well to disperse the yeast and pull about a gallon aside, then dilute to about 50%. If it takes off, then the mixture is simply too heavy.

Today was a bit warmer ,in the 80s,, walked to the fermenter and the water in the bubbler was still level, no internal pressure. When I opened the lid there were light activity bubbles on the surface, the yeast seems to at least be alive.

Placed the fermenter in warm sink water and raised the temp to 25 c ,77f,. The yeast seemed to become more active, and now, an hour later, is active enough to very slowly push gasses out of the bubbler.

The watered down solution is still showing zero activity.

Still nothing close to aggressive or very active yeast, but it might only now start multiplying.

Either this was a case of temp, or simply a VERY slow start due to OG.
Still, at 25c this yeast should be working at far from optimum, though that"s for a fruit mash base, not sure if I need the same fermentation complexity for brown sugar and molasses.


I"ll keep posting if there is any change in activity.

We often see fermenters lose their seal, and much ,sometimes all, of the gas escapes around the lid, and does not get forced through the airlock. To see what is really happening, take a specific gravity reading.

With warming up, the yeast will not start off as though it was put into a warm wash to start with- it will be a little slower. Also, much of your dissolved oxygen had likely dissipated, which will not allow for as much dividing of the yeast. Less yeast will mean slower fermentation.

Certainly, a very high SG, with a pot. alc. of more than 18-20%, will definitely slow the yeast down.

Alex, Funny you should ask. I have 15# dark brown sugar and a qt. of table grade molasses topped to 26L mark. Its at 32°C and reading 1.12, the best I can read the blooming thing with my eyesight, uncorrected. Its sitting in cool water. I will retest the OG and correct it when it gets to pitching temp. I'm going to pitch at 25° and maintain it at 24° at least for the first day or 2. I filled the fermenter with the shower in the bath, so it won't be an O2 problem if I have one. If it goes good I'll add a bit more molasses later.

Wineo, You're a mind reader today, or you're close looking on.

I did the boil for an hour and half. Its sitting in a sink full of cold water right now to cool off enough to transfer and top off.

I think the DME would enhance it. I used 2 jars, 24 oz instead of the 16.

Thinking of useing either ec 1118 or K1V 1116. Any suggestions?